Sep 1, 2022
Unions Representing Nearly Half a Million Workers Join Growing Coalition Supporting Fair Share Amendment Tax on Million-Dollar Earners on November Ballot
BOSTON – Ahead of Labor Day weekend, the campaign working to pass the Fair Share
Amendment, the proposed state tax on incomes above $1 million which would raise billions of
dollars to invest in transportation and public education, today announced the endorsement of
80 labor unions from across the state. The Fair Share Amendment is Question 1 on the
November statewide ballot.
“Union members across Massachusetts are voting Yes on Question 1 in November because we
work hard and pay our fair share, and it’s time for the very rich to pay their fair share too,” said
Steven Tolman, President of the Massachusetts AFL-CIO. “Question 1 would constitutionally
dedicate $2 billion every year to fixing our roads, bridges, schools, colleges, and transit
infrastructure, and only those making more than $1 million a year would pay a penny more.
That’s a win for working people, and a win for Massachusetts.”
The 80 labor unions collectively represent nearly half a million workers across Massachusetts,
including teachers, bus and truck drivers, nurses, carpenters, educators, grocery workers,
custodians, healthcare workers, paraprofessionals, electricians, property service workers,
plumbers, school counselors, human service workers, roofers, and many more.
“Tens of thousands of educators all across Massachusetts are voting Yes on Question 1 — and
organizing our neighbors to vote Yes — because we know that Question 1 will make our tax
system fairer and generate billions of dollars for our public schools and colleges," said Max
Page, President of the Massachusetts Teachers Association. "States that invest in basic public
goods like transportation and public education have stronger economies, and Question 1 will
help us build a healthy economy that works for everyone. As we recover from the pandemic,
Massachusetts students need smaller class sizes and more one-on-one instruction from fairly-paid educators. Our public colleges need to be more affordable, so that future generations
aren't forced to take on debt to receive a degree. Question 1 will deliver better schools and
more affordable public colleges, and only the very rich who earn more than a million dollars a
year will pay for it.”
“As a caregiver, I have seen firsthand how COVID has created more barriers for working families
to get ahead, while the super-rich get richer,” said Paulena Bergeron, a 1199SEIU member and
personal care attendant from Springfield. “To change this inequity, our vision for the future
must be greater than the past. And that starts with the Fair Share Amendment. Question 1
invests in us and the communities we live in and care for. I’m voting Yes on 1 to help create a
Massachusetts that works for all.”
“Our students are facing incredible challenges right now, and Question 1 is a once-in-a-
generation chance to make our schools better," said AFT Massachusetts President Beth
Kontos. "Teachers and students have worked incredibly hard over the last few years, while the
super rich kept getting richer and richer. With Question 1, those who earn more than a million
dollars annually will finally pay their fair share, and our students will have better-funded
schools from K-12, and access to affordable public college when they graduate.”
“As nurses, whether it be those working in school health offices, hospital emergency
departments, community health centers or mental health facilities, we see the impacts of
growing economic inequality on the health and wellbeing of the most vulnerable in our society,
and as such, we believe it is time for the super rich in our society to bear an equal burden and
to pay their fair share for the good of all, which is why we have endorsed this initiative,” said
Katie Murphy, RN, a frontline critical care nurse and president of the Massachusetts Nurses
Association.
“Massachusetts Building Trades Unions are proud to endorse the Fair Share Amendment to
ensure all Massachusetts residents pay their Fair Share and in the process, create jobs and
development in transportation and education across the Commonwealth,” said Frank Callahan,
President of the Massachusetts Building Trades Unions.
“Working people know that better schools and reliable roads and bridges are the best way to
grow our economy and make it work for everyone – that’s why we’re supporting Question 1,”
said Peter MacKinnon, President of SEIU Local 509. “99 percent of us won’t pay anything more,
but we’ll all benefit when our kids have more teachers, our roads have fewer potholes, and our
tax system is fairer.”
The labor unions join more than 300 organizations and thousands of activists across the state
who are working together to pass Question 1 on the ballot. The campaign previously
announced support from 63 community organizing groups, 26 housing and community
development organizations, 28 social service providers, 15 faith-based groups, 7 public health
organizations, 7 environmental and climate organizations, and 10 transportation advocacy
organizations, as well as more than 50 businesses across the state. After years of grassroots
advocacy, the state Legislature voted in June 2021 to place the Fair Share Amendment on the
November 2022 statewide ballot, where it is now set to be decided on by the voters as
Question 1.
The full list of endorsing labor unions is below, and a full list of organizations that have
endorsed Question 1 is available at fairsharema.com/endorsements.
1199SEIU
32BJ SEIU
AFGE Local 3258
AFT Amesbury Local 1033
AFT Local 1340 Chelsea Teachers Union
AFT Maintainers Local 6350
AFT Massachusetts
American Postal Workers Union
Andover Education Association
Arlington Education Association
ATU Local 1037
Ayer Shirley Regional Education Association, Inc.
Berkshire Labor Assembly WMALF
Boston Carmen’s Union Local 589
Boston Teachers Union
Cambridge Education Association
Central Massachusetts AFL-CIO Central Labor Council
CWA D1
Eastern Millwright Regional Council
Fall River Educators Association
Greater Boston Labor Council
Greater Southeastern Massachusetts Labor Council
Groton Dunstable Educators Association
Harvard Teachers Association
Hatfield Teaching Association
Haverhill Education Association
IBEW Local 103
IBEW Local 223
International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers
International Union of Operating Engineers Local 4
IUE-CWA 201
IUPAT DC35
LiUNA! Local 175
Lynn Teachers Union, Local 1037
Malden Education Association
Massachusetts AFL-CIO
Massachusetts Building Trades Unions
Massachusetts Library Staff Association
Massachusetts Nurses Association
Massachusetts Society of Professors
Massachusetts Teachers Association
Mendon Upton Regional Teachers Association
Merrimack Valley Central Labor Council
Merrimack Valley Educators Bargaining Council
New Bedford Educators Association
Norfolk County Central Labor Council
North Adams Teachers Association
North Atlantic States Regional Council of Carpenters
North Atlantic States Regional Council of Carpenters Local 339
North Shore Labor Council
Pittsfield Educational Administrators' Association
Plasterers & Cement Masons Local 534
Plumbers & Gasfitters Local 12
Plymouth Bristol Central Labor Council
Professional Staff Union/MTA/NEA
Rockland Education Association
Roofers and Slaters Local 248
Roofers Local 33
Salem Teachers Union
SEIU CIR
SEIU Community Action
SEIU Local 509
SEIU Local 888
SEIU Massachusetts State Council
Sheet Metal Air Rail Transportation Union
Sheet Metal Workers Local 17
Somerville Educators Union
Southeastern Massachusetts Building Trades Council
Springfield Federation of Paraprofessionals
Teamsters Local 122
Tewksbury Teachers Association
UAW Region 9A
UFCW Local 1459
Union 38 Educators Association
United Educators of Pittsfield
United Steelworkers District 4
United Teachers of Lowell
Wakefield Education Association
Westborough Education Association
Western Mass Area Labor Federation