Somerville, Mass. – New, relatively unregulated “ride sharing” transportation companies like Uber and Lyft earn the praise of travelers but are prompting protests from traditional taxi drivers and others.
BOSTON – The MBTA and its service contractors won’t be firing close to a third of the janitors who clean T stations and trains. Both the union representing the workers and MBTA management announced the proposed layoffs would be delayed indefinitely.
Service Employees International Union Local 32BJ, the union representing the janitors, has for months been holding protests and working with sympathetic elected officials to stop the layoffs as part of a cost savings effort built into the current contract with cleaning service providers.
USW local 8571, School Bus Drivers – Dorchester
BOSTON – MBTA custodians and their hit out at the planned layoff of nearly 100 cleaning service workers from the public company later this year.
Around a thousand members and supporters of the Service Employees International Union Local 32BJ staged a march in protest of the cuts from the Transportation Building in Boston on Saturday, followed by a rally on Boston Common.
BOSTON/State House - Joined by several sympathetic legislators at a State House briefing on Thursday, the union representing custodians who clean MBTA stations and trains took another step in their campaign to stop what they are calling disruptive job cuts this fall. The Service Employees International Union Local 32BJ – who represent nearly twenty thousand service workers throughout New England - believe contractors are poised to lay off almost a third of the T janitors beginning September first.
BOSTON – Calling for an affordable MBTA youth pass, a coalition of groups held a rally and march on Thursday claiming that the existing reduced fares for students shuts out many young people from riding the T.
Around 250 demonstrators marched from Park St. station to the offices of the MBTA at the Transportation Building demanding a youth pass for those between 12-21 years of age, with no time-of-day use restrictions, and costing no more than $10 per month.
BOSTON - Workers who clean train and bus stations are concerned that changes to their service contract that go into effect this fall, could lead to significant layoffs.
This is Open Media Boston's News in Brief for March 18, 2014.
15Now
Calling for an increase in the minimum wage to $15 an hour in a nationwide day of action, members and supporters of the Socialist Alternative-led group 15Now held a rally on Saturday. Beginning at the State House, and marching towards the site of Occupy Boston in Dewey Sq. the protestors stopped at low-wage employers along the way to demand a living wage.
BOSTON/Theater District - Members of the Massachusetts Senior Action Council staged a rally in Boston Wednesday in protest against last year’s fare increase to the MBTA’s The Ride service, which they say was “extreme” and has now “imprisoned” seniors and people with disabilities in their homes. Around 100 people demonstrated near the Transportation Building at the corner of Charles St. South and Stuart St. Four members of the Council, along with its Executive Director, Carolyn Villers were then arrested following a planned protest in the street while sitting in a makeshift jail cell.
BOSTON/State House - Demanding a more equitable transit system Wednesday, demonstrators targeted the State House where the Senate is expected to vote on a transportation bill next week. The bill proposed by the Senate gives more funding to infrastructure than the $500m called for by the House bill, but still falls short of Governor Deval Patrick’s requested $1.9 billion for transportation and education. An MBTA board meeting at the Transportation Building was also picketed by demonstrators as officials met to pass a budget expecting state funding to close a $118 million deficit.
