Mass. public defenders push for union rights on November ballot

Public defenders in Massachusetts have argued for years about the right to unionize through the state Legislature. But after years of legal hurdles, the labor fate of more than 400 staff attorneys and 800 total employees will be in the hands of voters this November.

Most state employees have the ability to unionize, but not the Committee for Public Counsel Services.

“That’s the loophole that we need to close in order to bring collective bargaining rights to these employees,” said Tom McKeever, president of the SEIU Local 888. “[They] are state employees in every way. They want the same rights afforded to other state employees.”

It’s a little-discussed ballot question among the long list of nine initiatives that voters will be deciding in November. Courts in Massachusetts have repeatedly found that state law does not allow staff with the Committee for Public Counsel Services to unionize, and advocates say the Legislature has refused to act. Now, one small piece of Massachusetts’ public defense system will be up to voters — a system that has been unusually high profile after contracted attorneys refused to take on cases last year.

The Committee for Public Counsel Services oversees the state’s public defender system to represent indigent clients. They’ve been discussing the idea of unionizing for years and have been working with SEIU Local 888 to put the question on this year’s ballot.

The proposal wouldn’t automatically create a bargaining unit, but it would let public defenders unionize, much like police or teachers.

When contacted by GBH News, a spokesperson for CPCS said the agency hasn’t taken a position on the ballot question.

In March, during a hearing in front of the Special Joint Committee on Initiative Petitions, the agency’s chief counsel Anthony Benedetti, said, “The role of CPCS leadership is not to advocate for a particular outcome.” He added in his remarks that CPCS must ensure that whatever framework is adopted can operate effectively while maintaining the constitutional obligation to provide counsel to indigent clients.

“Everyone deserves the right to collectively bargain and Local 888 ... are here to ensure that folks that wish to organize can certainly take that pathway,” McKeever said.

There’s no formal opposition to the campaign. Even if the ballot question is passed, there is “broad coordination” needed from CPCS supervisors, the prospective union, the governor and the state Legislature, according to the Center for State Policy Analysis at Tufts University.

Evan Horowitz, the center’s executive director, described the initiative as more of a technical fix than a large policy change.

“It’s just a very focused, very narrow issue that ended up on the ballot because it couldn’t move forward any other way,” Horowitz told GBH News. “Certainly not because it’s one of the nine most pressing things for the state to deal with.”

A recent poll showed lukewarm support for this question. But some advocates chalk up the poor polling to a lack of awareness.

“Our takeaway from that poll was that there was a significant number of people that did not know, had not heard of the question and did not know what the question was in reference to,” said Tanvi Verma, a public defender at the Committee for Public Counsel Services.

Verma has been with the agency for three years. In that time, she says she’s seen countless of her colleagues find other opportunities.

“They’ve left for other states where they are able to unionize,” Verma told GBH News. “When folks leave for lifestyle reasons, for caseload reasons, for stress reasons, it’s just a huge hindrance to our clients.”

These are issues she hopes could be negotiated with a union.

The question of unionization for state-employed public defenders is playing out amid a recent “crisis.”

A significant shortage of attorneys to represent indigent clients left thousands without representation and caused the state’s public defenders to take on extra cases.

Among people who can’t afford an attorney, nearly 80% are represented by private attorneys who serve the same basic purpose — also known as bar advocates. However, bar advocates are independent contractors.

Bar advocates have been on a fight of their own for more adequate pay. In May 2025, many bar advocates refused to take on new cases to push for better pay. State lawmakers raised the hourly pay for bar advocates by $20, raising the hourly pay rate for district court cases to $85 and $140 for murder cases.

By comparison, the hourly rate for bar advocates in Maine is $158; in New Hampshire, it’s $125 to $150; and in Rhode Island, the range is $112 to $142.

“There are just bigger problems with the way the state ... pays indigent defense attorneys,” Horowitz said. “I think if there were a broader fix, it might get more attention, more support, more discussion. This feels like, in some ways, like a side issue from the conversation we should be having about indigent defense.”