The Chapter 146 Association News
SUBJECT: Ch. 146 LEGISLATIVE ALERT 9 12 2009 RE SB.917 & HB.2208
Dear Fellow Members,
We hope that your summer has gone well and everyone is healthy and happy.
There are troubling reports that House Bill 2208 and Senate Bill 917 in particular are gathering a second wind. We dodged a bullet considering that HB.2208 and SB.917 did not appear in the Executive Session of the Committee on Public Safety. However, what this means is that they are most likely headed for a study before moving forward. By no means does this mean that these bills are dead. No bill is dead until the end of the legislative year.
AS LONG AS THESE TWO BILLS ARE ON THE TABLE, THEN OUR PROFFESSIONS AND PUBLIC SAFETY ARE COLLECTIVELY IN JEOPARDY!!!!
We have petitions at our web site that need to be filled out and sent to the legislature ASAP!!! We can increase our effectiveness 10 fold or more. So get those petitions out today. No exceptions.
http://chapter146association.com/
If you don't want your licenses and livelihoods to go the way of the dinosaur, then please take the following steps. Those who have already done so, we thank you profusely, but we need you to double your efforts:
1: Find out who your Representatives and Senators are.
http://www.wheredoivotema.com/bal/myelectioninfo.php
2: Call them and get on a 1st name basis with their Aides or Chief of Staff. Explain to them the situation. Once they know the issues, then they will not vote for those bills. They will know that to vote for them would be the worst thing for the State of Massachusetts and their constituency. KEEP THEM UPDATED AS INFORMATION COMES OUT. Call them from time to time just to remind them to keep tabs on the progress of those bills.
3: Emails are a great way to keep in touch and record conversations. The Aides will have their own emails above the one that you see on the web site. Make sure that you swap emails so that they will have another way to communicate with you.
4. Have your friends, family and coworkers fill out the petitions on our web site. http://chapter146association.com/
http://sites.google.com/site/chapter146assn/opposition-petition-to-house-bill-2208
Send them by mail (registered is best) to your Representatives and Senators along with signed letters from you stating your personal opposition to these bills.
http://sites.google.com/site/chapter146assn/chapter-146/house-bill-2208-page http://sites.google.com/site/chapter146assn/chapter-146/senate-bill-917-page
Make sure that the signers of each petition are the constituents of the named Senator or Representative on the petitions.
All the information must be filled out thoroughly.
5. Encourage your fellow firemen and engineers to join the Chapter 146 Association!! Every member represents another Representative and Senator that we can enlist in our fight against these attacks on our licenses and license law.
6. Take a day off or pull a swap so that you can make some of our meetings. We realize that everyone is working odd shifts, but this can't stop us. If you can't go, then send someone from your plant that can go. They can join up at the door!! We need to put out the message that these issues are FIRST PRIORITY!!! If we loose today, then there may not be viable jobs tomorrow.
Our next 2 meetings will be back to back at UMASS Amherst. One at 7 pm on Saturday September 26th and the other one will be lunch at noon on Sunday on the 27th. Come early so that you can catch the tour at the UMASS plant on the 26th.
All the Best,
The Officers and Board
The Chapter 146 Association
