Candidates pick up endorsements, announce future billsDate: 7/25/2022 WESTERN MASS. – In the race for the Hampden, Hampshire and Worcester State Senate seat both candidates released news from their respective campaigns.
State Rep. Jake Oliveria announced that he received endorsement from the Massachusetts Nurses Association (MNA), the largest union of registered nurses and health professionals in the state with more than 23,000 Massachusetts health care workers as members.
In response, he issued a written statement, “The MNA is an exemplary advocate for our nurses. I’ve seen firsthand how the MNA provides support for our nurses in Massachusetts. It is comforting and satisfying to know that the needs and demands of our health care workers are being addressed and advocated for, especially throughout these past couple of years during which they’ve sacrificed so much to take care of others. I’m immensely proud to have the MNA’s support in this election, and I look forward to continuing our partnership in the Senate.”
He also picked up the endorsement of the Massachusetts Teachers Association (MTA), the state’s largest teachers union.
Sydney Levin-Epstein
Levin-Epstein released her first legislative intentions by announcing her first bill would be one that would provide free cancer screening and body scans for first responders. She announced the effort after meeting with the Professional Fire Fighters of Massachusetts and receiving its endorsement.
Levin- Epstein has met with every department in the senate district, both chiefs and union members, in order to understand their biggest concerns, she told Reminder Publishing.
In a written statement, “Cancer is an epidemic that plagues our profession,” said Rich MacKinnon Jr., president of the Professional Fire Fighters of Massachusetts. “As science evolves, we are learning about the chemicals that firefighters are exposed to throughout our career. These cancer-causing chemicals are impregnated into our gear and are the by-product of the fires we fight. We need access to early cancer screenings, and we thank Sydney for making this issue part of her platform.”
Levin-Epstein said the situation is a “system-wide problem.”
She also received the endorsement of the Massachusetts Women’s Political Caucus Political Action Committee.
She released a statement concerning the conditions at the Roderick Ireland Courthouse and announced a course of action she would advocate if elected: “Contact the CDC [Centers for Disease Control] to determine the extent of the cancer and ALS clusters that we have witnessed; close the current courthouse and begin greater utilization of virtual hearings; begin demolition work of the existing courthouse; begin the RFP [requests for proposals] process for a temporary brick and mortar location for in-person hearings; include emergency funding in an already planned bond bill that pays for a new courthouse for the Springfield area; Begin the RFP process for design and construction of the new courthouse; work with local contractors to ensure that the new courthouse is built through a project labor agreement that ensures fair wages and equal opportunities for our WBE [Women Business Enterprise] and MBE [Minority Business Enterprise] businesses in the greater Springfield area.”
Levin-Epstein also explained her involvement with May Day, a national organization which advocating for reproductive rights. She is a founding board member of the group, which just rented three billboards all located near the single clinic, now closed, in the state of Mississippi.
The billboards read, “Pregnant? You still have a choice.” Information is also supplied for abortion options.
“I’m part of the pro-choice majority, Levin-Epstein said. “We must continue fighting for equitable abortion care.” She added there are now care “deserts” in the country and the emergence of “false clinics that pressure people not to choose.”
She said that once the draft Supreme Court decision was leaked, she wanted to do something. The organization “simply provides the best information so pregnant women can chose.”
An interesting note is that Mississippi law requires the organization to list a toll-free number for people who wish to complain about the billboards. Levin-Epstein said all of the board members have phones for comments. She said the remarks the group has received have been “fascinating and motivating.”
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