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Labor
Supports
Patrick’s
Proposal
February
26,
2008
Online
gambling
brings
strange
bedfellows
together.
Take
for
instance
Governor
Deval
Patrick
over
there
in
Massachusetts
trying
to
gain
support
for
his
gambling
proposal.
He
is
determined
that
he
is
going
to
bring
three
casinos
into
the
state,
as
this
is
going
to
help
with
the
state’s
budget.
However,
if
only
life
were
that
simple.
He
has
had
to
battle
his
opponents
who
say
that
the
amounts
that
he
says
are
going
to
come
from
these
casinos
are
false;
that
an
anti-casino
pressure
group
has
brought
in a
big
player
to
combat
his
proposal;
and
an
Indian
Tribe
trying
to
bring
in
their
own
casino.
It
changes
on a
week
by
week
basis
as
to
whether
or
not
there
are
more
people
in
support
of
the
casinos
than
against.
However,
he
would
have
more
people
on
his
side
if
he
simply
allowed
online
gambling
in
the
bill.
In
fact,
he
doesn’t
even
have
to
mention
online
gambling,
but
the
fact
that
he
has
makes
it
difficult
for
even
those
who
support
him
to
support
him.
The
proposal
excludes
online
gambling
and
Indian
land
casinos
from
the
state,
which
he
just
can’t
do.
If
he
starts
bringing
in
casinos
and
slots,
he
has
to
allow
the
tribes
to
do
the
same
thing
per
federal
law.
And
what
if
the
online
gambling
ban
is
reversed?
Is
he
going
to
patrol
the
airwaves
to
see
if
people
are
participating?
However,
one
group
he
does
have
on
his
side
is
the
labor
unions.
He
tells
them
that
the
building
of
the
casino
will
bring
in
thousands
of
jobs,
and
so
the
labor
unions
support
the
plan
as
they
want
those
jobs
for
their
members.
The
400,000
member
Massachusetts
AFL-CIO
has
announced
that
they
are
throwing
their
support
behind
Patrick
and
his
bill.
Not
bad
for
a
day’s
work.
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