Senate President Karen Spilka, relishing her chamber’s unanimous vote Wednesday to strengthen abortion rights and access in Massachusetts, declined to confirm whether another time-sensitive push on Beacon Hill — a Senate employee unionization effort spanning more than three months — could see action before formal sessions conclude at the end of July.
Spilka chalked up the delay to the Senate Counsel’s ongoing review of the collective bargaining request, as officials grapple with murky state law, in addition to political will, to gauge whether staffers can unionize or if a legislative tweak is necessary to proceed.
The Ashland Democrat did not elaborate on specific questions or issues still under review by Senate Counsel — or whether she expects to come to the collective bargaining table with her chamber’s employees in the rapidly dwindling days of the legislative session.
“I think Senate Counsel is getting closer to finalizing and that will determine the course of action,” Spilka told reporters Wednesday evening at the Massachusetts State House. “In a nutshell, this is a very complex area. No other state has done it yet, so I know that Senate Counsel is looking at the myriad of statutes and constitutional issues involved.”
Senate staffers launched their unionization campaign at the end of March in a coordinated bid to overcome wage disparities, address sexual harassment issues on Beacon Hill, curb steep turnover rates and bolster the Massachusetts Legislature’s overall...
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