Gig economy companies like Uber and Instacart are exploiting workers by misclassifying them as independent contracts and not employees, which limits the employment protections they deserve to have.
Economy
Posted inPolitics
New AFL-CIO president Chrissy Lynch on the changing face of labor
Chrissy Lynch is the Massachusetts AFL-CIO’s first female head, succeeding Steven Tolman this fall to be the first new president in more than a decade to lead the 800-organization federation.
Posted inBy The Numbers
Mass. residents bullish on future — with some big asterisks
More than half of Massachusetts residents think the state’s best days are ahead, or already here, and more than two thirds say their family enjoys a good quality of life, according to a new CommonWealth Beacon poll.
Posted inOpinion
Don’t underestimate new AFL-CIO president Chrissy Lynch
NEARLY 50 YEARS AGO, I was hired by a prominent union side labor law firm as the first woman to practice union side labor law in Massachusetts. I learned that […]
Posted inPolitics
Short takes: It’s Baker vs. Healey (in state Senate race)
IT WAS THE MARQUEE showdown for governor that never happened. For months, Republican Charlie Baker kept political watchers guessing whether he’d seek a third term as governor. On the Democratic […]
Posted inEconomy, Housing, State Government
Healey wades in on real estate transfer fee
GOV. MAURA HEALEY’S support for allowing municipalities to enact a real estate transfer tax could offer some cover to the cities and towns that have been agitating for the controversial […]
Posted inEconomy
Massachusetts is a 21st century frontier state
AT THE SAME time that chaos was brewing in the House of Representatives in Washington and our Patriots flamed out to the Cowboys in Dallas and then collapsed to the […]
Posted inEconomy
Foreign-educated immigrants can strengthen the Mass. economy
IN THE 2023 CNBC Top States for Business rankings, Massachusetts was rated among the best states for technology and innovation, education, access to capital, and life, health, and inclusion. Similarly, […]
Posted inOpinion
Why Massachusetts struggles in startup competition
LAST WEEK, the federal government announced that Cambridge will be one of three hubs for ARPA-H, a new research funding agency for the health care sector. This is great news […]
Posted inHealth Care
House OKs pay range disclosure bill
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE THE MASSACHUSETTS Legislature unanimously passed a law in 2016 to address the yawning gap between the wages paid to men and women doing the same work, […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Boston business leader speaks out in support of police grants
DETAILS OVER THE inner workings of the Boston Police Department are not the usual focus of the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce. But after watching a two-year standoff over whether […]
Posted inEconomy
Arriving Haitians want to work — let’s cut the red tape that’s stopping them
BEFORE HE FLED to Boston from the chaos and violence engulfing Haiti, Johnny L. was a physician. While waiting for his US work permit and learning English at Jewish Vocational […]
Posted inHealth Care
The costs of drug pricing middlemen
In the fight against ever-rising drug prices, attention is increasingly zeroing in on a little-noticed middleman of the pharmaceutical chain – pharmacy benefit managers. Pharmacy benefit managers, or PBMs, are […]
Posted inEconomy
Report says Boston region teetering on ‘the precipice’
THE GOOD NEWS is the Boston area is hardly alone in facing serious headwinds from the pandemic’s upending of work patterns and the uncertainty it’s introduced about our economic future. […]
Posted inEducation
Campus food pantry a response to grim reality
A SINGLE MOTHER to a six-year old girl with special needs, Kiara Rosario came close to dropping out of Roxbury Community College when she couldn’t feed herself or her little […]
Posted inPolitics
Another union push from legislative staffers
A YEAR AFTER being rebuffed in their efforts to form a union, legislative staff members on Beacon Hill are making another run at the goal, this time pursuing legislative change […]
Posted inEconomy, Energy, Government
Governors, including Healey, raise concerns about offshore wind pricing
SIX GOVERNORS, including Maura Healey of Massachusetts, are raising concerns about an expected rise in the cost of electricity from offshore wind procurements and asking the federal government to step […]
Posted inEconomy, Government, Housing
Augustus: No silver bullets in the housing crisis
THE MASSACHUSETTS housing world is under strain from every angle, and every housing gambit is a long game. Healey administration housing officials are facing a bleak to-deal-with list, hampered by […]
Posted inEconomy, Energy, Government
Will new offshore wind bids bring competitive pricing?
AT LEAST THREE of the five offshore wind developers with leases off the coast of Massachusetts are likely to submit bids in the state’s next procurement, but it’s unclear whether […]
Posted inEconomy, Energy, Government, Politics
Healey launches offshore wind procurement at risky time
GOV. MAURA HEALEY launched what she described as the region’s largest offshore wind procurement this week. “With our top academic institutions, robust workforce training programs, innovative companies, and support from […]
Posted inCourts, Economy
SJC sides with Galvin in imposing higher standards on broker-dealers
IN THE WORLD OF FINANCE, only those who offer specific investment advice have been held to the highest standard of care for their clients. When Secretary of State Bill Galvin […]
Posted inArts and Culture
UMass Dartmouth exit a tough blow for New Bedford
WHILE STUDENTS ACROSS the state descend on campuses for fall move-in day, Monday was move out day for Zeph Luck. With a backseat loaded with canvases, the 26-year-old grad student […]
Posted inEnvironment
A sea change on managed retreat?
As waters rise, coastal residents are increasingly facing a difficult choice: try to relocate in a difficult housing market and take losses on their homes, or get comfortable with a future where there may be multiple feet of water in their living rooms.
Posted inOpinion
Bill filed by Neal would devastate life sciences
THE BIOTECHNOLOGY and pharmaceutical sector in the Boston area is about to hit some rough water. According to the Brussels-based consulting firm Vital Transformation, the prescription drug price controls in […]
