MASSACHUSETTS HAS a crisis on its hands. The Commonwealth faces an alarming labor shortage, with fewer people participating in the workforce and more of the Commonwealth’s residents choosing to move elsewhere. The cost of living is skyrocketing causing many to face hard economic decisions. We cannot afford to ignore this problem, but it’s also a […]
Employment
Posted inEconomy
Women have gone missing from the workforce
AS MASSACHUSETTS employers struggle to attract and retain workers, it’s worth remembering that experienced talent already exists here in the Commonwealth among the tens of thousands of caregivers who have left the workforce since the onset of COVID-19. The good news as we approach International Women’s Day is that many of these caregivers – overwhelmingly […]
Posted inOpinion
Designing benefit plans for ‘platform workers’
THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY has seen significant growth in the “platform workforce:” workers who complete tasks via apps or platforms that allow them to control their own schedule. As of August, 2021, 16 percent of Americans had performed platform work. This new form of work raises a number of challenging issues for labor market policy. Among […]
Posted inEnvironment
Electricity costs skyrocket along with oil usage
THE NEW ENGLAND power grid kept the lights on across the region in January, but at a very high cost financially and in terms of greenhouse gas emissions. The cost of the electricity on the regional wholesale market was $1.4 billion, double what it was in December ($721 million) and almost triple what it was […]
Posted inEnvironment
Close calls as region’s power grid walks a tightrope
This story has been updated. THE OVERSEER of the New England power grid warned on Monday that the region is walking a tightrope this winter, flirting with emergency situations that could result in rolling blackouts. Gordon van Welie, the president and chief executive officer of ISO-New England, said the power grid’s resource mix and fuel […]
Posted inOpinion
Why we need to identify Green Zones
PRESIDENT BIDEN has signed an infrastructure bill that includes $21 billion for environmental remediation and $150 billion to boost clean energy and promote “climate resilience.” This money presents a tremendous opportunity for our communities to increase green infrastructure, address environmental inequality, and foster innovation, focusing on common environmental problems found in Black and Brown sections […]
Posted inEnvironment
Maine judge deals blow to Mass. climate change plan
A MAINE JUDGE dealt a blow on Thursday to a key Massachusetts initiative to address climate change by importing hydroelectricity via a 145-mile transmission line running from Quebec down to Lewiston, Maine. Judge Michael Duddy refused to issue a preliminary injunction barring a voter-approved law blocking the transmission line from taking effect on Sunday. The […]
Posted inEnvironment
Maine judge to rule quickly on transmission line injunction
MAINE DISTRICT Court Judge Michael Duddy said on Wednesday that he would rule in the next two days on whether to grant a preliminary injunction putting on hold a law passed overwhelmingly by the state’s voters blocking construction of a Massachusetts-financed transmission line bringing hydroelectricity into the region from Quebec. The law was approved by […]
Posted inEconomy
Unemployment insurance deficit may have vanished
This story has been updated with a Baker administration response. THE DEFICIT in the state’s unemployment insurance trust fund, expected by some to run into billions of dollars eventually, has apparently vanished, according to a state senator and documents filed with the federal government. The state issued a report for May indicating the trust fund was […]
Posted inEconomy
Reckoning coming as fed unemployment benefits ending
MORE THAN 300,000 Massachusetts residents will lose federal unemployment insurance benefits at the end of this week, and no one is sure what that will mean for them or the state. The federal government is pulling the plug on the benefits, which include an extra $300 a week, extra weeks, and a special program for […]