ABSTRACT
Popularly known as Proposition 2½, the referendum mandated a drastic rollback in property taxes. In addition, this proposal drastically restructured the balance of power between state and local governments and would have amended the public sector collective bargaining law. This referendum, however, was disallowed by the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office and was never placed on the ballot. Opponents, including the League of Women Voters, the Massachusetts Municipal Association, the Massachusetts Teachers Association, and other public sector unions, described the referendum as a “meat-ax” resolution to the complicated problems of municipal finance and tax reform. Between November 1980 and November 1981, public sector employment in Massachusetts fell by more than 36,600 positions, a 10.2 per cent reduction in public sector work force. Although there were a number of job actions during spring and summer of 1981, this fall the Labor Relations Commission had only one strike petition filed, involving the Boston teachers, and it did not result in an actual strike.
