September 22, 2012

Brothers and Sisters,

Yesterday the assembled delegates at the Professional Fire Fighters of Massachusetts meeting in Lawrence unanimously adopted the Executive Board’s motion to endorse Elizabeth Warren for U.S. Senate. 

Your Executive Board did not arrive at the choice without patient and proper vetting.

They were careful to ensure that this process did not deviate from our mission to support the issues important to our fire fighters.  I appreciate that many of our members have personal priorities that will influence their view of this Senate race, but the Executive Board chose to approach this endorsement based on the issues that effect us all.  When looking at our safety on the job, pay, pensions, healthcare, and our right to collectively bargain, the choice is clear:

Scott Brown has not voted our way. Period.

Take a look for yourself.

• Brown voted to continue a filibuster against the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act (Cloture vote on H.R. 847, 12/9/10)

• Brown voted to continue a filibuster against the IAFF’s collective bargaining bill (Cloture vote on S. 3991, 12/8/10)

• Brown voted to abolish the FIRE and SAFER Grant programs in five years.  An amendment to “sunset” (ie kill) the two programs offered by Senator Tom Coburn (R-OK) during committee consideration of a FIRE/SAFER Reauthorization was adopted by a vote of 9-8, with Brown providing the decisive vote to eliminate federal aid to fire departments.  (Coburn Amendment to S.550, 5/18/11)

• Brown voted for the devastating “Cut, Cap, and Balance” budget proposal, which would slash billions of dollars of federal aid to local governments, leading to widespread layoffs of fire fighters and other municipal workers.   Other provisions in the plan would have prevented the government from generating revenue in the future, ensuring that the federal government would be unable to respond to public safety challenges in the future.  (HR 2560, motion to table 7/22/11)

• Brown voted against the Teachers and First Responders Back to Work Act, which would provide $1 billion to hire fire fighters.  A bill that would have provided 22,000 police, fire, and teacher jobs in Massachusetts. (S. 1723 Senate vote 10/20/11)

We will be following up with more in depth information and need you to get involved! 

Fraternally, 

Edward A. Kelly

President

Professional Fire Fighters of Massachusetts