A capacity crowd of nearly 350 unionists, lawmakers and administration officials attended the Greater Boston Labor Council’s annual legislative breakfast on Monday March 3rd. The venue for the event was the rooftop ballroom of the OMNI Parker House in downtown Boston.

Among the speakers were Governor Deval Patrick, House Ways and Means chair Robert DeLeo and Senator Steve Tolman.

GBLC President Louis Mandarini opened the breakfast by issuing a challenge to lawmakers and the administration to find revenues to meet the fiscal problems being faced by communities across the Commonwealth. GBLC Executive Secretary-Treasurer Rich Rogers called for several revenue measures including giving localities the power to assess meals and hospitality taxes, closing of corporate tax loopholes and adoption of Governor Patrick’s destination resort casino proposal. Rogers also spoke out against the Governor’s proposal to shift health care costs on the backs of the state workforce.

Other union speakers were GBLC Vice-President Patricia Armstrong, Frank Callahan President of the Massachusetts Building Trades Council and Tim Sullivan, Legislative Director for the Massachusetts AFL-CIO. Sister Mary Priniski from the Labor Guild gave the invocation at the breakfast.