Governor Patrick had a good week this last week

The Patrick administration announced deals with several public employee unions that included givebacks, wage increase deferments and furloughs that will save the state millions and help public employees avoid layoffs. Despite reducing the state's payroll by a couple thousand workers, the Commonwealth's budget is still seriously in the red. These concessions allow services to continue ...

... and workers to keep their jobs.
On another front, several business and industry groups endorsed Governor Patrick's plan to contain the costs of medical insurance. The cost controls will be implemented on insurer and provider increases if the legislature, the General Court, enacts the plan set out by the Patrick administration.