Three weeks after failing to attend a hearing on legislation that would provide a safer work environment for Department of Youth Services (DYS) Employees, DYS Commissioner Jane Tewksbury appeared before a legislative panel to defend her opposition to the measure.

Less than ten days after Massachusetts legislators passed a measure that reduced collective bargaining rights and enabled municipalities to shift a greater share of healthcare costs to public employees, it appears that a coalition of public employee unions have convinced Governor Patrick to make amendments to the measure that mitigate the impact on municipal workers. Anticipated changes by the governor include providing workers with a greater share of cost savings achieved through plan design changes and better protections for retirees and individuals who highly utilize their benefits. 

Proponents of union-busting Right to Work legislation were dealt another defeat this week when New Hampshire Republican House Speaker William O’Brien announced he would continue to run from an override vote that would have killed the latest attempt to implement the legislation in the Granite State.

The victory comes just three weeks after labor effectively led a Republican-controlled legislature to “table" a public-sector Right-to-Work bill in Maine until the next legislative session in January.