Representative Thomas P. Walsh (D-Peabody) participated in The Labor Guild’s Human Trafficking Symposium sharing how his legislation, House Bill 2416, An Act requiring human trafficking recognition training for certain hospitality workers, seeks to end the practice of human traffickers using hotels and motels in Massachusetts. Walsh’s legislation, co-presented with Senator Joan B. Lovely (D-Salem), requires a visual warning of the dangers of human trafficking to be displayed in every hotel and motel in the Commonwealth and mandates staff participate in an approved training program designed to identify and report human trafficking. These initiatives will serve to both build public awareness of human trafficking as well as to educate front-line hospitality employees about behaviors that may indicate a person is being trafficked.
“My introduction to human trafficking took place several years ago during a joint federal/state/local law enforcement sting operation where I joined the Peabody Police Department and observed the rescuing of the trafficking victims and the arrests of the perpetrators at a local hotel,” said Walsh. “I am grateful to The Labor Guild and my fellow panelists for the opportunity to share the legislative efforts we’ve been making on Beacon Hill to combat this serious, dehumanizing crime.”
Peabody Police Detective Lieutenant Dave Bonfanti, UNITE HERE Local 26 member William Brown, and General Agent for UNITE HERE Local 26 Jamie McNeil joined Representative Walsh in participating on the panel. Providing her personal story and an overview of human trafficking, the symposium’s keynote speaker was Stacy Reed, doctoral student, CEO, and Founder of Stacy’s Joy Consulting LLC.
Human trafficking occurs when individuals are compelled to work or provide services through the use of force, fraud, or coercion, known as labor trafficking, and when individuals are compelled to engage in commercial sex through the use of force, fraud, or coercion. The federal Department of Homeland Security states that traffickers often take advantage of the privacy and anonymity accessible through the hospitality industry, making hotels and motels especially attractive locations for all forms of trafficking.
Reported favorably by the Joint Committee on Public Safety and Homeland Security, H2416 is currently before the House Committee on Ways and Means for consideration. Anyone interested in learning more about this legislation is encouraged to contact Representative Walsh at 617-722-2410 or by email at Thomas.Walsh@mahouse.gov.
