MBTA Operations
Make believe math won’t fix our public transportation system.
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…
Read MoreMBTA takes first major step toward privatization
Boston Globe | By Nicole Dungca | June 30, 2016 The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority’s warehouse operations could be run by a private company by October, as T officials take a major step toward outsourcing a part of the agency. MBTA officials on Thursday released a request for proposals from outside firms for the operations…
Read MoreOur Proposal to the MBTA
We’re writing today to tell you about our ongoing efforts to advocate on your behalf and protect transit jobs from privatization. A few months ago, the executive board agreed to look for ways to reach a deal with MBTA leadership to lengthen our contract and prevent the outsourcing of Boston Carmen’s Union work. Today,…
Read MoreCarmen’s Union Opposes Outsourcing of Warehouse Logistics Jobs
The MBTA’s Fiscal and Management Control Board met again to explore more ways to privatize parts of the MBTA. Today’s meeting focused on warehouse logistics. President Jimmy O’Brien as well as several members of Local 589 questioned the savings privatization would bring as well as why it was being privatized at all since the problems…
Read MoreMBTA workers urge board not to outsource their jobs
By State House News Service | June 6, 2016 About a half dozen people tasked with cash-handling duties within the MBTA urged the transit agency’s overseers on Monday not to outsource the agency’s money room operations. Looking at an overhaul of the MBTA’s fare collection systems, agency officials have considered employing a private vendor that could take…
Read MoreThe MBTA could consider bus privatization, and one T leader is not on board
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.…
Read MoreBoston Union Honors Lynn Hero
Item Live | Thomas Grillo | July 24, 2017 LYNN — The Boston Carmen’s Union honored a passenger who intervened when a knife-wielding passenger stabbed an MBTA bus driver. Charles Rozopoulos was treated to a pizza party and awarded a black union jacket by the union Monday, the same one worn by T drivers.…
Read MoreNew Uniform Vendor Fair
Bus and subway operators, check out options for the new MBTA uniforms and tell us what you think. See the attached schedule.
Read MoreUniform Survey for Members Who Work In Operations
Attention all Local 589 members who work in operations (i.e., bus operator, street car motorman, or motorman). Please click on the following link to complete a short survey about our current uniform: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/YHW76HC. Once you have filled out the survey, click “Submit” at the bottom of the page. If you have questions,…
Read MoreMBTA, Carmen’s Union back at loggerheads
Boston Globe | By Adam Vaccaro | July 15, 2017 So much for labor peace. Just seven months after the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority and its largest union reached a new labor contract, the two sides are again at loggerheads. Tensions flared last week over terms of the new agreement, when the union blocked management’s…
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