By Shira Schoenberg Ethan Snow, the political director of UNITE Here, a union representing hospitality, food service and textile workers, likes Democratic congressional candidate Karen Spilka because of her record as a labor lawyer and legislator. "She's one of the few candidates I've seen who has a segment on her website devoted to her stance on labor issues. She isn't afraid to say the word 'union,'" Snow said. Unions have formed the backbone of Spilka's campaign to win the 5th District congressional seat. In an interview with The Republican and MassLive.com, Spilka, a state senator, expanded on her stances relating to workers, including raising the minimum wage and using project labor agreements, as well has her intent to protect taxpayers by increasing financial regulations. "I have support from 33 labor organizations, and I believe they're endorsing me because they know I'm a fighter, and I don't back down from issues," Spilka said. "I believe Congress is not working for working families right now, and the middle class is getting squeezed from all sides." Spilka's stances generally favor labor. She supports the Employee Free Choice Act, a bill that would allow a union to form by collecting signatures from a majority of workers, rather than by ballot vote. She supports "fair trade," and wants to ensure that trade agreements include labor and environmental standards. Spilka worked on a project labor agreement for the Deer Island treatment plant in Massachusetts in the late 1980s, in which the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority agreed to use only union labor. The agreement went up the U.S. Supreme Court and was upheld. Since then, there has been debate over the use of agreements requiring union labor on public projects. Spilka said the Deer Island agreement "helped that project come in on time, under budget and high quality." She supports the use of project labor agreements in "the more circumstances the better." Project labor agreements are opposed by the building industry which contends such agreements increase prices by reducing the pool of bidders. Greg Beeman, president of the Massachusetts chapter of Associated Builders and Contractors, said his group believes it is unfair to exclude a local worker from a project because he is not unionized. "Out of fairness and economics, we think public jobs should be fairly and legitimately open to all workers and contractors that are qualified to be part of those projects," Beeman said. Spilka supports raising the minimum wage and indexing it to inflation. She would tie the minimum wage to geographic location, so it accounts for the cost of living in each state. "I believe a minimum wage should be set that allows people to work one job and support their family comfortably," Spilka said. "We should have it so families don't need two or three jobs to make ends meet." Raising the minimum wage is typically supported by labor, but opposed by business groups which say it will discourage companies from hiring entry level workers. "She sticks up for us, stands with us and is seen as a strong candidate for labor," Snow said. More broadly, Spilka echoes the campaign themes of Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren when she says she wants to "take on…the big banks, insurance companies, special interests and good old boys' network." She would oppose Republican attempts to add exemptions to new rules regulating derivatives, which are included in the Dodd-Frank financial reform bill. She wants to pass a renewed Glass-Steagall Act, which would prohibit commercial banks from making certain types of risky investments. Warren, Arizona Republican Sen. John McCain and others have pushed for a new Glass-Steagall Act, saying it would end the era of banks that are "too big to fail." She would push for a bill sponsored by U.S. Sens. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, and David Vitter, R-La., that would require banks with more than $500 billion in assets to hold 15 percent in capital. "This way banks never have to rely on taxpayers bailing them out," Spilka said. Economists warn that these measures are complex. Ben Branch, a professor of finance at the Isenberg School of Management at UMass Amherst, said Glass-Steagall is a "blunt instrument" that would potentially make banks less profitable and would require them to stop activities that are not particularly risky -- such as advancing loans for initial public offerings and operating stock brokerage operations. It would eliminate competition between commercial and investment banks. He said the Volcker rule, already passed as part of Dodd-Frank, is intended to accomplish a similar goal by prohibiting commercial banks from speculative investing. "What the Volcker rule is designed to do is pretty much the same thing as Glass Steigall would do but not as draconian," Branch said. Similarly, Branch said requiring large banks to hold more capital could disrupt the system. To raise capital, banks would either sell stock -- diluting the value of existing shares -- or reduce assets, such as loans. "Pushing them to have a higher rate of capital to assets would tend to make them do less lending, which is not a good thing particularly in the present economic circumstance," Branch said. Spilka stressed that the capital requirement would only apply to large banks. "Should they be allowed to empty their bank vault and risk it all?" she said. "If they keep at least 15 percent capital reserve, it would be enough to cover their losses, and we'd never have to bail out banks." Other priorities for Spilka include investing in education, including funding for special education, early education and training in science and math. She also supports investments in transportation and infrastructure. Spilka, asked about her focus on labor, said it is not only unions supporting her. "It's not just organized labor issues. To me, it's working families," Spilka said. Spilka is facing state Sen. Katherine Clark, state Sen. Will Brownsberger, state Rep. Carl Sciortino, Middlesex County Sheriff Peter Koutoujian, Martin Long and Paul Maisano, in an Oct. 15 Democratic primary.

