The lovely rural town of Warren, MA recently held a forum on the potential impacts of a casino in their community or if one were sited in neighboring Palmer. Many people first heard of Warren following the tragic abduction and murder of Molly Bish from Cummings Pond in the small quiet community. It is a community that carries a heavy heart still for Molly and her beautiful family.
Resident Keith Nicholos is quoted in the article as somehow thinking that a commericial casino in Palmer would provide the town with more input in the licensing and regulations than if it were a native american operated casino. For over 2 1/2 years representatives from Warren, Palmer and the surrounding communities have met and studied the impacts on the region should the state legislature and governor be so foolish to legalize class III gambling....it ain't pretty and none of the western MA casino task force recommendations were included in the Speaker's Special Interest Gambling bill. Sorry, Keith - casinos cream small towns.
The politicians want to be able to say that they "created jobs" and get out of office with their pensions and/or cushy next "appointment" before the everlasting costs of this predatory industry surface and the taxpayer finds she is left holding the bill for the impacts/costs.
One could start longing for the days of honest crooks like Al Capone that did their dirty work in the light of day....not behind closed doors on Beacon Hill and Wall Street.
Showing posts with label AFL-CIO Massachusetts. Show all posts
Showing posts with label AFL-CIO Massachusetts. Show all posts
Sunday, May 16, 2010
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
Truth to Bobby
Dear Ms. Marfione,
Would you kindly share the below email message with Mr. Haynes? Best wishes for a blessed Thanksgiving.
“What does labor want?
We want more school houses and less jails.
More books and less guns.
More learning and less vice.
More leisure and less greed.
More justice and less revenge.
We want more ... opportunities to cultivate our better natures.”
Samuel Gompers Memorial
San Antonio, Texas
Samuel Gompers (January 27, 1850 – December 13, 1924) was an American labor union leader and a key figure in American labor history. Gompers founded the American Federation of Labor (AFL), and served as the AFL's president from 1886-1894 and from 1895 until his death in 1924. He promoted harmony among the different craft unions that were comprised by the AFL, trying to minimize jurisdictional battles. He promoted "thorough" organization and collective bargaining to secure shorter hours and higher wages, the first essential steps, he believed, to emancipating labor. He also encouraged the AFL to take political action to "elect their friends" and "defeat their enemies." During World War I, Gompers and the AFL worked with the government to avoid strikes and boost morale, without undermining union wage and hour standards. During that period, the AFL saw membership rise.
Dear Mr. Haynes,
I hope this will give you pause to reflect over the Thanksgiving holidays about the founding principles of the Commonwealth and the Labor movement that are in direct opposition to predatory gambling. Oppression of one group of people for the alleged benefit of others is wrong. Working and middle class families should not be strapped with the additional burden of subsidizing the known negative impacts of slots/casinos. The long-term economic drain and human sacrifices do not justify the temporary construction phase.
Respectfully,
Kathleen Conley Norbut
Monson
Would you kindly share the below email message with Mr. Haynes? Best wishes for a blessed Thanksgiving.
“What does labor want?
We want more school houses and less jails.
More books and less guns.
More learning and less vice.
More leisure and less greed.
More justice and less revenge.
We want more ... opportunities to cultivate our better natures.”
Samuel Gompers Memorial
San Antonio, Texas
Samuel Gompers (January 27, 1850 – December 13, 1924) was an American labor union leader and a key figure in American labor history. Gompers founded the American Federation of Labor (AFL), and served as the AFL's president from 1886-1894 and from 1895 until his death in 1924. He promoted harmony among the different craft unions that were comprised by the AFL, trying to minimize jurisdictional battles. He promoted "thorough" organization and collective bargaining to secure shorter hours and higher wages, the first essential steps, he believed, to emancipating labor. He also encouraged the AFL to take political action to "elect their friends" and "defeat their enemies." During World War I, Gompers and the AFL worked with the government to avoid strikes and boost morale, without undermining union wage and hour standards. During that period, the AFL saw membership rise.
Dear Mr. Haynes,
I hope this will give you pause to reflect over the Thanksgiving holidays about the founding principles of the Commonwealth and the Labor movement that are in direct opposition to predatory gambling. Oppression of one group of people for the alleged benefit of others is wrong. Working and middle class families should not be strapped with the additional burden of subsidizing the known negative impacts of slots/casinos. The long-term economic drain and human sacrifices do not justify the temporary construction phase.
Respectfully,
Kathleen Conley Norbut
Monson
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