ORGANIZING NOTES
October 7, 2025
|
Imagine Not Worrying About Making Rent/Mortgage, Education and Healthcare Payments At the End of the Month
Support a Working Families Legislative Agenda to Move Us Toward This Future
|
Write your legislators here
Three bills currently hung up in the Massachusetts legislature could make huge improvements in the lives of the majority of working people in our state.
The first, “Preventing Wage Theft”4 (H.1868 / S.1300), would recover $700 million stolen from 350,000 low wage workers. Wage theft covers a variety of infractions that occur when workers do not receive their legally required or promised wages. Common forms of wage theft are:
In today’s economy, where employers increasingly subcontract or outsource core parts of their business to other companies, wage theft has overwhelmed the capacity of our existing labor laws and enforcement mechanisms. Read more here.
The second bill (H.1925/S.1349) increases the minimum wage to $20 an hour over four years,indexed to inflation so that its value does not erode, and would raise the tipped minimum wage to $12 per hour from $6.75, indexed to 60% of the full minimum wage. Finally, the bills would ensure that municipal workers are also guaranteed a minimum wage, eliminating a current inequality.
Imagine the decreased stress on families as worries about making rent/ mortgage, healthcare, and education payments diminish with an income closer to a living wage. Read more here.
Last, “An Act Combating Offshore Tax Avoidance”, H.3110/S.2033, would make billionaire global corporations that do business in Massachusetts but conceal their profits offshore (e. g. Apple, Amazon, McDonald’s, & Walmart), pay their fair share of taxes. Massachusetts loses hundreds of millions of dollars each year to offshore corporate tax dodgers. Other states, such as Rhode Island, New Hampshire, and even the Federal government tax 50-60 per cent of off-shore profits while Massachusetts only taxes five percent.
Local businesses pay their full share of state taxes for the physical and social infrastructure that support their enterprises, so should these global billionaire companies.
Massachusetts could raise an additional $400 million if we taxed the same percentage of offshore profits as do our neighboring states. Given the threatened shortfall of Federal dollars, this money is needed to support healthcare and nutrition for thousands of families who will otherwise go without. Read more here.
All these bills are stuck in legislative committees. Without increased popular support, they will stay there, never to become enacted into law.
Please write your legislators now, thanking them if they support these bills and if not, ask them to co-sponsor and tell the respective legislative committees that they want the bills approved and passed onto the next step to become law.
https://actonmass.org/bills/stop-wage-theft/
https://www.progressivemass.com/issues/living-wage-2023-action/#about
https://www.raiseupma.org/corporate-fair-share
|
Forming the Democratic Town Committee in Blandford, MA:
How We Did It
|
My husband and I moved to Blandford in March 2022. We checked to see who the elected officials were and except for the governor, all were Democrats. That was such a relief after living in very red Brevard county in Florida.
We were used to Democratic organizations based on the county. It was surprising to learn that Blandford, in the Hilltowns, had not had a Democratic Town Committee for over 40 years. We canvassed in Amherst for Maura Healey in 2022. When we found there were no plans to knock doors in Blandford or the towns around us, we requested lists from the campaign and knocked in 3 towns. Redistricting gave us an incumbent Republican so we gave out literature for our Democratic State Representative candidate as well as Democrats up the ballot. We had a good reception although most people were surprised to have anyone at their door.
In 2024 we were stunned when the Republican State Representative ran unopposed. Even more shocking was that Trump won again, with all the information voters knew about him. Neighbors came to us asking, what are we going to do? We invited those that were asking plus a few more to our home. There was enough interest to begin the process of forming a Democratic Town Committee.
We first needed 3 Democrats to sign a Declaration form along with the signature of a state committee member. I sent an email to all the State Committee members in our Congressional District. Marietta Rapetti Cawse was the first person to respond. She has been supportive since then as has Lee Harrison, who has come to speak to our group.
Our first meeting was on November 23, 2024 where registered Democrats in attendance passed a set of bylaws (based on the suggestions from Mass Dems website) and elected officers. We began with 18 voting members, 7 of whom changed their party from Unenrolled to Democrat at our meeting. Prior to the meeting Blandford had 117 Democrats, 187 Republicans, 9 Libertarians, and 700 Unenrolled. We continued to add new members every meeting through June when we reached our 35 voting member limit.
