Essential Today, Essential to the Future: Latinos and an Equitable Labor Market Economy

As we focus on an economic recovery for the Commonwealth, government, business, philanthropy, and community-based organizations share a common belief: we must build an equitable economy.  That is why the Massachusetts Business Roundtable – comprised of CEOs and senior executives from the state’s largest employers focused on advancing public policy to strengthen the Commonwealth’s long-term economic prosperity – is partnering…

Quarterly Policy Roundup: Q3 2021

The Roundtable is focused on seven priorities as part of the 2021 – 22 Legislative Session. There’s lots of progress underway and more to come, and we look forward to further engagement among members, policy makers, and the broader business community to support these priorities. As a reflection of our mission and underscored by our members, the Roundtable approaches our…

Open Forum Roundup: Roundtable Members on Updated Plans for Back-to-Office Health & Safety Measures

While the summer began with reopening the Massachusetts economy, Roundtable members like many employers were asking lots of questions by mid-summer in light of the Delta variant. Roundtable staff began to hear from members, contemplating the most appropriate plan to return to the office or revisit vaccination and masking policies. By August 2021, members reported pushing back return-to-office dates, in…

Open Forum Roundup: Evolving Worker Preferences for the Office; New Framework to Meet Changing Needs of Employees

Throughout the pandemic, the Roundtable’s Open Forums have provided a space for members to discuss best practices, trends, and new norms around the changing work environment.  On July 27, Roundtable member JLL presented the findings of a global study to understand worker preferences. The discussion featured Roundtable Executive Committee member Jim Tierney, Market Director, New England and Julia Georgules, Senior…

Open Forum Roundup: Creating Pathways to College & Career

Increasing opportunity pathways is at the center of the Roundtable’s advocacy for improved education and workforce development public policy and a key priority for the Roundtable during the 2021-22 Legislative Session. As part of this focus, the Roundtable convened an Open Forum to receive an overview from the state leaders behind the Commonwealth’s Early College High School (ECHS) program. ECHS…

Survey of Massachusetts Business Roundtable Members Provides More Insight on Post-Pandemic Planning Among Large Employers

The Massachusetts Business Roundtable (MBR) today released findings following a survey of its members, providing the latest insight on post-pandemic plans among large employers in the Commonwealth. Most notably, 79% of responding MBR members forecast using a hybrid working model postpandemic; by contrast, 90% of responding members maintained all or mostly in-person operations prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, representing a…

Roundtable Convenes Open Forum, and AAPI Community Reflects on Increased Hate Crimes and History of Racism

As part of the Roundtable’s bi-weekly Open Forum series for member companies, the Roundtable convened a session dedicated to understanding the pervasive and deep-rooted discrimination the Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) community has faced for centuries. Following an emotional presentation by Dr. Paul Watanabe, Professor of Political Science and Director of the Institute for Asian America Studies at UMass…