Lowell resuable bag factory fined $1.2 Million for violates wage law and retaliation

LOWELL REUSABLE BAG FACTORY TO PAY NEARLY $1.2 Million for NUMEROUS LABOR VIOLATIONS, RETALIATION AGAINST EMPLOYEES

Alleged Violations of State Minimum Wage, Earned Sick Time Law and Federal Overtime and Child Labor Laws; More Than 500 Workers to Receive Restitution

            BOSTON – A Lowell reusable bag factory has agreed to pay nearly $1.2 million to resolve numerous alleged wage and hour law violations and for retaliating against employees, Attorney General Maura Healey announced today. As a result, more than 550 affected workers will receive restitution, some of it in double damages.

“Hundreds of low-income workers were cheated by this employer who we allege tried to evade state labor laws,” said AG Healey. “Our laws ensure that every employee in Massachusetts is paid fairly and these workers will now get back the wages they earned.”

Today’s announcement is the result of a joint enforcement between the AG’s Office and the United States Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division.

The company, known as UnWrapped Inc., primarily sells reusable grocery bags to chain supermarkets and many of its workers are paid by staffing agencies. The AG’s Office alleges that the employer used staffing agencies in an attempt to shield itself from liability, asserting that it did not employ the workers.

                       

In a settlement agreement with the AG’s Office, Unwrapped, Inc. and its president Steven Katz, Esq. have agreed to pay $293,170 for alleged violations of state laws including failure to pay minimum wage, failure to provide earned sick time, and retaliation against two workers who cooperated with the investigation.

            In a related settlement with USDOL, the company and Katz have agreed to pay $890,021 for alleged violations of federal overtime law, plus a penalty of $8,350 for a violation of federal child labor law.

           

            These settlements resolve allegations resulting from a joint investigation by the AG’s Fair Labor Division and the USDOL that began in April 2016 after the matter was referred by the Massachusetts Council on Underground Economy.

The investigation revealed that between April 2014 and April 2016, temporary workers at UnWrapped were paid at an hourly rate below the state minimum wage. These workers will receive double damages for these violations.

The company allegedly did not have an earned sick time policy and employees and workers were not given access to earned sick time. The Massachusetts earned sick time policy allows for workers to use earned sick time if they (or their child, spouse, parent, or spouse’s parent) are sick or injured or have a routine medical appointment.

Additionally, two employees who cooperated during the investigation were fired until Katz agreed to hire them back and pay them for the hours of work missed.
 

The investigation also found that there was an 11-year-old child working at the factory and that workers were not paid one-and-a-half times the regular rate for all hours worked over 40 per week, as required by law.

UnWrapped will be paying restitution to all workers on the job site, regardless of whether the company claims that they were employed by a staffing agency. The AG’s settlement also requires that UnWrapped strengthen their recordkeeping practices, as well those of any staffing agency that they work with. UnWrapped is now posting in its facility information on Massachusetts Wage and Hour Laws.

AG Healey’s Fair Labor Division is responsible for enforcing state laws regulating the payment of wages, including prevailing wage, minimum wage and overtime laws.

Workers who believe that their rights have been violated in their workplace are encouraged to call the Office’s Fair Labor Hotline at (617) 727-3465. More information about the state’s wage and hour laws is also available in multiple languages at the Attorney General’s new Workplace Rights website www.mass.gov/ago/fairlabor.

This matter was handled by Assistant Attorney General Jennifer Scully, Investigator Kevin Shanahan and Division Chief Cynthia Mark, all of Attorney General Healey’s Fair Labor Division

波市議員林乃肯慶祝聖派翠克日 在位十年不再連任 (圖片)

Boston Teachers demand a contract they can call it fair

Boston Teachers “Walk-In” at 100+ Local Schools To Demand a Fair Contract That Helps Students

BOSTON — This morning, Boston teachers and school staff rallied outside Boston schools and walked in before classes began to demand a fair contract that is good for students, good for schools, and fair to educators.

“On behalf of our 76% female teaching force, we’re asking for a contract that protects our most vulnerable students, reduces class sizes in kindergarten classes as well as in schools with the highest needs, and provides paid parental leave for all early-career teachers, but we’ve been treated poorly and disrespectfully,” said Richard Stutman, President of the Boston Teachers Union. “We’ve been bargaining in good faith for months, and it’s time to settle.”

