On Thursday, February 25th, Senators Sonia Chang-Diaz and Ken Donnelly met with union leaders at the Boston Teachers' Union.  Over coffee, the attendees continued a discussion that began at a coffee chat with Senators Tolman and Petruccelli, touching on a variety of issues, both past and pending, on Beacon Hill.  The topics included casino gambling legislation that would create jobs, the problems associated with municipal health care reform that would force unions into the Group Insurance Commission, and the recent education reform bill.

Union leaders emphasized the assault on collective bargaining that has taken place in the past year, highlighting education reform, transportation reform and the repeal of the Quinn Bill as examples of legislative action that has threatened working families in Boston and across the commonwealth by stripping away bargaining rights.

The dialogue, though heated at times, was always respectful, and the senators and union leaders alike appreciated the opportunity for frank discussion.  After the event, ST Rogers noted that "these discussions continue to bear fruit, and hopefully we'll see a stop to the assault on bargaining rights."

The coffee chat was the second in a series of events sanctioned by the GBLC Executive Board that are intended to strengthen the relationship between labor and lawmakers. The next coffee chat is still being scheduled.