State House News Service | By Andy Metzger | October 12, 2016 Filling the air outside Faneuil Hall on Wednesday with charged rhetoric about corporations profiting off government work, union officials and elected Democrats railed against privatization at the MBTA without charting a clear course for stopping those moves anytime soon. “I’m not happy with…
Dear Local 589 Member, In our 13c arbitration, the MBTA argued that the arbitrator does not have authority regarding a temporary restraining order (TRO) resulting in us having to go to court to seek an injunction for the TRO. However, in subsequent court proceedings, the MBTA attorneys reversed their position and made the argument that…
Brothers and Sisters, By now, most of you have already seen the news. The MBTA’s Fiscal and Management Control Board rushed a decision to privatize today, taking a 4-0 vote to allow Acting General Manager Brian Shortsleeve to enter into contract negotiations with Brink’s to take over Money Room operations. It is clear that this…
Below is some recent media coverage as Local 589 fights against the MBTA’s move to privatize the money room. Union promises fight as MBTA moves to privatize cash-counting jobs Boston Globe | By Nicole Dungca | October 5, 2016 The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority is poised to privatize dozens of jobs in its cash-counting…
The Boston Carmen’s Union Local 589, facing a vote to privatize their work at the MBTA Money Room today, took a stand against the outsourcing of their work to a private company. Members of the Executive Board, joined by fellow MBTA Union leaders and members, formed a picket line at the Money Room in Charlestown,…
Brothers and Sisters, Seven members of the Executive Board were arrested this morning as they blocked the Money Room trucks from trying to leave. President Jimmy O’Brien; Assistant Secretary Joe Cerbone; Allen Lee, Delegate, Division 1; Larry Kelly, Delegate, RTL/AFC; Patrick Hogan, Delegate, Division 3; Mike Keller, Delegate, Equipment Maintenance; and John Hunt, Delegate, Engineering…
The Heights | 9/26/16 | By Matthew BeDugnis “Every day these hardworking people continue bailing out a ship that has been taking on water for years. You see it in the MBTA employee who has to figure out how to get an old, rotten, and rusted-out Green Line train back to the station after it…
Last week, former Massachusetts Transportation Secretary James Aloisi wrote a detailed article (“Shutdown process costly for the T“) for Commonwealth Magazine on the complicated and costly process the MBTA has to go through to shut its service down every night. The article cites independent data sources that show the process costs the MBTA $3.8 million dollars…
For months, we have diligently and respectfully presented the facts — that privatizing operations like the Money Room and the MBTA Warehouse is wrong for the MBTA and wrong for Massachusetts. We need investment in our infrastructure, not another Keolis. We’ve worked to build our case in the press and with the public.But last…
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…
Thank you to all our sponsors and players for making our Annual Golf Tournament a huge success. We had great weather and a great day was had by all while helping to build our Union’s COPE (Committee on Political Education) fund. Click here to see photos from the tournament. Special thanks to our union brother and ace photographer, Brian Cummings,…
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.…
Brothers and Sisters, At this point, most of us have seen the news that MBTA leadership is targeting bus maintenance and operations for privatization. For months, we have diligently and respectfully presented the facts — that privatizing operations like the Money Room and the MBTA Warehouse is wrong for the MBTA and wrong for Massachusetts. We need investment in…
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…
On Thursday, September 1, MBTA leadership submitted this annual procurement report to the Massachusetts House and Massachusetts Senate, pursuant to the transportation reform law passed in 2015. This report continues to use the same flawed logic that has shaped the MBTA reform debate for months – that outsourcing will somehow fix decades of neglect, woefully…