The Boston Teachers Union contract expired in August 2016.

“Under the current contract, I won’t be able to take any paid maternity leave time,” said Leila Parks, a third year teacher and expectant mother. “I hope that the city will apply its new maternity leave policy to include early career teachers as well.”

“Special education inclusion, done well, is a priority for us,” explained Nicole Mullen, a Boston Public Schools teacher and BTU negotiating team member. “We believe in inclusion, but know that for it to be successful, we need to have to full staffing and the right supports in place. That’s what we’re fighting for.” 

The current Boston Public Schools contract proposal would harm our most vulnerable students in Inclusion classes, would maintain high class size maxima in kindergarten and schools that have the highest needs, and would fail to provide paid parental leave (currently provided to all non-unionized city employees) for our early-career teachers.

“We’ve been negotiating for 14 months, and we’ve met 32 times in negotiations, for over 200 hours, but we have had no success,” said Melanie Allen, a Boston Public Schools parent, teacher, and BTU negotiating team member. “We have little doubt that, were the BTU a workforce that was 76% male, we’d have settled the contract by now.”

MA Drought Conditions Improved

Drought Conditions Improve Across Commonwealth,

Water Deficit Continues Throughout State

Monitoring of Water Resources to Continue, Indoor Water Conservation by Public Necessary

BOSTON – March 10, 2017 – While many areas of the state experienced some levels of precipitation in February, a majority of the state continues to experience a water deficit. As a result, Energy and Environmental Affairs (EEA) Secretary Matthew Beaton today declared the following drought levels throughout the Commonwealth: a Drought Watch for the Connecticut River Valley and Southeast Region, down from a Drought Warning in the month of February; and a Drought Advisory for the Western, Central, and Northeast Region as well as the Cape and Islands, down from a Drought Watch for the Western and Central Regions in the month of February, and unchanged for the Northeast Region and Cape and Islands. The declaration was the result of a recommendation issued from a recent meeting of the Drought Management Task Force, comprised of state and federal officials, and other entities, and will remain in effect until water levels return to normal in the affected regions.

“While we remain cautiously optimistic of recent rain events, the Commonwealth is still in the midst of a long-term drought, which has resulted in a precipitation deficit over the course of more than two years,” said Energy and Environmental Affairs Secretary Matthew Beaton. “The Baker-Polito Administration asks that the public continues to monitor indoor home water usage by fixing leaks in their system and practicing best water conservation methods in order to allow the state’s water systems to further rebound.”

“Drought conditions across the Commonwealth improved over the past month as a result of precipitation and the public’s water conservation efforts.  Nonetheless, the drought persists and it remains critical that the public continues to conserve water,” said Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency (MEMA) Director Kurt Schwartz. “Additionally, with spring and summer fast approaching, and the likelihood of drought conditions continuing for the foreseeable future, now is the time to plan for, and implement outdoor water conservation measures to offset the expected seasonal increase in the demand for water to support recreational and agricultural activities.”   

A Drought Watch, as outlined in the Massachusetts Drought Management Plan, warrants detailed monitoring of drought conditions, close coordination among state and federal agencies, and technical outreach and assistance for the affected municipalities. The declaration of a Drought Advisory indicates a level of dry conditions that warrants closer tracking by government agencies. 

The state continues to intensely monitor and assess the drought situation, and any associated environmental and agricultural impacts. Furthermore, the state asks the public to be mindful of the amount of water they are using, and to reduce indoor water use, address leaks as soon as possible, and for larger buildings and businesses to conduct water audits to ensure they identify areas of leaks and potential water conservation. All these steps will greatly help reduce water use to ensure essential needs such as drinking water and fire protection are being met, habitats have enough water to recover, and to stretch our water supplies into the spring.

The Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP) continues to provide technical assistance to communities on managing systems, including assistance on use of emergency connections and water supplies, as well as assisting towns on how to request a declaration of drought emergency.