Our Chair was born in Blandford and has been an active member of the community including being a Boy Scout leader. Our Vice Chair and Secretary were the youngest members at our formation at 29 and 25. Blandford DTC is highly motivated by national politics but we try to focus on local issues in our town, first, and then on our state issues. Fill out the ORMA volunteer form if you wish to ask questions or communicate with the author of this article
|
While some Gaza flotilla activists have been released by the Israelis, as of October 7th, many have not. Call and write for humane treatment. Boston Globe article on Sheffield mom’s two sons who are on the flotilla bringing aid to Gaza
|
The Massachusetts legislative stipend reform ballot question would end the current system of loyalty pay so our legislators work for us rather than for the legislative leadership. The current system of legislative compensation breeds deference to legislative leadership, pays extra for no work, rewards lawmaking behind closed doors, and disempowers most of our legislators (and therefore us as their constituents).
Legislators who are appointed by the House Speaker or Senate President to various positions within the legislature receive stipends that add $8,000 to $112,000 to their annual pay. These stipends total over $5 million and the Speaker and President can (and do) take them away if a legislator does something they don’t like. This creates a conflict of interest for legislators between their duty to represent their constituents (us) and their need to stay in the good graces of their legislative leader.
The stipend reform ballot question law would reduce top-down control, incentivize more transparency and responsiveness in lawmaking, and empower every legislator. It would:
-
Significantly reduce the number and size of stipends and eliminate stipends for no-work committees and other positions that don’t merit extra pay.
-
Create transparency and end lawmaking behind closed doors by conditioning the payment of stipends on committees holding public debates and public votes on every bill.
-
Shift a portion of the funds saved to additional compensation for rank-and-file members to make it more financially viable for people of modest means to serve.
Attached is a two-page description of the ballot question and the need for it. You can also learn more and donate to the effort at the LEAP website. There’s a one page description of the ballot question here. Read even more here.
Your help is needed in collecting 75,000 certified signatures to put this on the 2026 ballot. If you have any questions or would like to help collect signatures, please complete the ORMA Volunteer Form here
|
Local Visibilities Schedule
|
Locally, there is a “BBB Supporters” (Boston Bridge Brigade) signal group that share times, places, pictures and rain cancellations. Check Out the Listings HERE
|
Boston Immigration Accompanimment Network
Sunday, November 23rd
4-5:30pm on zoom
both offered in English
BJAN phone lines have been overwhelmed. They need more volunteers who can offer a few hours per week to help answer phone and text messages. Orientation is needed before folks can volunteer. Please complete the registration form at this link: https://form.jotform.com/252358517564363
|
How Massachusett’s Cities Can Build More Affordable Housing
|
Massachusetts needs 200,000 new homes to house the state’s low- and moderate-income households. Many, perhaps most, people think this problem can be solved if for-profit developers are allowed to build in more places. They think that restrictive zoning prevents the needed construction. However, at this time, that is not the main problem in Massachusetts. The problem is that the high cost of land and construction makes new housing too expensive for the people who most need it, or too costly for developers to make the profits they want.
The solution may come as a surprise; if there is going to be significant new construction of affordable housing, it will come through government funding. The new housing will not be old-style public housing, as state-owned public housing has up to $8.5 billion in deferred maintenance that needs to be done, and new federal public housing is prohibited by the Faircloth Amendment. Further, currently, all-affordable housing is financed through the “Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC), but this funding is largely maxed out in Massachusetts. What we need is Social Housing.
|
If you would like to work with ORMA Members on
- Climate Change
- Housing Justice
- Medicare for All
- Communications/InformationTechnology
|
ORMA depends on your support to continue Bernie’s Political Revolution to create a society, a politics, and an economy that works for everyone, not just billionaires, corporations and the political elite.
If you value Organizing Notes and its twice a month distribution schedule, please make a donation to ensure its continued existence.
Invest in Change Now!
|
Please send requests for action items, articles or upcoming events
for the next Organizing Notes to
beccobrien.orma@gmail.com by Saturday, October 18th
We’d love to have you send us your favorite pictures of Bernie here in MA!
|
Campaigns End, Movements Endure
|
|
