Mass Lawmakers ask AG Campbell to Join Firefighter Lawsuit Against Gear Makers and Investigate ‘Deceptive Practices’
This has been a very long time coming…
I applaud the swift action of Senator Mike Moore who, on the same day he found out Massachusetts was NOT suing the gear makers, (it had largely been assumed the gear makers were part of AG Healey’s lawsuit against the PFAS makers..) he acted immediately to draft a ‘sign on’ letter and circulate to both sides of the isle on Beacon Hill.
Maura Healey had every opportunity to do this. She refused — REFUSED — to act. She put her political career over the rights of firefighters and Massachusetts taxpayers by NOT ACTING. She took her CUES from a unscrupulous union kingpin who — for five long years — obstructed the war on cancer in the fire service. Harold Schaitberger, then president of the IAFF had known since 2016 of the concerns of PFOA in turnout gear. Instead of acting, he communicated with the gear makers, and act of cowardice, and promulgated industry science to the front line for five years.
During years 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023 — I communicated no less than 200 times with AG Healey, pleading with her to act and sue Turnout Gear Makers for the Comm of MA. She would not. She took the signals of Harold Schaitberger, then powerful DC mover and shaker, and stood down on firefighters… all the while standing next to us for photos.
On the same day she delivered the news that she was suing the AFFF makers my arrows lit up the sky with piercing screams of protest that she was NOT acting for firefighters with cancer — even while she used the MA PFAS Task Force’s own report that focused largely on firefighter cancer, she ignored the gear. Her people told me over and over “we see this as an environmental issue”.. The Healey Administration did nothing for firefighters like it did for the Opioid epidemic.
I had years of meetings, emails, calls, communications with Maura Healey on this issue. I want you to see how it’s done when a politician puts her own political career above the rights of the community she is sworn to uphold.
This was the righteous thing to do. Thank you so very much every single signatory.
I hope every state in the union follows suit.
BE BRAVE.
dc 12.20.2023