“After several months of near normal precipitation we have seen conditions improve, but we are still dealing with a deficit acquired over the last two years,” said Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner Martin Suuberg. “The next two months are especially important to ensure that we enter the heavy water-use season with conditions as near-normal as possible. We ask for people’s continued attention to conservation and advise everyone to be aware of any specific limitations imposed by their local public water system.”

Task Force officials also noted the lack of snow pack at this time of the year that would typically result in slow recharge of the ground during the winter and spring months. Additionally, officials noted that while reservoir levels are recovering during this natural recharge period, some are still below normal. The Massachusetts Water Resources Authority (MWRA) water supply system is not currently experiencing drought conditions, as defined within its individual plan.

“Unfortunately, we did not get much of a snowpack in the Quabbin Reservoir watershed and the recent rains seemed to have missed it as well,” said MWRA Executive Director Fred Laskey. “It is going to be increasingly important that residents and businesses practice conservation measures as we start getting into the warmer months.”

The declaration of a Drought Watch and a Drought Advisory requires the Drought Management Task Force to meet on a regular basis to more closely assess conditions across the state, coordinate dissemination of information to the public, and help state, federal and local agencies prepare any responses that may be needed in the future. The Task Force will next meet in April. For further information on water conservation and what residents can do, visit the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs’ drought page, the Department of Conservation and Recreation’s drought management page, and the MassDEP Water Conservation page.

$850,000 in Community Compact Grants awarded

Baker-Polito Administration Awards Over $850,000 in Community Compact Grants

Second round of Efficiency and Regionalization Grants awarded to 38 communities

BOSTON – Today the Baker-Polito Administration awarded over $850,000 in Community Compact Cabinet grants to 38 municipalities and 8 school districts across the Commonwealth. These grants will assist municipalities in exploring and implementing efficiency and regionalization initiatives. In December, the administration awarded more than $1 million to over 70 municipalities during the first round of Community Compact Cabinet’s efficiency and regionalization grants.

“Our administration formed the Community Compact Cabinet, led by Lieutenant Governor Polito, to solidify state government’s role as a reliable partner for cities and towns,” said Governor Charlie Baker. “We are proud to announce the second round of grants to help cities, towns, and school districts from across the Commonwealth work together on improving their regionalization and efficiency efforts to better serve their residents.”

“We are pleased to continue supporting our municipalities through this effective grant program,” said Lieutenant Governor Karyn Polito, Chair of the Community Compact Cabinet. “As former local officials, Governor Baker and I understand the importance of maintaining strong relationships with our 351 cities and towns and we believe these grants will increase efficiencies and maximize taxpayer dollars to make every corner of the Commonwealth a better place to live, work and raise a family.”

“Supporting our cities and towns and giving them the tools to best deliver services has been a priority since the administration has taken office,” said Administration and Finance Secretary Kristen Lepore. “The $2 million in regionalization and efficiency grants awarded over the last four months will help the Commonwealth’s cities and towns better serve their communities in a more efficient way, and I am pleased that we once again are able to provide this important funding.”

The Community Compact Cabinet’s Efficiency & Regionalization grant program is a new initiative for Fiscal Year 2017 that provides financial support for governmental entities interested in implementing regionalization and other efficiency initiatives that allow for long-term sustainability. The grants will provide funds for one-time or transition costs for municipalities, regional school districts, school districts considering  forming a regional school district or regionalizing services, regional planning agencies and councils of governments interested in such projects.

The Governor’s FY18 budget proposal filed in January, 2017 includes $2 million for the Community Compact Best Practices program and $2 million to continue supporting these thoughtful efficiency and regionalization grants. Also previously announced, the Governor’s third capital budget, released this upcoming spring, will provide another $2 million for the Community Compact IT Grant program.

