Oct 16, 2022
Congresswoman Pressley Joins Supporters of Fair Share Amendment Tax on Million-Dollar Earners to Invest in Transportation and Public Education
BOSTON – Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley today joined supporters of the Fair Share
Amendment at the Lilla G. Frederick Pilot Middle School in Dorchester to kick off a door-to-door
canvass for the proposed state tax on annual incomes above $1 million which would raise
billions of dollars that are constitutionally dedicated to transportation and public education.
The Fair Share Amendment is Question 1 on the November statewide ballot.
“We know what is possible when we invest in our communities,” said Congresswoman
Pressley. “Question 1 will generate $2 billion a year in vital revenue to make our education and
transportation systems more equitable, accessible, and affordable for everyone. How we
choose to invest our resources is a reflection of our values, and I'm proud to stand with
the organizers, advocates, and leaders committed to making good schools, affordable colleges,
safe roads, and reliable public transportation a reality for every resident of Massachusetts.”
At Sunday’s canvass kick-off, Congresswoman Pressley and campaign supporters, including NEA
President Becky Pringle, Massachusetts Teachers Association President Max Page, Boston
Teachers Union President Jessica Tang, and BPS student Khasim Saeed spoke to volunteers
about their support for the Fair Share Amendment and the difference it would make for schools
in Boston and throughout Massachusetts.
“We all agree that every student deserves a well-resourced public school, where their potential
isn’t limited by strained budgets or a shortage of teachers,” said NEA President Becky Pringle.
“But while working Bay Staters struggle to make ends meet, the rich are getting richer and
multimillionaires aren’t paying their fair share to ensure Massachusetts students realize their
dreams. I enthusiastically support ‘Yes on Question 1,’ because it’s time for Massachusetts
multimillionaires to support the future of this commonwealth.”
Massachusetts Teachers Association (MTA) President Max Page said educators are the most
trusted and respected people in their communities on education issues.
“Passing the Fair Share Amendment is the focus of intensifying MTA grassroots efforts, which
draws support from our 115,000 members across the state,” said Page. “It’s a visionary and
urgent proposal and educators are continuing to have those crucial one-on-one conversations
with their colleagues, neighbors, friends and family about how a YES vote will mean a reliable
source of funds for our public schools, colleges, and transportation systems.”
“When Question 1 passes, we can make Massachusetts’s tax system fairer, create long-term
investments that build our communities, and ensure broad prosperity for all,” added Page. “It’s
a win-win.”
“BTU is proud to endorse the Fair Share Amendment campaign because our students and
communities deserve to access the high-quality public education and safe, reliable public
transportation that this tax will fund,” said Boston Teachers Union President Jessica Tang.
“Investments in our public schools and transportation are imperative to the Commonwealth’s
ability to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, and a fair share tax will help to give our
students the social-emotional supports, modern school buildings, and smaller class sizes they
need.”
“Without proper funding we can’t have new and safe buildings for students to thrive in, or
modern textbooks with proper knowledge and information, or reliable transportation to get to
school,” said Khasim Saeed, a senior at Boston Community Leadership Academy. “By voting
YES on Question 1, not only are you helping yourself but you’re also helping the future leaders
of this country, with new textbooks, modernized buildings for all schools, and quicker and
better transportation for all of the people of this city.”
Melanie Allen, a Learning Specialist at the Rafael Hernández Dual Language K-8 School in
Roxbury, described the many additional personnel her school has been able to hire using
federal pandemic relief funds.
“When you've been hustling as long as we have, this feels like a luxury. But it' not. It's the
basics of what all kids need, but only some kids actually get," said Allen. "When those federal
funds run out in two years, then what? Back to triage? No! We need to pass Question 1. No
more one-time funding that runs out. No more running out on our kids. No more running out
on our future."
Then, canvassers headed out to speak to Boston voters about how the Fair Share Amendment
would help improve our public schools and colleges and our roads, bridges, and public
transportation infrastructure, all by making the very rich pay their fair share.
Background on Question 1: the Fair Share Amendment
The Fair Share Amendment – Question 1 on the November ballot – will allow Massachusetts to
improve our transportation and public education systems by making the very rich pay their fair
share. Question 1 would create a 4 percent tax on the portion of a person’s annual income
above $1 million and constitutionally dedicate the funds to be spent on transportation and
public education. Only people who earn more than $1 million annually will be impacted; 99% of
us won’t pay a penny more. And we’ll all benefit from better schools, roads, bridges, and public
transportation.
Thousands of educators, workers, small business owners, parents, faith leaders, municipal
officials, drivers and transit riders, and more than 350 organizations across the state are
working together to pass Question 1. Our campaign has been endorsed by 80 labor unions, 63
community organizing groups, 15 faith-based groups, more than 75 businesses, and more than
100 other social service and not-for-profit organizations focused on housing, education,
transportation, public health, and the environment. Learn more and get involved at
FairShareMA.com.
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The Fair Share for Massachusetts campaign is led by Raise Up Massachusetts, a coalition of
community organizations, faith-based groups, and labor unions committed to building an
economy that invests in families, gives everyone the opportunity to succeed, and creates
broadly shared prosperity. Since our coalition came together in 2013, we have nearly doubled
wages for hundreds of thousands of working people by winning two increases in the state’s
minimum wage, won best-in-the-nation earned sick time and paid family and medical leave
benefits for workers and their families, and started to build an economy that works for all of us, not just those at the top.