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Massachusetts Question 6, Require Annual Labor Union Elections initiative (1948)
| Massachusetts Question 6 | |
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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 6 was on the ballot as an indirect initiated state statute in Massachusetts on November 2, 1948. It was defeated.
A “yes” vote supported requiring labor organization officer elections to be held at least annually, with advance notice, nomination by member petition, secret ballot voting, the presence of watchers, and penalties for violations. |
A “no” vote opposed requiring labor organization officer elections to be held at least annually, with advance notice, nomination by member petition, secret ballot voting, the presence of watchers, and penalties for violations. |
Election results
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Massachusetts Question 6 |
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| Result | Votes | Percentage | ||
| Yes | 637,324 | 35.76% | ||
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1,144,732 | 64.24% | ||
Text of measure
Ballot title
The ballot title for Question 6 was as follows:
| “ | Do you approve of a law summarized below which was disapproved in the House of Representatives by a vote of 82 in the affirmative and 126 in the negative and in the Senate by a vote of 13 in the affirmative and 20 in the negative? | ” |
Ballot summary
The ballot summary for this measure was:
| “ |
This measure requires that elections of officers of labor organizations shall be held at least annually. Sixty days' notice of a regular election and twenty days' notice of an election to fill one or more vacancies are required to be given by public announcement at a regular meeting, by notice in writing to each member, or in any other adequate manner. Candidates to be voted for must be nominated by a paper signed by ten members filed at least thirty days before a regular election and at least ten days before an election to fill a vacancy. The voting at such an election must be by secret written or printed ballot. Watchers appointed by nominating members and by union officers may be present during the voting and counting of ballots. Coercion and intimidation of members in connection with an election is prohibited, and violations of the provisions of the measure are made punishable by fine of not less than twenty-five dollars nor more than two hundred dollars or by imprisonment for not more than thirty days or both. | ” |
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 25, 1948
Footnotes
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