On March 21, 1927, Rep. Birmingham joined his colleagues Rep. John F. Buckley and Rep. James J. Twohig in attacking Martin T. Joyce, lobbyist for the Massachusetts State Branch of the American Federation of Labor, who charged that House Democrats “kill off legislation relating to labor,” reported the Boston Globe (March 22, 1927, p. 28).
Joyce and other labor lobbyists have shown little interest in pushing labor issues in the Massachusetts legislature, the three Democratic legislators responded. “The only written communication we have received on legislation so far this session from labor is the one urging that we vote for Sunday professional baseball,” they quipped. By contrast, Democratic House members have been fighting hard to advance labor interests in the legislature, appearing before committees to testify in favor of labor friendly bills and fighting for their passage, they asserted. “All the rollcalls put through on labor bills were put through on the request of Democratic members, and the request for these rollcalls was 100 percent,” the statement said. Republican members of the House from heavily union labor districts do not take the initiative in secure rollcalls on these bills, so that union members in those districts have had to depend on the Democrats to look after their interests, the statement added.
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