YES on 2 (Collective Bargaining for Public Defenders)
Question 2 would enable employees of the Committee on Public Counsel Services to collectively bargain for salaries, benefits, leave policy, and other working conditions
Why YES on 2
Every worker deserves a union. Public defenders should be no exception.
Public defenders are often overworked and underpaid. Ensuring that public defenders have good pay and benefits is essential for a functioning justice system.
- Public defenders have fought for decades for the right to unionize. Beacon Hill should have already passed this. Let’s end this injustice.
Who Is Behind It?
The top backers of the Question 2 ballot committee are National Association of Government Employees (NAGE) and SEIU Local 888.
Write a Letter to the Editor
Adapt the template below! Or email us at issues@progressivemass.com for help!
Public defenders in Massachusetts have been trying to organize for decades, but each time–in 1979, 1993, and most recently in 2015–they were stymied by the state labor relations department. Other public employees have the right to collectively bargain for pay, benefits, and a voice in the workplace. Why should public defenders be an exception? Their work, often emotionally taxing and time-consuming, is foundational for our justice system.
Workers should not have to go to the ballot to secure basic rights. But with Beacon Hill dominated by inertia, they have to do. Join me in voting YES on Question 2 to end this injustice.
Read More
- Learn more at https://www.unionyeson2.org/.
- Pfeiffer, Sacha. “Low pay blamed for high turnover among public defenders.” Boston Glob. January 13, 2015.
- Johnston, Katie. “Public defenders, facing abysmal pay, attempt to unionize.” Boston Globe. July 2, 2015.
- Warren, Trajan. “Public defenders bring fight for unionization to Beacon Hill.” WGBH. March 16, 2026.