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…
Taunton Daily Gazette | By Marc R. Pacheco | June 07. 2015 I am writing to provide important context that is missing from a recent Taunton Daily Gazette Our View, titled, “Getting the T back on Track,” which deals with the Taxpayer Protection Act, sometimes referred to as the “Pacheco Law.” I am writing to provide…
State House News Service | By Andy Metzger |Thursday, May 28 If Gov. Charlie Baker succeeds in a key aspect of his MBTA reform plan he will have uprooted a unique aspect of transit workers collective bargaining rights that harks back more than a century. Unlike other public employee unions, when MBTA workers reach an…
If you have not done so already, please make sure to fill out and fax the documents you received in the mail for joining the Health & Welfare Trust Fund and Davis Vision Program to the following number: (617) 222-1694. The deadline is June 1st. If you have not received anything, please call the MBTA’s…
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,…
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…
Commonwealth Magazine | By Bruce Mohl | May 21, 2015 THE MBTA RESTORED full service to the Orange Line in March but nevertheless shipped 24 disabled Orange Line traction motors to an outside contractor for repair. The T says it expects to receive the first of the refurbished motors back on Friday after more than…
The Lowell Sun | Peter Lucas | May 19, 2015 How many Massachusetts politicians do you know who have a law named after them? Not many, I am sure. But one who does is state Sen. Marc Pacheco, author and champion of the “Pacheco Law,” which, from time to time, Republicans and conservatives love to…
WGBH | Jim Aloisi | May 19, 2015 Monday, May 18 was one of those days when I thanked God for small favors. I read The Boston Globe’s editorial on the proposed MBTA “reforms” later in the day, thus avoiding having it spoil my breakfast and lunch. As I normally precede dinner with a libation,…
Boston Globe | By David Scharfenberg and Nicole Dungca | May 19, 2015 When Governor Charlie Baker announced his plan to overhaul the beleaguered MBTA, he repeatedly cited a critical report by his own T review panel. But a closer look at the document suggests some of the panel’s signature findings are not as clear-cut…
Dear brothers and sisters, A scholarship ceremony was held today (Sunday, May 17) at IBEW, Local 103 for Local 589’s scholarship winners for 2015. The executive board would like to offer our congratulations on the dedication and hard work that all the scholarship winners exhibited throughout their high school years and wish them the very…
Boston Globe | By David Scharfenberg and Nicole Dungca | May 12, 2015 Senate leaders are rejecting Governor Charlie Baker’s plan to shake up the beleaguered Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority, mounting a significant challenge to the administration’s top legislative priority. The leadership, which plans to roll out its own, more modest T legislation Tuesday, is…
Thank you to all Local 589 members―active and retired―as well as members from other unions for showing up at today’s rally, knocking on legislators’ doors, and attending the transportation hearing. For those who were not able to attend, here are some articles written about the hearing: WBUR: Baker Urges Lawmakers To Approve MBTA Overhaul MassLive:…
Boston Globe | By Nicole Dungca | May 10, 2015 Forget Pacquiao-Mayweather. The real “fight of the century” may be the debate over Governor Charlie Baker’s proposed legislation that would overhaul the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. OK, so that may be an overstatement. But close watchers of Massachusetts politics can still expect a lively debate at…