Quick solutions to the bar advocate crisis, the other trash collectors’ strike

The first thing Governor Maura Healey should be required to do to solve the “bar advocate crisis,” is to stand on the steps of the state house and thank every current and former bar advocate in Massachusetts for saving the taxpayers of the Commonwealth millions and millions of dollars over the past 40 years.

In Massachusetts, bar advocates are paid less than bar advocates in every other New England state. Maine, the poorest state in New England, pays its bar advocates more than twice the hourly rate of Massachusetts, the richest New England state. Hypocritical, hypocritical Massachusetts.

Let’s pretend for a moment that Governor Healey were a rich lady who lived in a tony suburb like Lincoln, Massachusetts. Let’s pretend that several years ago, in 2022, the rich lady from Lincoln had her garage painted. The local Massachusetts guy who painted the garage agreed to do the job for 75% less than all the other house painters in New England.  He did the work for the lady from Lincoln in a timely fashion and quite competently, for the above stated extraordinarily low price. Let’s pretend that three years later, the rich lady from Lincoln decided she wanted to get her house painted again. She called up “Joe Doakes,” the house painter with the cheap price, and told him she’d like him to paint her house at the same low hourly rate he gave her three years ago. Let’s suppose Joe Doakes, the house painter, said to the rich lady from Lincoln, “Oh no, Mrs. ‘Featherbottom,’ I realize I gave you a phenomenally low price in 2022, but I have had to raise my hourly rates. I did you a favor last time, I was charging 75% less than all the other house painters in New England, but I just can’t afford to feed my family on the hourly rate I charged you last time.” What could the rich lady from Lincoln do? She couldn’t turn around and say to Joe Doakes, the house painter — “Get back to work!” Joe Doakes, the house painter, is not her employee. He’s an independent contractor. He has the right to charge market rates for his work; he even has the right to go into another line of work, like plumbing, if he can’t survive painting houses. He also has the right not to work for the rich lady from Lincoln, particularly, if he thinks she is an ungrateful snot.

It has been suggested that bar advocates have a heightened ethical responsibility to do more of the low paid, often disrespected work representing poor people charged with crimes. This is simply not true, the past financial sacrifices made by bar advocates, some of them carrying huge debt from law school tuitions, have already greatly helped Massachusetts taxpayers. Their past sacrifices do not require bar advocates to make further sacrifices — quite the contrary.

I have several suggestions to solve the crisis immediately. The first few are financial and easy.  Earlier this year, Governor Healey granted the legislature an 11 percent pay increase. Governor Healey, rescind this pay increase immediately! The estimated annual cost of legislative salaries is $14,731,002.00. Eleven percent of this figure is estimated to be $1,620,410.22. Governor, direct the $1,620,410.22 from the state reps’ and state senators’ bulging pockets to the bar advocates. Speaker of the House Ron Mariano, a former school teacher, I understand, makes about $200,000 a year. Unlike the bar advocates, he has government health insurance, dental insurance, an extraordinary pension, a free parking space on Beacon Hill, and other perks not even imagined here. Mr. Mariano doesn’t need a pay increase, he’s overpaid as it is.

Next, Governor Healey, this is to confirm my understanding that you have given executive branch “managers” a two percent pay increase this year. The annual expenditure for executive managers is estimated to be $53,172,463.63. Two percent of this figure is estimated to be $1,063,449.27. Governor, rescind this increase also, and direct these funds to the politically unconnected bar advocates. Though this only makes a small dent, lawmakers could uncover more funding if they made a genuine effort.

Every reasonable registered voter in the Commonwealth should write a letter to his state rep and state senator demanding that the lawmakers publicly reject the 11 percent pay increase.  The voter should tell his/her state rep and state senator, “If you don’t publicly reject the pay increase, I’ll remember this in November.”

Governor Healey gets a letter, too: no 2% increase for the “managers”— sorry, we have bills to pay. “Ohhh…but there are special reasons why we can’t do this. You’re ignorant, you don’t understand the legislative process…Your numbers are wrong!” Please spare the people of Massachusetts the malarky and move to get this accomplished immediately.