Policy
Transportation Hearing This Wednesday (5/27)
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,…
Read MoreMass. Senate OKs Fiscal Control Board For MBTA
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…
Read MoreO’Brien Blasts Baker’s Privatization Plans at Bernie Sanders Rally in Boston
More than 20,000 people packed into the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center Saturday night to hear Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders. The Democratic presidential candidate called for aggressive reforms in healthcare, college education and debt, criminal justice, climate change, political donations, greater investment in public infrastructure, and a host of other progressive areas. Four local…
Read MoreMass. House Overrides Gov. Baker’s Janus Bill Veto
State House News Service | Michael P. Norton | September 18, 2019 Gov. Charlie Baker’s veto of a union-backed collective bargaining dues bill was easily overturned Wednesday in the House, as all but one Republican lawmaker deserted the governor and joined Democrats in backing the so-called Janus bill. Baker’s override did not trigger any debate…
Read MorePro-union bill receives big bipartisan support in House
Commonwealth Magazine | Andy Metzger | Jun 5, 2019 DEMOCRATS AND REPUBLICANS in the House voted overwhelmingly Wednesday to pass a bill backed by all of the state’s public-sector unions that would restore some labor power that had been sapped by a controversial US Supreme Court decision. In a 5-4 ruling last year, the court sided…
Read MorePanel’s Proposed MBTA Reforms
Dear brothers and sisters, Thank you to the over 600 members that attended yesterday’s monthly union meetings to discuss the proposed reforms to the MBTA, including the elimination of the Taxpayer Protection Act (“Pacheco Law”). At the union meetings were Local 589’s media consultant, Steve Crawford, and lobbyist, Mike Morris. Steve gave an update on actions…
Read MoreState 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 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 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…
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