Massachusetts voters decide on the Nov. 3 state election ballot whether Question 2 should let employees of the Committee for Public Counsel Services form a union and bargain collectively with their employer.
CPCS provides legal representation to people who cannot afford counsel. Collective bargaining means employees negotiate together over matters such as pay and working conditions through a representative.
The official voter guide says a yes vote would establish that right. A no vote would leave the labor-relations law unchanged.
The proposal would also require CPCS to request funding from the governor after reaching an agreement. Passage would not itself set a pay raise. The state's fiscal assessment says costs are difficult to forecast because the outcomes of any bargaining are uncertain. CPCS is funded in part by state appropriations.
Tom McKeever of Labor Unions for Public Counsel Workers Rights argues employees should have the same organizing choice as other state workers. The guide's opposing argument, compiled by the secretary's office because no organized group was urging a no vote when the guide was printed, raises concerns about fiscal and operational risks for the judiciary, management flexibility and the delivery of legal services. The office drew in part on the Legislature's majority committee report.