Scott Brown slashing jobs, not adding them

Published April 28, 2010 at 5:38 p.m.
Mass Underemployment Dept...
When he campaigned to retain existing and deliver new employment opportunities for commonwealth residents, Senator Scott Brown was apparently making no promises to urban teens.

When he campaigned to retain existing and deliver new employment opportunities for commonwealth residents, Senator Scott Brown was apparently making no promises to urban teens. Such was demonstrated on March 9, when the Wrentham Republican voted against the Kerry-Murray Amendment, a stimulus extension that would have secured $1.3 billion (or 500,000 temporary jobs) for at-risk young people nationwide. (The bill was co-sponsored by Brown’s senior colleague, Senator John Kerry.)

Following Brown’s vote, organizers of all ages from across Massachusetts added Brown’s name to a long list of state and city legislators whom they’ve been lobbying for youth-job funding since February. And this past Wednesday, five teens and two older facilitators brought their message directly to the senator’s office overlooking Government Center, claiming that Brown’s (in)decision could lead to a loss of 6875 positions that were available to teens in 2009.

“These young men and women did a remarkable job,” says Lewis Finfer, executive director of the Massachusetts Communities Action Network. (While the small group of teen organizers met with Brown’s aides this past Wednesday, Finfer joined several hundred of their peers, marching from City Hall to the State House with the same message.) He continues: “These young people simply couldn’t understand how the senator could on one hand claim that he wanted to bring more jobs to his home state, and then on the other hand do the exact opposite of what he said.”

Read more


Back | Read more at Boston Phoenix