Grant Recipients:

Regionalization / Shared Services

• Rural Economic Development Planning (Chester, Blandford, Huntington, Middlefield, Montgomery, and Russell) - $100,511
• Joint Economic Development (Boston, Braintree, Cambridge, Chelsea, Quincy and Somerville) - $100,000
• Shared Town Administrator (Lenox and Lee) - $86,000
• Metropolitan Area Planning Council (MAPC) On-line Permitting Platform and Shared Permit Data Standard (Ayer, Milton, North Reading, Westborough) - $70,619
• Regional Animal Control (Fitchburg, Lunenburg, Townsend) - $42,257
• Berkshire Regional Planning Commission (BRPC) Economic Development Planning Services (Clarksburg, Great Barrington, Hinsdale, and Lanesborough) - $22,735

Municipal / School Shared Services

• Wareham Town and School HR Functions - $72,499
• Carver Town and School Facilities Department - $41,500
• Easthampton City and School IT Department Consolidation - $38,000
• Southbridge Town and School Facilities Management Team - $35,000
• Norwell Town Hall and School Administration Building Consolidation - $25,000

School Regionalization

• Exploration of further consolidation of the Quabbin Regional School District - $100,000
• Exploration of  further school regionalization (Orange Elementary School District and Petersham Center School District to the Ralph C. Mahar Regional School District) - $53,000
• Exploration of forming a Regionalization School District (Acushnet Public Schools and Fairhaven Public Schools) - $40,000
• Exploration of further consolidation of the Adams-Cheshire Regional School District - $28,000

About the Community Compact Cabinet:

Formed in January 2015, the Community Compact Cabinet is chaired by Lt. Governor Polito and comprised of the secretaries of Housing & Economic Development, Education, Transportation, and Energy & Environmental Affairs, the Senior Deputy Commissioner of Local Services, the Assistant Secretary of Operational Services, and the Chief Information Officer of the Commonwealth. The Community Compact Cabinet elevates the Administration’s partnerships with cities and towns, and allows the Governor’s Office to work more closely with leaders from all municipalities. The Cabinet champions municipal interests across all executive secretariats and agencies, and develops, in consultation with cities and towns, mutual standards and best practices for both the state and municipalities.  The creation of Community Compacts creates clear standards, expectations and accountability for both partners.

As of today, 266 compacts have been signed

$90,000 in Grant Funding to promote equal opportunity for women, minority in construction

AG HEALEY LAUNCHES GRANT PROGRAM TO PROMOTE EQUAL OPPORTUNITY FOR WOMEN, MINORITY WORKERS IN THE CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY

Program Will Award Total of $90,000 in Grant Funding to Eligible Applicants 

 BOSTON – Continuing her commitment to advance the economic opportunity of Massachusetts residents, Attorney General Maura Healey today announced a new grant program aimed at providing opportunities for women and minority workers and small business owners in the public construction industry.

“The construction industry provides highly-skilled and good-paying jobs that help families thrive,” said AG Healey. “This grant will help ensure that these opportunities continue to be accessible to women and minorities in our state.”

The Equal Opportunity in the Construction Trades Grant program will provide funding to projects that promote opportunity through apprenticeship programs, job trainings and diversity and inclusion trainings, and support and outreach programs. The new program is open to workers’ centers, unions, non-profit organizations, chambers of commerce, public schools, municipalities, small businesses, and post-secondary student organizations.

The grant program will utilize funding from a judgment the AG’s False Claims Division secured with CTA Construction Company for the purpose of promoting equal opportunity in public construction, employment or education.

The AG’s Office anticipates awarding a total of $90,000 to multiple grantees. The funding will be awarded to recipients in two ranges:

·         One or more grants of up to $40,000 will be awarded to eligible unions, municipalities, schools, small businesses, nonprofit organizations and chambers of commerce to provide education, training and technical skills to workers interested in careers in the construction industry and;

·         One or more micro-grants of up to $10,000 will be awarded to eligible nonprofit organizations or student organizations to fund outreach and training for women and minority workers to join the construction industry.

Special consideration will be given to applicants who can demonstrate the grant will be used to promote equal opportunity within underrepresented populations including veterans.

This is a one-year grant program that will start on June 1, 2017 and end on May 31, 2018. Interested applicants can visit the AG’s website, www.mass.gov/ago/grants for more information and for application instructions. Applications must be received by 4 p.m. on Friday, March 31, 2017.

