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THE MALDEN ADVOCATE – Friday, July 5, 2019 Page 17 dress, not home address and landline phone. (Please read carefully what a “Yes” and a “No” vote mean. On this roll call, the vote can easily be misinterpreted. A “Yes” vote is against requiring that employees give the union their home address, home and cell phone number and personal email address. A “No” vote is for requiring it.) Sen. Jason Lewis No KEEP PERSONAL INFO PRITHE HOUSE AND SENATE. Beacon Hill Roll Call records local senators' votes on four roll calls from the week of June 2428. There were no roll calls in the House last week. SUBSCRIBE TO MASSTERLIST–IT'S FREE! Join more than 17,000 other people from movers and shakers to political junkies and interested citizens who start their morning with a copy of MASSterList! MASSterList is a daily ensemble of news and commentary about the Legislature, Politics, Media and Judiciary of Massachusetts drawn from major news organizations as well as specialized publications selected by widely acclaimed and highly experienced editor Jay Fitzgerald. Jay introduces each article in his own clever and never-boring, inimitable way. Go to: www.massterlist.com/ subscribe Type in your email address and in 15 seconds you will be signed up for a free subscription. ALLOW UNIONS TO CHARGE NON-UNION MEMBERS FOR SOME COSTS (S 2273) Senate 38-1, approved a bill that would allow public sector unions to charge non-members for the cost of some services and representation. The bill was filed as a response to a 2018 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that public employees cannot be forced to pay fees or dues to a union to which he or she does not belong. Freedom of speech advocates hailed the decision while labor advocates said it was an unjust attack on unions. “Today we protect the right of unions to be able to make the case for membership to new hires, and to be compensated for representation they offer,” said Sen. Pat Jehlen (D-Somerville). “Unions have benefited all of us. They helped build the middle class, and they are now our main protection against its erosion. This bill is an important step in the fight against the rising tide of inequality, and it will safeguard the support that unions have provided for generations to workers across the commonwealth.” “The Boston Globe’s editorial on the Janus fix was spot on,” said Rep. Ryan Fattman (R-Webster), the only senator who voted against the bill. “I agreed with the underlying legislation, however as the Boston Globe pointed out, the Senate had the opportunity to protect private information including the personal cell phone, email, and birth dates of the employee and their family members who chose not to be part of a union. We failed to do so. I believe if you choose to opt out of union membership your personal and private information should be exactly that: personal and private. These employees should not be compelled to turn over that private information to anyone. It is because of this privacy concern that I voted no.” “I urge my colleagues to reject all the amendments that would undermine the principles set forth in this underlying bill and adopt a bill that will, again, ensure workers can come together, can organize together, can work together,” said Sen. Marc Pacheco (D-Taunton), during Senate debate on the floor. “[And] to have a voice that will help each and every one of us as citizens of this commonwealth and, at the end of the day, help to continue to improve the economy in a way that is more equitable for all people.” “Legislators today voted against amendments that sought to educate workers on their rights regarding union membership, to give employees control over their private and personal information, and to protect that personal information once it is in the hands of union bosses,” said Paul Craney, spokesman for the Massachusetts Fiscal Alliance. “One thing is absolutely clear—this legislation has nothing to do with protecting employees. It is entirely about protecting union bosses and advancing their power over the workers. The legitimate concerns over protecting people’s right to privacy were completely swept under the rug by lawmakers beholden to union bosses. We urge the governor to veto the bill when it lands on his desk.” The House has approved a different version of the bill and a conference committee will likely work out a compromise version. (A “Yes” vote is for the bill. A “No” vote is against it.) Sen. Jason Lewis Yes PERSONAL INFO (S 2273) Senate 6-32, rejected an amendment that would eliminate the requirement that employees give the union their home address, home and cell phone number and personal email address. The amendment would leave in place the requirement that the employee provide his or her work telephone number and work email address. Amendment supporters said that requiring personal information is an invasion of the employee’s privacy. They noted that unions have enough ways to contact new employees without using personal information. Amendment opponents said laws have to keep up with the times. They noted that today’s communication is done via cell phone and personal email adVATE (S 2273) Senate 7-31, rejected an amendment requiring that unions keep the personal information of an employee confidential. Amendment supporters said this is a simple amendment that ensures privacy and guarantees that the union will not sell the employee’s information. Amendment opponents said this is a problem in search of a solution and that this information is already kept confidential. (A “Yes” vote is for the amendment. A “No” vote is against it.) Sen. Jason Lewis No EMPLOYEE NOT REQUIRED TO MEET WITH THE UNION (S 2271) Senate 5-33, rejected an amendment providing that no newly-hired employee be required to meet with the union. Amendment supporters said the bill ensures that the union has the ability