Archive for June 2012
State Senate Defeats Attacks on Taxpayer Protection Act
Amendments to the state budget, offered during the State Senate debate, that would have impacted health care collective bargaining rights and stripped taxpayers of protections against privatization schemes were defeated on voice votes in late May. An attempt to increase the threshold to allow the public services to be privatized lost on a voice vote…
Read MoreHouse set to approve $49m in aid for MBTA
Boston Globe | By Eric Moskowitz | June 12, 2012 The House is poised to vote Wednesday on an emergency funding package for the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority, with key lawmakers saying they expect to get the measure to Governor Deval Patrick’s desk by June 30. The plan to send $49 million in state aid…
Read MoreLocal 589 Members Stand with Fire Fighters at 40th Anniversary of Hotel Vendome Fire
On June 17th Fire Fighters and their Families gathered to remember the 9 Boston Fire Fighters killed at the Hotel Vendome fire 40 years ago. Delegate Patrick Hogan notes that once again Local 589 bus drivers volunteered their time and skills as part of this event honoring those Fire Fighters. Bus Drivers David O”Brien (Charlestown)…
Read MoreMBTA Control Board proposal shot down
22News | Tuesday, 19 June 2012 | By Christine Lee BOSTON, Mass. (WWLP) – The Senate shot down a proposal Tuesday that would create a Springfield-like Control Board to take over financial management of Boston’s transit authority, the MBTA. Senator Gale Candaras (D-Wilbraham) announced the amendment as the Senate debated a $51 million dollar bailout…
Read MoreMass. Senate OK’s $49m MBTA bailout
Boston Globe | June 20, 2012 | By Eric Moskowitz The state Senate agreed Tuesday to tap $49 million from a little-known state surplus to help the MBTA close its deficit for the coming year, avoiding steeper fare increases and wider service cuts than those scheduled for July 1. The plan, approved by a 26-9…
Read MoreAlert: Membership Action Needed Immediately.
Three State Senators, Bruce Tarr, Gale Candaras and Jim Welch, have filed an amendment to the MBTA Funding Bill that would create an oversight committee for MBTA financing whose members would have no MBTA Service concerns. Their amendment undercuts all of the recent reforms passed by the Legislature. The Boston Carmen’s Union ATU Local 589…
Read More2012 Annual Golf Tournament
Don’t miss this year’s annual golf tournament on Friday, August 3, 2012 at George Wright Golf Course. Shotgun start 8:00 a.m. Make your own foursome or enter as a single. First Come, First Served. Course spikeless shoe policy in effect. Awards Ceremony and Texas Style Barbeque immediately following the tournament with BBQ Chicken, Steak Tips, Ribs…
Read MoreSurging MBTA ridership could overwhelm system, report warns
By Eric Moskowitz | Boston Globe Staff | June 14, 2012 By the end of the decade, Boston’s subways could grow so packed that trains would roll past waiting commuters, unable to accommodate more riders, a new report from a leading land-use think tank warns. Surging T ridership and booming construction around transit stations, the…
Read MoreMass. House approves bailout for troubled T
June 13, 2012 | Bob Salsberg | Associated Press House lawmakers on Wednesday approved a temporary financial fix for the MBTA that would stave off, at least for now, deeper cuts in service on the Boston-area transit system. The bailout bill, which also offers help to other struggling regional transit agencies, advanced on a 130-25…
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