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AG HEALEY LAUNCHES GRANT PROGRAM TO PROMOTE EQUAL OPPORTUNITY FOR WOMEN, MINORITY WORKERS IN THE CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY

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Tito Jackson will not participate in St. Patrick's Day Parade this year

Statement By City Councillor Tito Jackson On His Decision To Not March In The 2017 St. Patrick's Day Parade Regardless of Whether OutVets Decides To March Or Not

Boston, MA - Boston City Councillor Tito Jackson will not participate in the 2017 St. Patrick's Day Parade regardless of whatever decision OutVets reaches about their own participation. He released the following statement this afternoon:

I am proud to have marched in the South Boston St. Patrick's Day Parade only when our LGBTQ veterans have also been invited to participate. I did look forward to doing the same this year, but after the shabby and disrespectful way OutVets, a group of distinguished and honorable LGBTQ veterans have been treated by some of the Parade's organizers, the South Boston Allied War Veterans Council, I have no interest in participating in this event until members of the LGBTQ community are permanently included. The nine narrow-minded committee members who voted to exclude OutVets on March 8, 2017 failed to meet the standards this nation and city pride themselves on - a deep and abiding commitment to treating every person with the dignity and respect they deserve.

Boston is a welcoming community, one that celebrates diversity in all its forms, and I am proud to be a part of this great city that has led the nation in our shared struggles to battle against LGBTQ, gender, and racial discrimination.

I am proud to stand with OutVets. I am also proud to stand with the four members of the organizing committee who did vote to include OutVets earlier this week. And I am proud to stand with the people of South Boston who I know are equally as outraged by the treatment of OutVets and other members of the LGBTQ community as I am. Discrimination should have no friend in Boston, and I will not support an event organized by some who went out of their way to exclude our LGBTQ friends and neighbors.

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哈佛設計學院3/20邀波士頓市長演講

CAMBRIDGE, MA - Boston Mayor Martin J. Walsh will give the 17th Annual John T. Dunlop Lecture on Monday, March 20, 2017 at the Harvard Graduate School of Design at 6:30 pm. The lecture is free and open to the public (registration required), and will also be webcast live on the Joint Center for Housing Studies website.

Since taking office in 2014, Mayor Walsh has made his mark in Boston and, increasingly, on the national stage as well. A former leader of Boston's construction trade unions who also served as a state representative, he has made housing and community development central to his efforts to ensure that Boston is a "thriving, healthy, and innovative" city with "equality and opportunity for all."

In 2014, the new administration released Housing a Changing City: Boston 2030, which stated that Boston needed to create 53,000 housing units to accommodate the city's growing population. The city is expected to soon top 700,000 people for the first time since the 1950s and, in keeping with this plan, permitted almost 20,000 new units by 2016 and is reviewing plans for about 20,000 more.

The city, which built a state-of- the-art shelter for homeless people, is also developing strategies to effectively end chronic homelessness and has launched Imagine Boston 2030, which will produce Boston's first comprehensive plan in over 50 years.

In addition, the Walsh administration has undertaken notable efforts to keep Boston at the forefront of the global innovation economy, to strengthen its schools, expand opportunities for historically disadvantaged communities, improve police-community relations, and address Boston's troubled history of race relations.

In recent months, Mayor Walsh has also emerged as an important voice in national debates about immigration and other key federal policies and programs that could greatly affect residents, neighborhoods, and communities in Boston and other cities.

The John T. Dunlop Lecture, presented annually by the Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies, honors a distinguished member of the Harvard community in recognizing the contributions of Professor John T. Dunlop. In addition to serving as Chairman of the Economics Department and Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, Professor Dunlop was United States Secretary of Labor during the Ford administration. Professor Dunlop had a lifetime career in mediation, arbitration and dispute resolution. A commitment to the nation's construction industries and housing also distinguished his work. He served as chairman of the Construction Industry Stabilization Committee and played a role in the establishment of the National Institute for Building Sciences. Dunlop was inducted into the National Housing Hall of Fame by the National Association of Home Builders in 1986.

