Employees of the Committee for Public Counsel Services, including lawyers and social workers, are pushing to unionize and hope to have the issue on the ballot next year.
Supporters argue that as state workers, they deserve the right to form a union like others have. Public defenders and the head of Service Employees International Union Local 888 have filed a ballot question with the attorney general's office to allow CPCS workers to form a union.
Public defenders cite pay as just one reason for wanting the right to unionize, expressing concerns about retaining talented individuals.
"People who come out of really good law schools, but we're not able to retain them for very long, and I think that's because we don't have a contract," said Daniel Werner.
The ballot petition aims to change state law on collective bargaining to define CPCS as a public employer, a change supporters have sought for years.
"Having the ability to collectively bargain gives them predictability, gives them security for the future," said Tom McKeever.
The Committee for Public Counsel Services currently has 384 trial lawyers, 91 non-trial lawyers and 12 lawyers on the senior management team. Under a new law signed by the governor, they plan to add 320 new lawyers over the next two years.
Meanwhile, bar advocates, who staged a work stoppage over low pay, are separate and would not be included as they are private lawyers who are subcontractors.
However, other CPCS workers, including social workers, administrative assistants, investigators, and IT staff, would be included.
"It's not just attorneys, it's social workers, it's administrative assistants. It's investigators. It's IT staff," said Jeff Whiteside.
https://www.wcvb.com/article/massachusetts-ballot-proposals-deadline/65614890
