Jobs Not Jails

Some members of First Parish joined with the Brockton Interfaith Coalition today to go to Boston Common to rally against building new prisons in MA. It was a great turnout and we got to spend time with a good group of like-minded people. See the video from Channel 7!

April 30th is the Statehouse Day of Action.
"volunteers will wrap bright orange banners around the State House, covered with roughly 30,000 petition signatures calling for Jobs, Not Jails!"
From the Jobs Not Jails website:

Below is a script, with information about six items that are immediately possible, which will help end mass incarceration and fund job creation.  Please call:

1)    Speaker of the House Robert DeLeo  (617) 722-2500

2)    Senate President Therese Murray  (617) 722-1500

3)    Your own Representative and Senator. Find their names and numbers at www.WhereDoIVoteMA.com  (just enter your address!)

Tell them you support Jobs Not Jails, and ask them to vote for the following items:

CRIMINAL JUSTICE REFORMS

• H.1646, An Act to repeal mandatory minimum sentences for drug offenses. Mandatory sentencing is one of the major causes of over-incarceration, and leads to disproportionately long sentences for low-level drug offenders – and even innocent people who have no information to trade to a district attorney.
• S.1643/H.3099, An Act relative to motor vehicle license suspension. This bill would repeal the law that requires an automatic one- to five-year driver’s license suspension upon the conviction of any drug offense, followed by a minimum $500 reinstatement fee.  The current law creates a large and counter-productive barrier for people who are trying to secure employment and rebuild their lives.

JOBS

• Spend $26.5 million on Youth Jobs, to engage young people in positive, self-sustaining work!

$9.5 million for SSYI (jobs for teens who have been struggling)

$12 million for Youth Works (jobs in the community)

$5 million for School to Career (private sector jobs)

• Raise the Minimum Wage to $10.50, and index it to inflation. Low-wage workers should not have to see their incomes weakened even further by inflation every year, even while corporate profits soar.
• Oppose H.1311, which would charge applicants $50 per casefor a request to seal their CORI.  This bill filed by Rep. Fernandes of Milford severely undermines CORI reform.  People have to struggle for 5-10 years before sealing a CORI, often unemployed or underemployed, and this fee (which could mount to hundreds of dollars as people are hit with multiple charges for one offense) could close the door on this hope.

You don’t have to list them all!  You can elect your own priorities. You can find out more at the links “Criminal Justice Priorities” and “Jobs Priorities” off the main page of this site. These are just six of the most immediately viable and pertinent issues right now.