By Sen. Karen Spilka We have all been touched by terrible tragedies over this last year. The mass murders in Aurora, Colorado and Newtown, Connecticut shocked us all. Unbelievably, despite those awful events, Congress has failed to act. We owe it to our children, our families and our communities to strengthen gun control laws to prevent future tragedies caused by senseless violence. Massachusetts has been a leader among the states with some of the strictest gun control laws, but even here we fall short in protecting our communities. According to FBI data, 122 murders were committed with guns in Massachusetts in 2011. That same year, guns were used in 1,486 armed robberies and 1,870 aggravated assaults. These numbers are chilling -- no one should have to live in fear of gun violence. As a country, we ultimately need to establish uniform national standards. A report by Mayors Against Illegal Guns shows that states with weak gun laws are very often the sources of guns recovered from Massachusetts crime scenes. Strict gun control legislation at the state-level is meaningless when guns and other dangerous weapons can make their way across state lines. Communities across the country are struggling with the same fears and risks, and as a country we must address these issues. While we wait for Congress to act, there are changes we can and should make to strengthen Massachusetts' own gun control laws. Those changes are being debated by the State Legislature right now. On Friday, Sept. 13, the Joint Committee on Public Safety and Homeland Security will hold its final public hearing on bills related to gun safety and regulation at the State House. This is the last of five public hearings that were held across the state, seeking feedback and testimony on more than 60 bills addressing a range of gun-related issues. With input from the public -- including gun violence survivors, victims' advocates, educators and responsible gun owners -- my colleagues and I hope to draft and pass comprehensive gun control legislation. We must do what we can to prevent future tragedies and protect the lives of our children and neighbors. A final comprehensive bill must close the loopholes that impede the enforcement of our current gun laws, increasing public safety while also protecting the rights of law-abiding, responsible gun owners. Of the many important gun safety bills filed this session, several key elements are especially necessary in any final bill. Background checks. We must improve the background check system to keep firearms out of the hands of dangerous individuals, without stigmatizing vulnerable populations. Oversight of private gun sales. Our laws must ensure that all gun transactions are made through registered dealers. A strong background check system and other gun safety restrictions have no chance of being effective if people are able to sidestep these rules by purchasing guns from unregistered dealers. High capacity weapons. High capacity and military-style weapons do not belong on our streets and in our homes. The sale of these types of weapons must be limited or even banned. FID card requirements. The requirements for the issuance of a firearms identification card (FID) should be changed to give more discretion to police departments. As part of a stronger background check system, local police chiefs should be allowed to more readily exercise their own judgment on a case-by-case basis. Above all, the debate over gun control must include thoughtful consideration of the issue of mental health. While our laws should keep dangerous weapons out of the hands of individuals unfit for such responsibility, as a community we must also prioritize services for the mentally ill and at-risk youth. Our entire society benefits when vulnerable populations receive the resources and services they need. Friday's public hearing -- beginning at 10 a.m. in the Gardner Auditorium at the State House -- is an important step in the fight to protect our communities and prevent future gun-related tragedies. The day-long hearing is an opportunity for members of the public to express their opinions, share their expertise and tell their stories. I hope that many in the community will make their voices heard.

On the second anniversary of Hurricane Irene's landfall on Massachusetts, congressional candidate Karen Spilka called for Congress to invest in an electric infrastructure bank to rebuild our crumbling electric grid. Our country needs an electrical grid for the 21st century. Our current grid is out-of-date and as severe weather is becoming increasingly frequent and our dependence on fossil fuels is becoming more unsustainable, we must update our grid to meet both of these challenges. "For too long in the Northeast, our plan to deal with our aging electric grid has been to hope for good weather. This isn't good enough. We need to invest in an electric infrastructure bank to fund the renewal of our country's electric grid infrastructure," said Karen. "Our country's grid has been rated D+, and here in Massachusetts we have one of the oldest grids in the country. We cannot continue to be held hostage by hurricanes and powerful storms. We can't have our economy come to a halt in the aftermath of severe weather because we lacked the leadership and foresight to get this done. I want to go to Congress and make this a reality." Added Karen, "Our electrical infrastructure is out-of-date and built for a fossil fuel based economy that is increasingly going to become obsolete. We need to invest in a new kind of clean energy like solar and wind that reduces our dependence on foreign oil and creates the innovative American jobs of tomorrow. It's time to get serious." Karen's electric grid infrastructure bank proposal has earned support from a wide variety of organizations and leaders. Said Dan Leary, Executive Vice President of the Utility Workers Local 369, "Karen Spilka understands that we have to do something about our electric grid. She knows that making an investment now would not only help secure our economic future but will also create thousands of jobs. We know that Karen will make a fantastic member of Congress because she is not afraid to take on big challenges when she knows it is the right thing to do." Matthew Commons, a local environmental leader said, "Rebuilding our electric grid just makes sense. We need to move away from our dependence on foreign oil and Karen Spilka knows that investing in our electric grid is a giant step in the right direction and I am proud to support her." The technology industry is also critically aware of the need to improve our electric infrastructure. "Here in Massachusetts, the future of our economy is the innovation economy, and having a steady and secure supply of electricity is absolutely necessary in reaching our full potential as a national leader in the technology industry," said Steve Derezinski, CEO and co-founder of INFINIUM, Inc. "Karen Spilka understands how important our industry is to the future of Massachusetts and that is why I am doing everything I can to send her to Congress." And small business owners, who help make up the backbone of our economy, know first-hand the financial impact that a blackout of several days can have on a local business. Said John Paltrineri, owner of Fiske's General Store in Holliston, "I know local businesses that were completely devastated by Irene, and I am proud that Karen Spilka is leading the way to rebuild our infrastructure so I can worry about running my business, not the 10 day forecast."