Policy
UPDATED: Thank you for attending Monday’s hearing!
Thank you to the hundreds of union members that attended Monday’s hearing. Your presence was felt and voices were heard. As you know, our amendment to protect union jobs and keep the T public gained the support of 60 members―representing over 1/3 of the House. However, the House chose to vote on a consolidated amendment…
Read MorePrivatization Has Been a Colossal Flop
Huffington Post | By Allen Frances, professor emeritus at Duke University | May 23, 2015 Let’s get this straight. I am a penny pincher, who hates waste and wants a lean and efficient government. But, that said, we have to face the fact that our massive privatization of what once were government functions has been…
Read MoreVolunteers Needed for Phone Banks!
Dear brothers and sisters, As you know, our rights, our livelihoods, and our families are under attack with current efforts to privatize the MBTA. However, let us be clear, this is not only an attack on Local 589―it is an attack on the labor movement itself! In response, Local 589’s executive board has organized phone…
Read MoreMBTA union vows fight over Baker’s plan for agency
Boston Globe | By David Scharfenberg | May 27, 2015 The MBTA’s largest employee union is vowing to sue the state, or petition the federal government to cut off millions of dollars in aid for the agency, if state lawmakers approve a key provision of Governor Charlie Baker’s T overhaul plan. Union officials argue the…
Read MoreTransportation Hearing This Wednesday (5/27)
Dear members, A bill filed by Gov. Charlie Baker to overhaul the MBTA is the subject of a second public hearing this week. Transportation Committee chairs Rep. William Straus and Sen. Thomas McGee will hear the bill (H 3347) this Wednesday at 6 p.m. at Tufts University’s Cohen Auditorium, which is located at 40 Talbot Avenue Medford,…
Read MoreMass. Senate OKs Fiscal Control Board For MBTA
State House News Service | By MATT MURPHY | May 22, 2015 The Senate shortly after midnight Friday morning unanimously passed a $38.1 billion budget plan for the fiscal year that begins in July after Democrats and Republicans came together over a compromise to put the MBTA under the authority of financial control board. The…
Read MoreO’Brien Blasts Baker’s Privatization Plans at Bernie Sanders Rally in Boston
More than 20,000 people packed into the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center Saturday night to hear Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders. The Democratic presidential candidate called for aggressive reforms in healthcare, college education and debt, criminal justice, climate change, political donations, greater investment in public infrastructure, and a host of other progressive areas. Four local…
Read MoreMass. House Overrides Gov. Baker’s Janus Bill Veto
State House News Service | Michael P. Norton | September 18, 2019 Gov. Charlie Baker’s veto of a union-backed collective bargaining dues bill was easily overturned Wednesday in the House, as all but one Republican lawmaker deserted the governor and joined Democrats in backing the so-called Janus bill. Baker’s override did not trigger any debate…
Read MorePro-union bill receives big bipartisan support in House
Commonwealth Magazine | Andy Metzger | Jun 5, 2019 DEMOCRATS AND REPUBLICANS in the House voted overwhelmingly Wednesday to pass a bill backed by all of the state’s public-sector unions that would restore some labor power that had been sapped by a controversial US Supreme Court decision. In a 5-4 ruling last year, the court sided…
Read MorePanel’s Proposed MBTA Reforms
Dear brothers and sisters, Thank you to the over 600 members that attended yesterday’s monthly union meetings to discuss the proposed reforms to the MBTA, including the elimination of the Taxpayer Protection Act (“Pacheco Law”). At the union meetings were Local 589’s media consultant, Steve Crawford, and lobbyist, Mike Morris. Steve gave an update on actions…
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