"Union blasts MBTA plans to limit janitor layoffs" by Martine Powers | Globe Staff August 08, 2014
A proposal by the MBTA to soften the blow of planned janitor layoffs has been blasted by union officials who argue that the concessions fail to go far enough to address concerns about staff cuts scheduled to go into effect next month.
In a capitulation to janitorial workers and protesters, MBTA General Manager Beverly A. Scott said Friday the agency plans to negotiate new contracts with two private companies that provide cleaning services in T facilities, decreasing the number of layoffs each company can institute.
Under the current contract, which went into effect last year, the companies will be allowed to cut as many as 92 jobs starting Sept. 1. On Friday, Scott said she planned to decrease the amount of allowable layoffs by a “double-digit” number.
Officials with the Service Employees International Union 32BJ — representing janitorial workers employed by outside contractors to clean T stations, garages, and offices — said the figure offered by the transportation officials in meetings this week was inadequate.
“The proposals they put on the table definitely didn’t address the concerns of our members,” said Eugenio Villasante, a union spokesman.
The battle between the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority and SEIU 32BJ has ramped up in recent months. Cleaning workers have taken to increasingly high-profile protests — at public meetings, on Boston Common, and at dozens of T stations — to argue that layoffs would have a detrimental effect on cleanliness. They’ve dressed up in cockroach costumes, filmed an informational music video, and proffered the catchphrase #SmellSomethingSaySomething.
Maybe they were in my Globe. Sorry if I missed or dismissed them.
They’ve also garnered sympathy from Boston City Council and state legislators, who have urged the T to find an alternative to dramatic cuts.
Roxana Rivera, director of SEIU 32BJ, said she and other union members recently met with Governor Deval Patrick.
Related: Patrick Puts Dictatorship in Market Basket
Did he threaten to take over the MBTA via eminent domain?
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Before now, MBTA officials have given no public signal that they planned to backpedal on the cost-saving measure. Instead of paying for a specific number of workers or hours of labor — the standard arrangement for previous cleaning contracts — the T’s newly implemented contract provides a lump sum to the cleaning companies, along with a set of required quality benchmarks.
This lump sum stuff is like squat in your palm.
Time to go pay Big Dig debt and fulfill feather-nested pension obligations. See ya.
Scott said the T’s current plans to curtail layoffs are aimed only at those who clean T stations; there will be no changes to the planned layoffs for janitors who clean facilities closed to the public, such as garages and offices.
Scott said her agency has undergone significant staffing cuts in recent years and outside companies can’t be immune to belt-tightening. Union officials have asked for too much....
Oh.
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Yet somehow the T can come up with $20 million to serve a certain set of late night intere$ts:
"MBTA says late-night ridership is steady; Service passes 400,000 mark" by Martine Powers | Globe Staff August 06, 2014
More than 400,000 trips have been taken on the T’s late-night subway and bus service since extended hours began in March, according to the MBTA — an encouraging sign as the transit agency continues a one-year test of whether after-hours service on Friday and Saturday nights should become permanent.
Governor Deval Patrick decided last year to implement the trial run after years of entreaties from riders and business owners clamoring for an affordable way to get home on weekend nights after outings and late-night work shifts. The agency extended the Friday and Saturday night closing times for subways, the 15 most-popular bus routes, and The Ride. Instead of closing at 12:30 a.m., service runs to about 3 a.m.
During the debut weekend in March, more than 18,000 trips were taken. Some wondered if popularity would wane as the novelty of late-night transit wore off.
But Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority spokeswoman Kelly Smith said Tuesday that ridership over the summer has remained relatively consistent, with 15,000 to 17,000 trips taken each weekend. This past weekend, ridership totaled at least 16,126 — though T staff have not yet calculated ridership for buses and for passengers boarding the Green Line above ground.
Transit authorities have not decided whether ridership is adequate to keep the extended weekend hours past the one-year mark....
So when do the fares go up?
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