The halls of the State House are quiet in August. Many legislators and staff are away in their districts or on vacation with their families. I was on Beacon Hill this week for several meetings and was surprised by how few people there were in the building. Even the usual mass of tourists and Freedom Trail visitors seemed off. It must be the dog days of summer.
Senator Mike Knapik and I met jointly with officials from the Massachusetts School Building Authority to discuss an issue of importance to a company in Westfield: Columbia Manufacturing. Columbia is famous for bicycles but now they build some of the best school furniture in the world.
We had a concern that architects designing model schools in the Commonwealth were stipulating in their plans that the school districts buy foreign-made school furniture. We pointed out that school furniture was being constructed right here in Westfield, Massachusetts and the company was employing Massachusetts workers and paying Massachusetts taxes. Their quality, efficiency, cost, and environmentally sound practices were equal to or better than any out of state or foreign school furniture company.
Senator Knapik and I made the case that Columbia didn’t need to be given special consideration, but they should at least be given fair consideration. I pointed out it was similar to the case of the United States Olympic Team uniforms being made in China when an American company could have done the same thing just as well.
We are confident that the MSBA officials were understanding and would take the issue back to their boss, State Treasurer Steve Grossman. Senator Knapik and I believe that a big part of our job as legislators is advocating for the people and businesses in Westfield. Sometimes, we need to be the cheerleaders for western Mass so that the bureaucracy in Boston will hear us and do the right thing.
Many of you know that I sing with the popular group The Dan Kane Singers. The singing group has 150 members from all of the surrounding communities and is directed by Westfield’s own Dan Kane. The DKS will present our annual Christmas Show this year at Springfield Symphony Hall on Friday night, December 7. Our Christmas show is always sold out.
We are currently looking to add 3 MALE voices to our ensemble. Rehearsals will be starting soon. If interested, you need to love singing Christmas music, you need to have joy in your heart, and you need to enjoy meeting wonderful people that share your love of great music. For more information and details please call Dan at 413-568-8036 or email him at [email protected].
I ran into Ray Rivera at Sheriff Mike Ashe’s annual clambake and he asked me to mention the Westfield Special Olympics Golf Team in my column this week. I’d like to congratulate the golfers for their hard work and determination, and thank them for representing Westfield so well at the Special Olympics.
Wednesday was my son’s first birthday. It seems like only yesterday we were bringing Baby Quinn home from the hospital. There is no question that being a father has changed my perspective on being Westfield’s State Representative. I think of things differently now. I worry that decisions the House and Senate make in Boston may not always be the right ones for the future of the Commonwealth, for Quinn’s future, and the future of all of the state’s children.
I definitely worry about the votes taken in Washington, DC. The problems with our nation’s budget, debt, deficit, taxes, economy, illegal immigration, and national security weigh heavily on my mind. I am convinced that the election in November will be one of the most important elections in recent times.
Like many of you, I am concerned what the job picture will look like when my son is older.
According to an article in the State House News Service this week, “Massachusetts employers added 1,600 jobs in July, but the state’s unemployment rate ticked up slightly for the first time in three years to 6.1 percent, according to a Bureau of Labor Statistics report released by the Patrick administration Thursday morning.
“The last time the state’s unemployment rate rose was in September 2009. Despite the July increase by one-tenth of a point from 6 percent, the state’s unemployment rate is still well below the national 8.3 percent average.
“The largest job gain, according to the administration, came in the education and health services sector, which added 4,000 jobs in July. Professional, scientific and business services, construction and manufacturing also added jobs last month, boosting employment numbers by 1,000, 900, and 100 respectively.
“The leisure and hospitality sector lost 1,600 jobs last month, according to the new report, while trade, transportation and utilities lost 1,100 jobs, financial activities lost 1,000 jobs and other services lost 1,100 positions.
“Government was another sector that added jobs in July, with state government posting a 600 job gain, the federal government adding 100 jobs and local governments downsizing by 200 jobs. The unemployment rate is based on a monthly sample of households. The job estimates are derived from a monthly sample survey of employers.
“Andre Mayer, senior vice president for research at Associated Industries of Massachusetts, said it’s more valuable to look at the job growth trends over time than to try to try to read too much into a single month’s job report. “The little uptick in the unemployment rate means nothing. What we’re seeing is very slow improvement, slow job creation but fairly consistently positive,” Mayer said.
“After dropping off sharply in June, A.I.M.’s business confidence index rebounded part of the way, jumping 3.9 points in July to 52.2 and climbing back into positive territory.
“While there is a lot of uncertainty and concerns, the underlying pattern has been positive,” Mayer said. “Employers are very aware of the risks out there in the economy, the connection to Europe, which is moving into a recession, the so-called fiscal cliff that the people in Washington are dealing with and that certainly holds hiring back. We’ve never gotten to the point in this recovery that employers felt confident enough in the direction – therefore they’ve been reluctant to hire.”
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this column are those of the author and not the staff, editor, or publisher of the Westfield News.
Representative Don Humason and his Chief of Staff Maura Cassin may be reached at their Westfield District Office, 64 Noble Street, Westfield, MA 01085, (413) 568-1366.
Representative Don Humason may be reached at his Boston office, State House Room 542, Boston, MA 02133, (617) 722-2803.
Email address: [email protected]
Website: www.DonHumason.org
