Today, the Executive Board of the Boston Carmen’s Union sent a letter to all Mass. State Senators to oppose the following amendments:

• Oppose Amendment 19 (Brownsberger): this amendment interferes with the collectively bargained MBTA pension fund, offers no economic benefit to taxpayers or workers and changes decades of court approved legal precedents.
• Oppose Amendment 112 and 113 (Tarr): these amendments are designed to weaken the Taxpayer Protection Law (as sponsored by Senator Pacheco and passed over Governor Weld’s veto). The Commonwealth has seen the negative impact of privatization and the monetary thresholds previously agreed to ensure that public services are maintained without these amendments.
• Oppose Amendment 497 (Tarr): this amendment would exclude the DOT and MBTA from the taxpayer protections of the Pacheco Law. You need look no further than the recent incident in a Southeastern Mass school where a private food service vendor denied grade school children lunch because they lacked the economic resources necessary. The private vendor denied individuals service because of profit – imagine the havoc such an action would cause on vital public transit services.

Local 589 calls upon all members to contact their senator and urge them to oppose these amendments and vote no should they come to the floor of the Senate.  To look up your senator, click on the following link: http://www.malegislature.gov/People/Search.