Local News

MBTA workers rally to protest privatization plans

David L. Ryan / Globe Staff

September 12, 2016

3 minutes to read

Several hundred MBTA workers took to the streets on Monday to protest the transit agency’s plan to privatize parts of its operations.

The picket, which was the first of several planned rallies, was organized by the MBTA’s largest labor union. Carrying orange signs that read “Keep Transportation Public!”, the workers demonstrated prior to public meetings of the boards that oversee the T and the state’s transportation department in downtown Boston.

Workers at first of about a dozen Boston Carmen’s Union rallies against privatization planned for this fall. #mbta pic.twitter.com/3rChvwZ2E3

— Nicole Dungca (@ndungca) September 12, 2016

Jim O’Brien, the president of the Boston Carmen’s Union, which represents more than 4,000 T workers, said “a few hundred” workers turned out. Union members also crowded the meeting room, with several speaking out against privatization plans during a public comment period. Privatization was not on the agenda for Monday’s meeting.

#MBTA workers & supporters filled up the Transportation Board Room during their protest to stop MBTA privatization. pic.twitter.com/TD7dyK4Uxe

— Meredith Gorman (@MereGorman) September 12, 2016

Amid union opposition, Republican Gov. Charlie Baker last year pushed for a three-year reprieve for the MBTA from a labor-supported state law that requires public agencies to undergo a complex auditing process before issuing contracts to private companies for work done by public employees. The push came as part of an agency reform effort spurred by the crippling effect the snowfall of 2015 had on the T’s aging infrastructure.

In pushing for the reprieve, the Baker administration argued the law essentially roadblocks efforts to save money by outsourcing. The union says the law is meant to ensure any outsourcing is done efficiently and ultimately results in savings.

Conflict over privatization has simmered since the reprieve was secured, as T leaders have considered several functions that could be contracted to cut down on a projected $110 million budget gap. The issue appears to be closer to a boiling point now that the MBTA’s board has released a report suggesting the agency could consider outsourcing bus driver and maintenance work (an idea one of the five board members has publicly said he does not support).

The T’s cash-counting operation, called the money room by its workers, is another function that has been targeted for privatization.

In an interview, O’Brien pointed to comments from Baker last year in which he said it was not his goal to privatize the T.

“The governor said he wants to fix the T — he doesn’t want to lay off workers, doesn’t want to cut service. And unfortunately, that’s what he wants to do today,” he said.

He also said both riders and workers could suffer under outsourcing because “a private company is here to make profits.”

Jason Johnson, a spokesman for the T, suggested the focus should not be on whether service is publicly or privately delivered.

“The MBTA’s focus is on delivering reliable service to our riders at a sustainable price and whether it’s done publicly or privately should not be the issue,” he said in an email.

The T management installed by Baker has often pointed to the agency’s bus operator wages, which the agency says are the highest in the country at more than $35 per hour.

Earlier this year, the union offered management contract concessions, which would cut pay for new hires and lower wage growth in 2019 and 2020, saving $24 million over four years. In exchange, the T would need to pledge not to privatize any union work.

O’Brien said the T has yet to respond to the offer. MBTA interim General Manager Brian Shortsleeve said at the time that the union’s offer was a “step in the right direction,” but that it didn’t go far enough in terms of cost savings. He also said it was “unlikely” the agency would willingly give up the freedom to contract services while the three-year reprieve remains open.

More recently, in a late August interview, Shortsleeve said management was “actively reviewing their proposal” but declined to speak about that review publicly.

O’Brien said the union could look to federal labor protections to try and block privatization efforts. He said several rallies are planned for the next couple of months.

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