Archive for July 2015
MBTA Bus Driver Treats Passengers At West Roxbury Lemonade Stand
WBZ-TV | By Julie Loncich | July 17, 2015 BOSTON (CBS) – Four neighborhood kids got the thrill of their summer, thanks to a MBTA bus driver and his willing passengers. John Lohan was in mid-route on Centre Street in West Roxbury Thursday when he decided to stop. “I said if anyone is in a…
Read MoreUnions sensing budget betrayal by House Top Democrats could be target for challenge
Boston Globe | By Jim O’Sullivan | July 17, 2015 AFL-CIO President Steven Tolman spoke at an MBTA union workers rally at the State House in May. Labor unions, stung by legislative maneuvering to ease privatization at the MBTA, are targeting top House Democrats, meeting privately to strategize, and discussing the possibility of running more pro-union candidates…
Read MoreThe Pioneer Institute does acrobatic logical twists re the Pacheco Law
COFAR Blog | By David Kassel | July 13, 2015 In what has been widely viewed as a setback for state employee unions in Massachusetts, state legislators last week approved a state budget for Fiscal Year 2016 that includes a provision freezing the Pacheco Law for three years with regard to the MBTA. The Pioneer Institute apparently…
Read MoreGreen Line Operator Applauded For Helping Blind Man Across Street
WBZ-TV | By Jim Armstrong | July 9, 2015 Catrina Mitchell has been a Green Line trolley operator for seven years — since she was just 21 years old. It can get chaotic. “I have to be the eyes of myself, the cars, the bikes, and the buses because we are all on the road at the…
Read MoreMassachusetts Legislature Puts Taxpayers at Risk
Yesterday, the Massachusetts legislature did a great disservice to working families, T riders, and taxpayers across the Commonwealth with the suspension of the Taxpayer Protection Act (or Pacheco Law) for the next three years. The goal of the Taxpayer Protection Act (or Pacheco Law) was to protect the Commonwealth from the waste, fraud, and abuse…
Read MoreSen. Warren Defends Taxpayer Protection Act
Watch the video below as U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren defends the Taxpayer Protection Act (Pacheco Law) at a Banking Committee hearing. The following is an excerpt from her remarks: “I think it’s clear we need to address our long term transportation funding issues but in a manner that provides the same quality of service and…
Read MoreThe Myth That Privatization Is Always the Solution
Governing Magazine | By Suzanne M. Bump | June 26, 2015 When it comes to regulating the privatization of government services, it seems that one person’s mindless bureaucratic obstacle is another’s essential accountability mechanism. Thus it is in Massachusetts, where an exemption from a state law governing privatization is being sought in the name of fixing…
Read MoreColumn: In defense of the Pacheco Law
Salem News | By Marc R. Pacheco | Sunday, July 5, 2015 In a recent column for The Salem News, Eileen McAnneny states that the Taxpayer Protection Act has “hindered the T’s fundamental ability to maintain and repair its assets. Over the past five years, the barriers created by the Pacheco Law have contributed to…
Read MoreCarmen’s Union calls for audit of MBTA pension plan
Boston Globe | By Beth Healy | July 2, 2015 Two top officers of the Boston Carmen’s Union, Local 589, who serve on the MBTA pension fund board, issued a statement Thursday calling for “an immediate, open and complete audit” of the retirement system for transit workers. According to the statement, by president James O’Brien…
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