Labor Throws Power Behind Patrick-MurrayDear Brothers & Sisters,

The election for governor on November 7^th is a crucial one for our organization and for working people across Massachusetts. I cannot stress enough to you and your entire family the importance of showing up to vote on November 7^th. It is not only important that you all vote, but that you vote for the best candidates for people like us. I write to you today to tell you and your family that after doing a great deal of research about all the candidates for the Corner Office, Deval Patrick and Tim Murray have earned our endorsement and are the best ticket for our union families.

Many of you will agree with me that over the past 16 years our governors have pushed aside working families and made life tougher for us. On issues that matter to our families - health care, wages, a good economy with good jobs, pensions and retirement security, and education - the last four governors have moved Massachusetts backwards and allowed the quality of life for our families to decline. 748,000 Massachusetts residents did not have health coverage in 2004, over 167,000 workers are jobless, our pensions are in danger, and we rank 47th in the nation in spending on public higher education. By electing Deval Patrick and Tim Murray we have a chance to end this tiresome trend of governors who ignore working people and attack unions like ours before leaving us behind.

As governor and lieutenant governor, Deval Patrick and Tim Murray will stand with us on the issues that really matter to our families.

Deval Patrick and Tim Murray will reduce costs, expand access, and improve the quality of health care by broadening eligibility to the CommonHealth insurance program, making premiums for working families affordable again and cutting prescription drug costs by negotiating bulk purchases. Meanwhile, Kerry Healey's health care plan drastically shifts the burden for health care from employers onto the backs of workers like us who are already struggling to make ends meet.

Deval Patrick and Tim Murray will bring high-quality jobs to Massachusetts and invest in workplace development and training. Under Kerry Healey's leadership, Massachusetts' unemployment level has drastically increased and employers and people are leaving the state in droves.

Deval Patrick and Tim Murray oppose moves to shift public workers from defined pension systems to riskier private investment plans. Kerry Healey proposed eliminating defined benefit pensions and replacing them with private savings accounts and cutting over 100 pension systems - putting workers' retirement security in the hands of an unsteady and unsympathetic marketplace.

Deval Patrick and Tim Murray will restructure school funding so school systems can plan ahead, reduce class sizes and boost funding for state colleges and universities. It was on Kerry Healey's watch that Massachusetts became the third worst state in the nation in spending on public higher education.

To learn more about the Patrick/Murray ticket visit their website at www.devalpatrick.com. In the end, how you vote is a personal decision, but you and your family deserve a leader who will fight for affordable health care, job creation, retirement security and quality education. If you elect Deval Patrick and Tim Murray on November 7, 2006, you will get the leaders you and your family deserve.

In Solidarity,

Robert J. Haynes
President, Massachusetts AFL-CIO