Pass The Labor Rate Bill

Guide to Contacting Your Legislators

    You can help our industry pass the Auto Body Labor Rate Bill. Our belief is that if enough shop owners, employees, suppliers, business associates, customers, and your family and friends get involved just a little bit, we can achieve what we deserve so much - fair labor rates based on the quality of work that you do. This involvement includes making phone calls or sending emails, faxes, and letters to your legislators. If they receive this message enough times from people they represent, they will notice our issue and act in our behalf.

    This guide should help you do what you need to do to help our cause. You may want to print this page if you will send your messages manually, or you can transmit your messages electronically right on the computer. Here's the procedure:

    If you plan to send emails to your legislators directly from the web, then go to the "Sample Letters" page, open the letter you wish to send via email, highlight the contents of the letter, and "copy" it into your computer's temporary memory or "clipboard." Then, when you get the email address of the legislator to whom you want to send your message, you can "paste" the contents of the message into the body of the email screen. This is just one of many ways to use the sample letters

    You can find the name and contact information for your state representative and state senator by clicking here (http://www.wheredoivotema.com/bal/myelectioninfo.php), or click the "Find Your Representatives" button on the left side of this web page. This will bring up a page from the Massachusetts Secretary of State's office entitled, "My Election Information."

    Enter your home or workplace address and click the "Find My Election Information" button. Your screen should display a list of people who represent you in the federal and state governments. There are two gray blocks under the subtitle "Who Are My Elected Officials." Look at the second block entitled "District Representatives." There, you will see the legislators who represent the address you entered (your home or your workplace).

    The name of your state senator should be the second name in this list, under your U.S. Congress representative, and next to the words "Senate in General Court." (The Massachusetts State Legislature is called the "General Court.') Your state representative is listed below your senator, next to the words "Rep in General Court."

    Click just the name of the legislator, not the name of the district. This will bring you to a profile page for the legislator where you'll find all of the important contact information. If you wish to send a letter through the mail (use your company letterhead if you have one), make sure you use the room number at the State House listed on the profile. You will also find phone numbers for his or her State House office, or a local office that he or she may have in the district (not all legislators operate local offices). You may also find a fax number, either at the State House or for a district office, for sending a fax. But, most importantly, you should find an email address that you can click that should bring you to your email page. The legislator's email address should already be placed into the "Send To" line for your email. Next, you can "paste" the message that you copied earlier into the body of the email page.

    Then, make sure you end the message using your name and the correct address for that legislator. If he or she represents the district that covers your home address, make sure you list that address under your name. If the legislator represents the area of your workplace, be sure to list the company name and that address. If the same legislator represents both your home address and your business address, please send just one letter, preferably from your business address.

   There, it's done! And, it's so simple to do your part in this effort. If you'd like to "multiply" your efforts for maximum benefit, we've got some suggestions to get your spouse, family, employees, customers, and friends involved in helping your cause for labor rate reform in Massachusetts. Just click this link: www.passthelaborratebill.com/???????.

If you have any questions, please contact us at the office at (617) 484-0205. Thank you for your help.