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wealthy people who received huge tax cuts from
the Trump administration — would have paid
more under the Fair Share initiative. The tax was
projected to raise about $2 billion a year, providing
a significant boost in funding for preK-12 schools,
public higher education, road and bridge repairs and
public transportation.
The fight back began almost immediately,
with the MTA and other public school advocates
supporting the Senate version of a proposal to update
the foundation budget formula, the calculation used
to determine how much each district needs to spend
to provide all students with an adequate education.
That bill, if fully implemented, would have raised
over $1 billion annually in new revenues for schools.
Both branches of the Legislature approved versions
of a foundation budget bill, but legislators failed to
reach an agreement on a final measure before the
session ended on July 31.
The MTA will be rolling out a plan to greatly
increase funding for both preK-12 schools and public
higher education.
After the Fair Share amendment was knocked
off the ballot, negotiations quickly resumed over the
fate of other potential ballot initiatives and proposed
law changes. Raise Up Massachusetts representatives
led the negotiations on behalf of workers, while the
Retailers Association of Massachusetts bargained on
behalf of business owners. With the session drawing
to a close, the Legislature approved a package that
some called a “grand bargain” because it gave benefits
to both sides while taking certain benefits away.
On the plus side for workers, it requires most
employers to phase in a $15-per-hour minimum
wage over the next five years and establishes a fund
that will guarantee most employees job-protected
paid family and medical leave. The new leave
program will provide employees who contribute to
it the ability to take paid leave for up to 12 weeks a
year to care for a family member or bond with a new
child, up to 20 weeks to deal with a personal medical
issue, and up to 26 weeks to deal with an emergency
related to the deployment of a family member for
military service.
Massachusetts is only the third state in the
country to require a $15 minimum wage. According
to the Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center,
in 2023 the increase will raise the wages of about
840,000 workers, or 25 percent of the workforce
statewide. That includes one in five working parents.
In all, low-wage workers are projected to see a total
wage increase of $2.75 billion over five years.
“These victories, coming on top of the earlier
RUM victories on paid sick leave and raising the
minimum wage to $11, represent some of the biggest
victories for working families in a generation,” said
Page, who serves on the RUM Steering Committee.
On the downside for workers, the bill leads
to the elimination of Sunday and holiday time-and-a-half pay, fails to adequately increase the
sub-minimum wage for tipped workers, and excludes
municipal employees from the minimum wage and
paid leave requirements.
The MTA projects that few, if any, MTA
members will earn less than $15 an hour by 2023,
and the vast majority will have better paid leave
benefits through their union contracts than those
provided under the new law.
“The outcome underscores that organizing is
more important than ever,” said Najimy. “Local
associations must be powerful enough to negotiate a
living wage and fair benefits for all of their members,
and the MTA needs broad member support to make a
compelling case on behalf of educators and students
in the Legislature.”
Massachusetts is only the
third state in the country
to require a $15 minimum
wage.
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