Greater Southeastern Mass.

Mayor Scott W. Lang and the police union have come to terms on a contract agreement that would see police receive a retroactive 2 percent pay increase dating back to July 1, 2009.

The layoffs come as two courthouses in Fall River have been vacant for about a year and two court buildings in Taunton are set to shut down, while the newly constructed Taunton Trial Court is set to open later this summer. Jordan Louro, facilities manager for the county courthouses and registry buildings, said the layoffs are tough for the outgoing employees. “It’s a sad situation,” Louro said. “They are out of work. Some of them are old as 58 years old. That’s tough. Who’s going to want a 58-year-old guy?”

"Work in Progress: Workers See Themselves Through a New Lens," which opens Monday, is the result of a photography workshop devised by the UMass Dartmouth Labor Education Center and the Zeiterion Performing Arts Center, in which steel workers, carpenters, health care workers, a secretary, a union organizer, and educators picked up cameras to document everyday work experiences. Their guide: Renowned photojournalist Peter Pereira, who recently took some time to discuss the transforming experience.

LAKEVILLE — The police and firefighters, who wanted the safety net of a Civil Service recall list if <b>laid off</b>, were denied by special Town Meeting voters, 75-51, Monday night. The article, submitted by petition, asked the town to file <b>...</b>

Firefighter John Pytel, secretary of the firefighters union, addressed the Board of Selectmen Monday night to explain the warrant article. "It gives us the ability to have a back up plan, if the town were to come into financial crisis and there were layoffs," he said. "There have been layoffs on the police department, and on the fire department we're down one position from when I started."

The owners of multiple Dunkin Donuts franchises in Westport, Dartmouth, Fairhaven and this city have been fined by the attorney general’s office for violating the state’s child labor laws. Timothy E. Cloe, 44, of Dartmouth and Sebastian Agapite, 46, of Canton, were cited and fined nearly $6,000 for multiple violations of the law.

AFT President Tom Gosnell explains the unionization process at a charter school on the Cape.

Locally, communities like Attleboro, Rehoboth and Seekonk fell below the 10 percent unemployment level for the first time in almost a year. Attleboro's rate fell to 9.3 percent in April from 10.8 percent in March.