to meet with new hires. They said it is vague on whether the new employee can decide not to go the meeting. They noted that this amendment clarifies that the employee can opt out of the meeting. Amendment opponents said the amendment is unnecessary because nothing in the bill requires an employee to meet with a union or prohibits the employee from choosing not to go to the meeting. (A “Yes” vote is for the amendment. A “No” vote is against it Sen. Jason Lewis No HOW LONG WAS LAST WEEK'S SESSION? Beacon Hill Roll Call tracks the length of time that the House and Senate were in session each week. Many legislators say that legislative sessions are only one aspect of th /e Legislature's job and that a lot of important work is done outside of the House and Senate chambers. They note that their jobs also involve committee work, research, constituent work and other matters that are important to their districts. Critics say that the Legislature does not meet regularly or long enough to debate and vote in public view on the thousands of pieces of legislation that have been filed. They note that the infrequency and brief length of sessions are misguided and lead to irresponsible late-night sessions and a mad rush to act on dozens of bills in the days immediately preceding the end of an annual session. During the week of June 24-28, the House met for a total of four hours and five minutes while the Senate met for a total of six hours and 56 minutes. Monday, June 24 House 11:05 a.m. to 11:25 a.m. Senate 11:20 a.m. to 12:33 p.m. Tuesday, June 25 No House session Wednesday, June 26 No House session Friday, June 28 No House session No Senate session No Senate session Thursday, June 27 House 11:06 a.m. to 2:51 p.m. Senate 11:12 a.m. to 4:55 p.m. No Senate session Bob Katzen welcomes feedback at bob@beaconhillrollcall.com Savvy Senior Hiring an In-Home Caregiver Dear Savvy Senior, I need to locate a good in-home caregiver for my 83-year-old mother. What’s the best way to find and hire one? Looking for Care Dear Looking, Finding a good in-home caregiver for an elderly parent can be challenging. How can you find one that’s reliable and trustworthy, as well as someone your parent likes and is comfortable with? Here are some tips that can help. Know Your Needs Before you start the task of looking for an in-home caregiver, your first step is to determine the level of care your mom needs. This can pinpoint the type of help she’ll need. For example, if she only needs help with daily living tasks like shopping, cooking, doing laundry, bathing or dressing, a “homemaker” or “personal care aide” will do. But, if she needs health care services, there are “home health aides” that may do all the things a homemaker does, plus they also have training in administering medications, changing wound dressings and other medically related duties. Home health aides often work under a nurse’s supervision. Once you settle on a level of care, you then need to decide how many hours of assistance she’ll need. For example, does your mom need someone to come in just a few mornings a week to help her cook, clean, run errands or perhaps bathe? Or does she need more continuous care that requires daily visits or a full-time aide? After you determine her needs, there are two ways in which you can go about hiring someone. Either through an agency, or you can hire someone directly on your own. Hiring Through an Agency Hiring a personal care or home health aide through an agency is the safest and easiest option, but it’s more expensive. Costs typically run anywhere between $14 and $25 an hour depending on where you live and the qualification of the aide. How it works is you pay the agency, and they handle everything including an assessment of your mom’s needs, assigning appropriately trained and pre-screened staff to care for her, and finding a fill-in on days her aide cannot come. Some of the drawbacks, however, are that you may not have much input into the selection of the caregiver, and the caregivers may change or alternate, which can cause a disruption. To find a home-care agency in your mom’s area ask for referrals through friends, family or doctor’s offices, or use the homecare locator service tool at PayingForSeniorCare.com – click on “Find Quality, Affordable Care.” In addition, Medicare offers a home health compare tool at Medicare.gov/HomeHealthCompare to help you find and compare home health care agencies. You also need to be aware that original Medicare does not cover in-home caregiving services unless your mom is receiving doctor’s ordered skilled nursing or therapy services at home too. But, if your mom is in a certain Medicare Advantage plan, or is low-income and qualifies for Medicaid, she may be eligible for some coverage. Hiring Directly Hiring an independent caregiver on your own is the other option, and it’s less expensive. Costs typically range between $12 and $20 per hour. Hiring directly also gives you more control over who you hire so you can choose someone who you feel is right for your mom. But, be aware that if you do hire someone on your own, you become the employer so there’s no agency support to fall back on if a problem occurs or if the aide doesn’t show up. You’re also responsible for paying payroll taxes and any worker-related injuries that may happen. If you choose this option make sure you check the aide’s references thoroughly, and do a criminal background check, which you can do sites like eNannySource.com. To find someone, ask for referrals or try eldercare-matching services like Care.com or CareLinx.com. Or, for a fee, an aging life care expert (see AgingLifeCare.org) can help you find someone. Send your senior questions to: Savvy Senior, P.O. Box 5443, Norman, OK 73070, or visit SavvySenior.org. Jim Miller is a contributor to the NBC Today show and author of “The Savvy Senior” book.

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