News
Union stiffens stand against privatization of MBTA jobs
State House News Service | By Colin A. Young | Sept. 12, 2016 BOSTON- Angered by what they described as a new push to privatize jobs at the MBTA, members of the union that represents more than half of MBTA employees filled the audience at a meeting of the Department of Transportation and MBTA control…
Read MoreThe MBTA could consider bus privatization, and one T leader is not on board
The Boston Globe | By Adam Vaccaro | September 6, 2016 A report issued by the MBTA’s oversight board to the state legislature last week suggested that the transit agency could privatize bus operations and maintenance work, prompting a rebuke from a board member with labor ties on the very same page of the report.…
Read MoreMayor Walsh throws latest MBTA privatization idea under bus
Boston Herald | Matt Stout | Tuesday, September 06, 2016 Mayor Martin J. Walsh yesterday came out swinging against the MBTA for weighing the privatization of core functions such as bus routes and maintenance, calling it a “mistake” that could pave the way to widespread outsourcing at the cash-strapped agency. “It’s a slippery slope. It’s…
Read MoreFuture for MBTA parts warehouse a subject of debate
State House News Service | By Andy Metzger | AUGUST 19, 2016 MBTA inventory workers giving a tour around the central warehouse earlier this summer paused for a moment, moving to the side of an enclosed alley to make room for a forklift passing through. The hallway is the only indoor connection between the loading…
Read MoreMarty Walsh: Privatization Doesn’t Work
Recently, Mayor Marty Walsh sat down with the Boston Globe for a wide-ranging interview about his first-term in office and what he sees as the most pressing issues facing the city. At the top of his list was his opposition to privatizing public transit. Below is the portion of the interview that focused on his opposition to…
Read MoreLetter to the Editor: Pacheco Law helps taxpayers know how their money is spent
Boston Globe | October 12, 2017 In response to your recent editorial “The Pacheco dividends at the T,” I am impelled, once again, to lay out some facts regarding the Taxpayer Protection Act, or the Pacheco Law. The law was enacted in 1993 to protect the Commonwealth from the waste, fraud, and abuse that routinely took place as…
Read MorePrivatization at the T isn’t the solution
Commonwealth Magazine | By James O’Brien | Sep 1, 2017 THREE YEARS BEFORE BOSTON opened America’s first subway, railway workers were the catalyst for labor being recognized with a federal holiday. In 1894 George Pullman, facing financial pressure, cut the pay of workers and laid off many on his Chicago Railway. Many workers went on…
Read MorePrivate MBTA Contractors Humilitate Blind Rider
Today, CBS Boston and the Boston Herald reported that two employees for a contractor that provides customer service at MBTA stations were fired after they got into a confrontation yesterday with a blind man. According to reports, the man was “physically obstructed from entering the platform” when he tried to follow other riders through the…
Read MoreBoston Union Honors Lynn Hero
Item Live | Thomas Grillo | July 24, 2017 LYNN — The Boston Carmen’s Union honored a passenger who intervened when a knife-wielding passenger stabbed an MBTA bus driver. Charles Rozopoulos was treated to a pizza party and awarded a black union jacket by the union Monday, the same one worn by T drivers.…
Read MoreReps Would Like To Pull Back MBTA Privatization Authority
State House News Service | By Andy Metzger | Oct. 3, 2017 Boston, MA – Three lawmakers whose votes helped usher in a new era of privatization at the MBTA urged their colleagues on Monday to start rolling back outsourcing powers they granted the T two years ago. There are just under nine…
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