Mendes v. City of Taunton

General Laws c. 149, § 178H, declares that “[e]mployees shall have, and be protected in the exercise of, the right... to bargain collectively ... on questions of wages, hours and other conditions of employment....” The provision is parallel to G. L. c. 150A, § 3,1 guaranteeing the right to collective bargaining to employees in the private sector and implementing *492the policy in G. L. c. 150A, § 1 (third unnumbered paragraph).2 This suggests a similar flexibility in negotiating wage patterns in the public sector and an intent to stabilize labor relations by contract — at least for a period up to…