Prison inmates will shovel snow at T stations again this winter
After putting inmates to work during last year’s Snowpocalypse, the MBTA and the Department of Corrections are handing out shovels to prisoners again.
Prison inmates will once again help shovel snow at T stations this winter to help keep the city moving after major storms.
Inmates will clear mounds of snow from parking lots, sidewalks and station entrances and exits as part of an agreement forged between transit officials and the state’s Department of Corrections.
During the 2015 Snowpocalypse, the T sought and received inmate assistance as it scrambled to get out from under the record-setting snowfall that slowed Greater Boston’s mass transit to a crawl. This year, the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority will pay up to $65,000 for the inmates’ help, a sum that will cover compensation and any overtime pay for correctional officers who supervise the workers.
Up to 30 inmates will work at a time, according to the terms of the agreement, which was signed late last year. The inmates, who will work with shovels on an on-call basis, will supplement winter storm recovery work by outside contractors.
“Contractors will be called upon when the MBTA requires specialized and/or heavy equipment during and after winter storms,’’ said MBTA spokesman Joe Pesaturo.
The T is expected to provide food, water, tools and heated break areas as part of the agreement.
The inmates will come from up to eight minimum-security facilities and would not include sex offenders or inmates with life sentences, Department of Corrections spokesman Darren Duarte said.
They will not be allowed to work in their hometowns or near where they committed the crimes, he said.
Inmates will be paid between $5 and $10 per week by the Department of Corrections, depending on how long they work and which facility they are from, Duarte said. By comparison, MBTA contractors doing similar work make $30 per hour, according to the MBTA-Department of Corrections agreement.
Leslie Walker, the executive director of Prisoners’ Legal Services of Massachusetts, said the typical prisoner wage is “a ridiculously low amount, and it doesn’t really teach you more about budgeting or any of the skills you need for re-entry.’’
But Walker said she would expect inmates to be enthusiastic about the voluntary work program should snowfall call them into duty this year.
“Idleness is one of the biggest problems in prison, and prisoners are eager to work and get the meager compensation they receive,’’ she said.
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