Yesterday on Wednesday, June 25th, Co-Executive Directors Alicia Fleming and Lily Huang shared testimonies on their support for House Bill 2739, which would enable employees of the Committee on Public Counsel Services to collectively bargain, which should already be a right granted to any employee. Below is Lily’s testimony: 

Lily Huang

Quincy MA 02130

Massachusetts Jobs with Justice Co-Executive Director

Good afternoon, Committee chairs Rep Gordon and Senator Brady and good afternoon committee members. My name is Lily Huang and I live in Quincy, Mass. I am the Co-Executive Director of Massachusetts Jobs with Justice. We are a statewide coalition with a hybrid approach of building collective power by building multi-stake holder coalitions and building individual grassroots members to win campaigns for working people, low-income and poor, BIPOC and immigrant, women and families. Our coalition has more than 160 unions, community groups, faith groups and student groups with offices in Springfield and Boston and our individual members number in the thousands in our gateway cities. 

During the last four- five difficult years, public defenders have provided the basic human right to representation that we all deserve. When our members who were undocumented went to court for everyday hearings or errands, they were faced with being abducted by ICE officers at Court and put into detention and deportation proceedings. Everyday and every time our members had to go to court, public defenders were able to represent their clients and defend the right of our members to go to court and attend their hearings. They ensured our members and your constituents have the right to have their day in court. 

Along with CPCS employees benefitting from the passing of HB 2739, the well being of citizens of Massachusetts would improve. Public defenders serve the most vulnerable communities of our state, and if they are not working in conditions that enable them to support themselves and their own families, they won’t be able to support these individuals in the way that they deserve. With bargaining power, CPCS will be able to focus on their clients and providing them the best service, along with the best quality of defenders being more able and likely to stay long term. 

Workers should be granted the right to unionize. CPCS, while granted many benefits that apply to other state employees, are not currently able to unionize. The opportunity to unionize allows workers to participate more directly in the structure of their own working conditions, along with the ability to negotiate better wages for themselves and their coworkers. The state is already spending millions of dollars hiring new workers yearly due to workers leaving CPCS, and when unionization occurs, staff turnover drops, as workers become confident that they will be secure in their job. 

As an organization that has advocated for the rights of all workers, Massachusetts Jobs With Justice supports House Bill 2739. This bill would enable employees of the Committee on Public Counsel Services to collectively bargain, which should already be a right granted to any employee. If CPCS is allowed to participate in collective bargaining and permitted to pursue unionization, this would benefit not only the workers, but all residents of Massachusetts.