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Ballot question

Question 2: collective bargaining for public defender agency (CPCS) employees (initiative)

On the ballot in
Massachusetts
Vote
Yes or no
Election
Nov 3, 2026

The question, as printed on the ballot

Do you approve of a law summarized below, on which no vote was taken by the Senate or the House of Representatives before May 6, 2026? This proposed law would specify that employees of the Committee for Public Counsel Services (“CPCS”) are permitted to engage in collective bargaining with their employer. It would also require CPCS, after executing a collective bargaining agreement, to request the appropriation necessary to fund such agreement from the Governor.

A “Yes” vote means

A YES VOTE would specify that Committee for Public Counsel Services employees may form a union to collectively bargain with their employer.

A “No” vote means

A NO VOTE would make no change to the law governing labor relations for Committee for Public Counsel Service employees.

Official plain English statement

What your vote will do (written by the Attorney General and the Secretary of the Commonwealth): A YES VOTE would specify that Committee for Public Counsel Services employees may form a union to collectively bargain with their employer. A NO VOTE would make no change to the law governing labor relations for Committee for Public Counsel Service employees. Statement of fiscal consequences (written by the Executive Office of Administration and Finance): The proposed law may have an impact on state finances. CPCS receives its funding, in part, from state government appropriations. The fiscal impact of the proposed law is difficult to project due to the uncertainty regarding the outcomes of any such collective bargaining by CPCS employees.

Question 2 – Law Proposed by Initiative Petition. Full text, arguments and legislative votes: the Information for Voters booklet.

Sources

The question and plain English statement are copied word for word from official election materials. The Gist does not take a side on ballot questions.