Senator Patricia Jehlen was elected to the Massachusetts Senate in 2005. She represents Medford, Somerville, and parts of Winchester and Cambridge.Senator Jehlen serves as Senate Chair of the Joint Committee on Labor and Workforce Development, Senate Chair of the Joint Committee on Elder Affairs, and as Vice Chair of the Joint Committee on Marijuana Policy. Senator Jehlen also serves on the Committees on Ways and Means, Revenue, and Community Development and Small Businesses.
Too often, those at the bottom of the economic ladder are not given the opportunity to raise themselves up to a better life. I believe in investing in our working class, by ensuring a fair wage, access to proper sick and parental leave, and ensuring that people working in our homes have the same protections as people working in our offices. We have had some recent victories in these areas, by enacting in law an increase in the minimum wage to $11 and protecting domestic workers with a bill of rights. In addition, after years of work, one of...