PROPOSITION 2 : THE MASSACHUSETTS TAX REVOLT AND ITS IMPACT ON PUBLIC SECTOR LABOR RELATIONS

GARY D. ALTMAN


DOI: 10.2190/U9P8-E4B9-W815-MEKP

Abstract

In November 1980, Massachusetts residents overwhelmingly voted to approve a drastic property tax limitation. The author reviews the origins and major provisions of the tax rollback law, including one that eliminates binding interest arbitration for police and fire labor disputes. Also covered is the profound effect that Proposition 2 has had on municipal revenue, and the impact this has had on reduction of public services and public employment. The paper reviews, in addition, labor and management's reactions to the first year of Proposition 2 , and how the state's legal system and Labor Relations Commission resolved and increased number of cases related to the law.

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