Statewide

The Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development reported today that the preliminary June job estimates show 3,235,100 jobs in Massachusetts, an increase of 10,400 jobs, with 10,300 jobs added in the private sector. The total unemployment rate in June was unchanged at 7.6 percent. At 7.6 percent for two consecutive months, the Massachusetts unemployment remains well below the 9.2 percent national rate. Both the unemployment rate and the number of unemployed residents are the lowest since February of 2009.

Paul Toner, President of the Massachusetts Teachers Asscoation, writes, "Stephen Eide's argument for switching public employees in Massachusetts from a defined benefit pension system to a defined contribution system (“Time for Real Pension Reform,” July 5, 2011) ignores one major impediment: Doing so would cost the taxpayers of Massachusetts hundreds of millions of dollars a year without improving the benefits provided to retirees."

"Last year Verizon made $3.6 billion in profit in 2010 and paid the top 10 executives handsomely. They paid zero in federal income tax. Their proposals seek to eliminate good jobs. The standards that Verizon workers have are the standards that we should seek for all workers, not a race to the bottom."

<p>Paid sick days are a basic right and should be granted to workers by all employers, proponents of a proposed law said yesterday, as business groups argued that the mandate will hurt job growth during an anemic economic recovery.</p>

At an unusually challenging time for unions representing government workers, Paul Toner has staked out a surprisingly forward-looking position for the one he leads.

“We’re concerned about job losses and any migrating of jobs out of state,” said David Leonardi, president of the Utility Workers of America Local 369 in Braintree. “They were cute and didn’t clearly indicate where those job reductions are going to be.”

Gov. Deval Patrick on Sunday offered light praise for a proposal on his desk to limit collective bargaining over municipal health care benefits, but said he had not decided whether to approve it. “It has come a long way toward what I want. I think there are a couple parts of it I want to look at a little bit more closely before I make a final decision,” Patrick said during an appearance on “Face the Nation” with Bob Schieffer.

The municipal health reforms, intended to save cities and towns money by allowing communities to raise copayments and deductibles outside the collective bargaining process, were ripped by Sens. Kenneth Donnelly, Marc Pacheco, and Steven Tolman, who claimed the plans just shift costs to workers and diminish the voice of labor unions, which Gov. Deval Patrick has vowed to preserve in the reform effort.

Are green jobs good jobs? Two years ago, everyone thought so. Home weatherization was going to create thousands of jobs. We could pull ourselves out of the recession, cut our energy bills, and save the climate. It was a win-win-win. Then reality set in. Weatherization today is a low-road industry. Profit margins are low. Small contractors fight each other for the work. Pay is low, training is minimal, safety is often ignored, and labor laws are frequently violated.