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Massachusetts AFL-CIO weighs in on unions, presidential race and ending MCAS requirement

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Massachusetts AFL-CIO weighs in on unions, presidential race and ending MCAS requirement


BOSTON – During an interview on the Sunday edition of “Keller At Large,” Massachusetts AFL-CIO president Chrissy Lynch talked about the state of labor in Massachusetts. Lynch also discussed why the organization is backing Democrat Kamala Harris this November.

Protecting the Right to Organize Act

“It’s really hard to organize a union,” said Lynch, a South Shore native and veteran labor activist who’s been busy trying to change that for the past 11 months since stepping into her current role.

Lynch discussed the importance of passing the Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act, a bill filed in Congress several years ago that establish and expand a range of protections of workers’ rights to organize and bargain collectively. 

“Corporations have figured out how to make it impossible for workers who want to join a union to join,” Lynch said. “The PRO Act would really level the playing field.”

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Who is the Massachusetts AFL-CIO backing for president?

Lynch said the AFL-CIO’s top priority this election season is electing Democratic nominee Kamala Harris president, and she had a message for rank-and-file union members who are considering supporting Republican nominee Donald Trump. 

“I would ask them to please look at the issues, because that’s what we do. We don’t look at the personalities. We look at where do you stand?” Lynch said. “And on issue after issue, Donald Trump has a playbook to sew working class division to keep us fighting with each other over the crumbs. Kamala Harris and Tim Walz throughout their time in public office have consistently stood with working people, have consistently fought for and effectively passed laws to actually help working people to grow the middle class. And it’s very clear to me and to many of our leaders, when you look at the issues, who is with working people and who pays working people lip service.”

Should Massachusetts end MCAS requirement?

As for the Massachusetts ballot questions, Lynch said the labor group is “all in” supporting Question Two, which would end the state’s use of MCAS test passage as a graduation requirement.

“We hear from our educator members and unions that high stakes testing is bad for classrooms,” she says. “These classrooms are the working conditions of our educators, and they’re the learning conditions of our kids. I’ve got two kids in public schools. This is very personal to me, and when teachers see that students are struggling to learn the basics because they are stressing out, they are teaching to a test that’s not good for classrooms, that’s not good for kids.”

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Massachusetts

State police say Friday’s storm caused 200 crashes across Massachusetts

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State police say Friday’s storm caused 200 crashes across Massachusetts


State police say Friday’s storm caused 200 crashes across Massachusetts – CBS Boston

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State Police say they responded to 200 crashes on Friday across Massachusetts due to the snowstorm.

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Dangerousness hearing held for Taunton man in Fall River after Massachusetts, Rhode Island State Police make trafficking arrest involving Bristol, Plymouth, RI counties

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Dangerousness hearing held for Taunton man in Fall River after Massachusetts, Rhode Island State Police make trafficking arrest involving Bristol, Plymouth, RI counties


A dangerousness hearing was held Friday for a Bristol County man after a drug trafficking investigation led to his arrest.

According to Massachusetts State Police, during May and June of this year, members of the Commonwealth Interstate Narcotics Reduction Enforcement Team – South initiated an investigation into narcotics trafficking. Intelligence revealed that 33-year-old Jason Hodo of Taunton was distributing trafficking quantities of fentanyl and cocaine in Rhode Island and throughout Plymouth and Bristol Counties in Massachusetts. Investigators completed extensive traditional and covert surveillance, record checks, and intelligence analysis. The investigation led to warrants being sought and granted to search for all controlled substances at all locations related to Hodo.

In June, executing officers followed Hodo in his vehicle after he departed the Rhode Island location and drove to a Taunton gas station. Hodo was detained, searched, and arrested after amounts of fentanyl and cocaine were located. Members then executed the “knock and announce” search warrants without incident at locations in both states.

The searches in Massachusetts led to the seizure of approximately 528 grams of fentanyl, 206 grams of cocaine, and nearly $22,000 from Hodo’s person and vehicle. Hodo was eventually transported to State Police-Middleboro for booking on charges related to Trafficking Class A and Class B Substances.

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A simultaneous search of the Rhode Island location by Rhode Island State Police revealed the following: two firearms loaded with high-capacity magazines, approximately 12 grams of fentanyl, nearly $19,000, several high value bars of gold, jewelry, and a diamond/gold chain with receipt for $103,000.

Previously in Fall River Superior Court, Hodo pled not guilty at his arraignment and was held without bail pending a dangerousness hearing scheduled for Friday.

On Friday, also in Fall River Superior Court, dangerousness was taken under advisement with Hodo still held without bail.

His next scheduled court appearance is a pre-trial conference in February.

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Mass. State Lottery winner: Lucky store sold 6 winning tickets Friday

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Mass. State Lottery winner: Lucky store sold 6 winning tickets Friday


It was the final day of the fall, but for one store in Arlington, it was their luckiest day of the year.

On Friday, Dec. 20, Peter Pan Superette in Arlington sold six winning Keno tickets, each worth $9,600.

While over the course of the year the store has at times sold two winners in one day, Friday was the only time in 2024 the total grew to six.

Overall, at least 565 worth $600 or more were won or claimed in Massachusetts on Friday, including six in Springfield, 29 in Worcester and 42 in Boston.

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The Massachusetts State Lottery releases a full list of winning tickets every day. The list only includes winning tickets worth more than $600.

So far, the largest lottery prize won in Massachusetts this year was worth $1 million a year for life.

The prize was from the lottery’s “Lifetime Millions” scratch ticket game. The winner claimed their prize through a trust on July 10, and opted to receive a one-time payment of $15.4 million.



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