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Massachusetts Question 2, Require Labor Unions to Disclose Officers and Finances Initiative (1946)
| Massachusetts Question 2 | |
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| Election date |
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| Topic Collective bargaining |
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| Status |
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| Type Indirect initiated state statute |
Origin |
Massachusetts Question 2 was on the ballot as an indirect initiated state statute in Massachusetts on November 5, 1946. It was approved.
A “yes” vote supported requiring labor unions to file public reports with the Commissioner of Labor and Industries disclosing their officers, financial details, and expenditures, with penalties for noncompliance or false reporting. |
A “no” vote opposed requiring labor unions to file public reports with the Commissioner of Labor and Industries disclosing their officers, financial details, and expenditures, with penalties for noncompliance or false reporting. |
Election results
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Massachusetts Question 2 |
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| Result | Votes | Percentage | ||
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789,317 | 68.63% | ||
| No | 360,771 | 31.37% | ||
Text of measure
Ballot title
The ballot title for Question 2 was as follows:
| “ | Shall this measure which provides that no labor union may be operated or maintained unless there is filed with the Commissioner of Labor and Industries a statement signed by the President and Treasurer setting forth the union's officers, aims, scale of dues, fees, fines, assessments and the salaries of the officers. The President and Treasurer of a labor union is required to file annually with the Commissioner of Labor and Industries a detailed statement in writing setting forth all receipts and expenditures of the union which shall be open to the public, and the said Commissioner is given the power to summons witnesses and records; and there is a penalty of not less than $50.00 nor more than $500.00 for whoever fails to file a statement or whoever knowingly makes a false statement,— which was disapproved in the House of Representatives by a vote of 50 in the affirmative and 154 in the negative and in the Senate by a vote of 6 in the affirmative and 24 in the negatives, — be approved? YES NO | ” |
Path to the ballot
Before 1952, citizen-initiated ballot measures in Massachusetts required a fixed number of signatures. In 1950, voters approved a constitutional amendment changing this to a percentage-based system, tying the number of required signatures to ballots cast in the most recent gubernatorial election. Before 1952, the signature requirement for indirect initiated state statutes was 20,000, with an additional 5,000 if the Legislature rejected the proposal and proponents wanted it placed on the ballot.
See also
External links
- William Francis Galvin Secretary of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, "Massachusetts Statewide Ballot Measures: 1919-Present"
- Athol Daily News, "LEGAL NOTICE," October 24, 1946
Footnotes
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