Question 2: Collective Bargaining for CPCS Employees
Statewide — all of Massachusetts
General election · Tuesday, November 3, 2026
- Placed on the ballot by initiative petition: the Information for Voters labels it a law proposed by initiative petition on which no vote was taken by the Senate or the House of Representatives before May 6, 2026. The Legislature's Special Joint Committee on Initiative Petitions issued the legislative reports reproduced in the same booklet.[1]
The question 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? Collective Bargaining for CPCS Employees: 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.[1]
The measure would specify that employees of the Committee for Public Counsel Services (CPCS) may engage in collective bargaining with their employer, and would require CPCS, after executing a collective bargaining agreement, to request the necessary appropriation from the Governor. Statement of fiscal consequences (Executive Office for 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.[1]
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.
The law today
A No vote "would make no change to the law governing labor relations for Committee for Public Counsel Service employees" (official statement). The pro argument states CPCS employees do not currently have the right to choose whether to organize and collectively bargain. The Legislature's committee report describes CPCS as established to ensure that indigent individuals receive legal representation in criminal and certain family law matters.[1]
Official fiscal estimate
Executive Office for Administration and Finance: the proposed law "may have an impact on state finances"; CPCS is funded in part by state appropriations, and the fiscal impact "is difficult to project due to the uncertainty regarding the outcomes of any such collective bargaining by CPCS employees."[1]
Arguments made for
- In the 150-word argument in favor signed by Tom McKeever of Labor Unions for Public Counsel Workers Rights, as printed in the Information for Voters: "A YES vote will give employees of the Massachusetts Committee for Public Counsel Services (CPCS) the right to organize a union and collectively bargain with their employer if they choose to do so."[1]
Arguments made against
- None found in public sources.
On record in support
On record in opposition
- A majority of the Legislature's Special Joint Committee on Initiative Petitions voted May 4, 2026 to recommend that the General Court take no action on the petition (majority report). The Information for Voters states there was no organized group urging a No vote when it was printed[1]
Campaign money
Receipts reported to the Massachusetts Office of Campaign and Political Finance (OCPF) by committees registered for this question, calendar years 2025 and 2026 combined, as published in OCPF's ballot question reports and retrieved Oct 19, 2026 (through each committee's most recent filing). Supporting ($1,068,110 total): Labor Unions for Public Counsel Workers Rights $1,068,060; Democratic Socialists For a Fair Massachusetts $50 | Opposing: no committees registered with OCPF. Committees registered on more than one question report one total for all of them, so these figures overlap across questions.[2]
Research notes & limits
Ballot text, official yes/no statements and fiscal statements are taken from the Secretary of the Commonwealth's 2026 Information for Voters booklet (PDF text extracted and checked by script). Arguments are quoted from the signed 150-word pro/con statements, which the Commonwealth states reflect the authors' opinions and are not certified as accurate. No signed argument against appears: the booklet states there was no organized group urging a No vote and prints text compiled by the Secretary's office, which is not quoted here. The booklet's own summary is the Attorney General's; the Secretary's page and Ballotpedia could not be fetched (bot protection), so the ballot list was confirmed from the booklet itself, which covers nine questions. Added Oct 19, 2026: supporters/opponents are the signers of the Information for Voters arguments, committees registered with OCPF for each question (OCPF lists each committee as supporting or opposing), and the Legislature's committee reports printed in the booklet; no endorsement lists from other organizations were verified. Campaign-finance figures are from the OCPF reports API, which publishes year-to-date totals by committee and does not state a single as-of date.
Sources · 2
Researched 2026-10-19. Green citations are official government records.
- 1.2026 Massachusetts Information for Voters (State Election, November 3, 2026) · Secretary of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Official record
- 2.OCPF ballot question committee reports, 2026 (committees and year-to-date receipts) · Massachusetts Office of Campaign and Political Finance · 2026-10-19 Official record