Worcester Chamber says 'No' to all four ballot questions

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The Worcester Regional Chamber of Commerce has taken a position of "No" on all four questions appearing on the statewide November ballot, it announced in a letter to its members on Wednesday.

The chamber rejected Question 1, which seeks to repeal the recent provision to increase the gas tax in line with inflation, citing the need for infrastructure repairs across the state.

The chamber took the position against Question 2, which would expand the bottle bill to include water, flavored water, sports drinks and juices, stating that it would create financial hardship on retailers, distributors and bottlers.

While Question 3 to repeal the Casino Law does not impact Worcester specifically, the chamber took a stance against the initiative in support of job growth statewide, it said.

The chamber also said that Question 4, which seeks to mandate that businesses offer paid and unpaid sick time to their employees, intrudes on employers autonomy and would limit its members’ ability to structure benefit packages as they see fit.

“All four of these positions were deliberated by the chamber's public policy committee and the executive committee of the chamber,” Chamber President and CEO Tim Murray said in the letter. “It is our opinion that these four ballot initiatives would create policies harmful to the business community and our members.”