BOSTON PUBLIC LIBRARY’S SHAKESPEARE UNAUTHORIZED EXHIBITION ON VIEW THROUGH MARCH 31

BOSTON PUBLIC LIBRARY’S SHAKESPEARE UNAUTHORIZED EXHIBITION ON VIEW THROUGH MARCH 31

Exhibition presented by Iron Mountain Incorporated, three weeks remain to view

BOSTON – March 09, 2017 – Boston Public Library honors William Shakespeare’s lasting legacy with its Shakespeare Unauthorized exhibition, on view through the end of the month in the McKim Exhibition Hall at the Central Library in Copley Square. The exhibition, with 54,735 visitors to date, is presented in conjunction with the ongoing BPL citywide initiative All the City’s a Stage: A Season of Shakespeare at the Boston Public Library, commemorating the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare’s death in 2016 and connecting audiences to theater and the dramatic arts with programs throughout the library system.  Shakespeare programming continues through June, with upcoming performances by Seven Times Salt, “Sonnets and Soliloquies” by Carey and Gibson, a Lowell Lecture Series talk by Marjorie Garber, Shakespeare to Hip Hop, and more.

Boston Public Library holds one of the largest and most comprehensive publicly-held collections of Shakespeare, including the first four folios of his collected works, 45 early quarto editions of individual plays, and thousands of volumes of early source material, commentaries, translations, manuscripts, and more. Visit www.bpl.org/shakespeare to view the complete offerings of the initiative.

Shakespeare Unauthorized: Experience the original works of “The Bard”

Shakespeare Unauthorized, a major gallery exhibition on view from October 14, 2016 through March 31, 2017, includes extraordinarily rare first and early editions of familiar and beloved plays like A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Hamlet, and The Merchant of Venice, as well as all four Shakespearean folios, most notably the BPL’s own copy of the world-famous First Folio. Through the pages of these precious books, visitors can experience Shakespeare in his original language and spelling, just as he would have been read by book lovers and theater-goers hundreds of years ago.

Shakespeare Unauthorized is made possible through the financial support of Iron Mountain Incorporated (NYSE: IRM), the global leader in storage and information management services. Based in Boston, Iron Mountain provides charitable grants of funding and in-kind services to cultural and historical preservation projects like Shakespeare Unauthorized through its Living Legacy Initiative.

Shakespeare Unauthorized contains far more than just books of plays: this exhibition features surprising rarities and mysterious objects; scandalous forgeries made by con men and accomplished scholars; books from the luxurious private libraries of early English aristocrats; and memorabilia from four centuries of acting and stagecraft.

C&G Partners created the engaging exhibition design that showcases the extraordinary historic material on display in Shakespeare Unauthorized.

About BOSTON PUBLIC LIBRARYBoston Public Library has a Central Library, twenty-four branches, map center, business library, and a website filled with digital content and services. Established in 1848, the Boston Public Library has pioneered public library service in America. It was the first large free municipal library in the United States, the first public library to lend books, the first to have a branch library, and the first to have a children’s room. Each year, the Boston Public Library hosts thousands of programs and serves millions of people. All of its programs and exhibitions are free and open to the public. At the Boston Public Library, books are just the beginning. To learn more, visit bpl.org.

About IRON MOUNTAIN

Iron Mountain Incorporated® (NYSE: IRM) is the global leader for storage and information management services. Trusted by more than 220,000 organizations around the world, Iron Mountain’s real estate network comprises more than 85 million square feet across more than 1,400 facilities in 45 countries dedicated to protecting and preserving what matters most for its customers. Iron Mountain’s solutions portfolio includes records management, data management, document management, data centers, art storage and logistics, and secure shredding, helping organizations to lower storage costs, comply with regulations, recover from disaster, and better use their information. Founded in 1951, Iron Mountain stores and protects billions of information assets, including critical business documents, electronic information, medical data and cultural and historical artifacts. Visit www.ironmountain.com for more information.

Image: William Shakespeare’s First Folio, 1623. Boston Public Library, Rare Books Department.

Martin Walsh's statement on Outvets and St. Patrick parade

STATEMENT FROM MAYOR MARTIN J. WALSH

BOSTON - Wednesday, March 8, 2017 - Mayor Martin J. Walsh released the following statement regarding the exclusion of OUTVETS from this year's St. Patrick's Day parade: "I will not tolerate discrimination in our city of any form. We are one Boston, which means we are a fully inclusive city. I will not be marching in the parade unless this is resolved. Anyone who values what our city stands for should do the same."