Author: Cindy Friedman

Supporters of a statewide $15 hourly minimum wage packed a State House hearing Tuesday afternoon, testifying that a pay hike would not only help workers support their families, but would stimulate the local economy by giving workers more money to spend.

The bills, in the House and Senate, would increase the minimum wage by $1 a year over the course of four years, reaching $15 by 2021, and would also increase the tipped minimum wage, currently $3.75, to the same amount over the course of eight years. After it reaches $15, the minimum wage would be adjusted every year to rise at the cost of living rate.

“Ensuring our workers are able to earn a living wage is good for our economy, good for our businesses, and most importantly, it is the right thing to do for the hard-working residents of the Commonwealth,” said Senator Cindy Friedman.

Read more

STATE HOUSE, BOSTON, SEPT. 19, 2017…..A debate over adequate worker compensation that was waged before a legislative committee Tuesday and could be headed to the ballot next November has pitted two struggling groups against one another.

On one side, workers earning the $11 an hour minimum wage spoke about living in poverty while holding down jobs at successful businesses. On the other side, small business representatives said hiking the minimum wage to $15 over the next four years would be a death knell for retailers already chafing against the high cost of doing business in Massachusetts while competing against tax-free sellers from New Hampshire and the internet.

Read more

On Sept. 12, Sen. Cindy F. Friedman, D-Arlington, testified before the Joint Committee on Mental Health, Substance Use and Recovery in support of S.1091, An Act establishing a restoration center in Middlesex County, an initiative originally filed by the late Senator Donnelly. The bill would direct a large group of public safety and mental health experts to develop a Restoration Center pilot program in Middlesex County to serve as a jail diversion and treatment facility for individuals experiencing a behavioral health crisis.

According to data provided by NAMI Massachusetts, an organization that also testified in support of the bill, approximately 25 percent of state correctional inmates and up to 50 percent of county jail and house of correction detainees and inmates are receiving mental health services to some degree Additionally, roughly 14 percent of male and 30 percent of female inmates are believed to have serious mental illnesses, including schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and major depression.

Read more

BOSTON – Looking for an exit from the “revolving door” of people with mental health disorders going back and forth from emergency rooms to the streets or jail, advocates asked lawmakers on Tuesday to help create a “restoration center” in Middlesex County.

The center would be a facility that provides treatment, including detox and beds, and offers police a place to bring those suffering from mental illness, according to June Binney, director of criminal justice diversion for the National Alliance on Mental Illness Massachusetts.

Advocates testified in favor of legislation (S 1091) that was filed by the late Sen. Kenneth Donnelly that would task a commission with developing a three-year plan to build a restoration center in Middlesex County. The bill has support from Sen. Cindy Friedman, Donnelly’s former aide who was elected to the Senate this summer, and Middlesex Sheriff Peter Koutoujian.

Read more

WOBURN – Wow! The “wow factor” was much in evidence on Saturday as many members of the general public were overwhelmed and had their first look at the new James L. McKeown Boys & Girls Club.

“It’s incredible,” was a repeated declaration of enthusiasm after a parking lot full of enthusiastic support packed the newly-paved front parking lot.

Sen. Cindy Friedman: “It’s great at the State House to work on something so positive. People are just dying to get inside.”

Read more

“How to Be an Effective Citizen Lobbyist”: 7-9 p.m. Sept. 18, First Parish Unitarian Universalist Church vestry, 630 Mass. Ave., Arlington. Want to learn more about how to be heard and influence government decisions? Join in for a conversation with state Sen. Cindy Friedman and Colleen Kirby, the criminal justice legislative specialist for the League of Women Voters of Massachusetts and a member of First Parish Arlington’s Mass Incarceration Working Group. This free program is sponsored by First Parish Arlington’s Mass Incarceration Working Group and is open to all. Questions? Email end-mass-incarceration@firstparish.info.

Read more

State Sen. Cindy Friedman of Arlington, Democrat representing the 4th Middlesex, has announced the creation of her official Senate website — www.cindyfriedman.org — and began holding monthly office hours.

“I’m very excited that our website is up and running,” Friedman said in a Sept. 7 news release. To keep constituents up-to-date on news from the State House, she expects frequent updates on the website, in a quarterly newsletter, as well as on Facebook and Twitter. “One of the most effective ways to ensure your voice is heard is to meet face-to-face with your senator or representative,’ she said. ‘I look forward to holding office hours in the 4th Middlesex each month.”

If you are unable to attend office hours, she encouraged the public to contact her office at 617-722-1432 or at Cindy.Friedman@masenate.gov.

Read more