In March 2024 Governor Healey filed legislation (House Bill 4496) to fund the MNA Unit 7 contract nurses and health professionals negotiated and ratified earlier this year.
State employee collective bargaining contracts must be passed by the State Legislature to get funded.
The funding for your contract was included as part of a larger “Supplemental budget” to fund other pieces of state government for the remainder of the fiscal year (‘Supplemental budgets’ are taken up throughout the year to augment the main fiscal year state budget – collective bargaining agreements are commonly funded through this vehicle).
Section 53 of House Bill 4496- An Act Making Appropriations for the Fiscal Year 2024 to Provide for Supplementing Certain Existing Appropriations and for Certain Other Activities and Projects would fund the Unit 7 Contract.
The bill has been in the House Ways and Means Committee since March.
What you can do:
Contact your State Representative. Ask him/her to contact the House Ways and Means Committee and ask for the immediate and favorable release of House Bill 4496.
How to do this:
Using your voting address, you can look up who your State Representative here: https://malegislature.gov/Search/FindMyLegislator
Next, you should email or call your State Representative and ask him or her to release and pass House Bill 4496 to fund your contract.
Below is a sample email you can use (cutting and pasting is encouraged):
Dear Representative:
My name is (FILL IN NAME) and I live in your district at (HOME ADDRESS).
I am a (FILL IN POSITION/ROLE at FILL IN PLACE OF EMPLOYMENT).
This past February, my colleagues and I in the Massachusetts Nurses Association’s Public Sector Unit 7 reached an agreement with the state for a new contract. For this new contract to be funded and for my colleagues and I to receive our salary increases and retro pay, the state must pass a supplemental budget. On March 21, 2024, Governor Healey filed House Bill 4496- An Act Making Appropriations for Fiscal Year 2024 to Provide for Supplementing Certain Existing Appropriations and for Certain Other Activities and Projects. Section 53 of this bill would fund the Unit 7 contract.
I am asking you to contact the House Committee on Ways and Means and ask them to release H.4496 favorably and expeditiously.
My colleagues and I in Unit 7 are a diverse group of registered nurses and health care professionals providing hands-on care and expertise across a variety of settings. We are the nurses, psychiatrists, psychologists, occupational therapists, physical therapists, dentists, audiologists, pharmacists, and physicians who form the backbone of the Commonwealth’s public health system. We are often the caregivers of last resort providing a healthcare safety net for the most vulnerable residents in the Commonwealth.
We work hard to care for the patients of the Commonwealth. We should not have to wait any longer to access our negotiated wage increases.
Thank you,
(YOUR NAME)
Below is a sample phone script you can use*:
My name is (FILL IN NAME) and I live in the Representative’s district at (HOME ADDRESS).
I am a (FILL IN POSITION/ROLE) at (FILL IN PLACE OF EMPLOYMENT).
I am calling because this past February, my colleagues and I in the Massachusetts Nurses Association’s Public Sector Unit 7 reached an agreement with the state for a new contract. But for this new contract to be funded and for my colleagues and I to receive our salary increases and retro pay, the state must pass a supplemental budget- House Bill 4496- An Act Making Appropriations for Fiscal Year 2024. Section 53 of this bill would fund the Unit 7 contract. This bill has been in the House Committee on Ways and Means since March.
I am asking you to have the Representative contact the House Committee on Ways and Means and ask them to release H.4496 favorably and expeditiously.
Thank you,
*PLEASE NOTE: The person answering the phone is likely a staffer who has no authority to fund your contract or advance the legislation. Conversations should be polite and factual.
FAQ
Will there be a public hearing on this legislation? No. Supplemental budgets do not require a public hearing.
Is there a timeframe by which the Legislature must act on this bill? No. Supplemental budgets are filed and taken up by the Legislature throughout the year, but there is no timeframe in which it must be taken up. That is why your elected officials need to hear from you!
