By Michelle Williams | Michelle.Williams@MassLive.com

More than $1.8 million is due to the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority, according to an audit released by the office of the state Auditor Tuesday.

The audit found long overdue account balances have been left on the books, totaling $1,863,103 more than 90 days past due. Approximately half of the accounts are more than a decade past due, according to the Massachusetts state auditor’s office.

“The MBTA should take all appropriate steps to collect funds that are due to the agency, but should also realistically write-off balances that are not likely to be recouped. This ensures an accurate picture of the financial status of the entity,” Auditor Suzanne M. Bump said in a statement.

The transportation authority dealt with vacancies in management positions and multi-million dollar deficits in recent years.

More than 260 employees took buyouts earlier this year, the Boston Globe reports, as apart of a plan to eliminate 300 positions from the agency’s payroll.

“As leadership at the MBTA considers significant overhauls, they should first look at their oversight processes to ensure that they have adequate protections in place to protect taxpayer funds from theft, loss, or abuse,” Bump said. “Without these protections, systemic problems like those identified in our audit will likely continue, despite structural changes.”

Via Commonwealth Magazine

By Bruce Mohl.

THE MBTA’S OVERSIGHT BOARD on Monday gave the transit agency’s staff a green light to put out a request for proposals for companies to design, build, finance, operate, maintain, and manage a new automated fare collection system.

The T’s chief technology officer, David Block-Schacter, said the new system would be cashless and allow passengers to board and exit at any door on buses and Green Line trains. Quicker boarding should cut bus travel times by 10 percent, he said.

Customers will be able to pay fares using T-issued cards, credit cards, and smart phones. They will purchase T rides at fare vending machines, retail stores, or online. The T-issued cards will cost $5 apiece, although free cards will be distributed through social service agencies to the needy, according to Block-Schacter.

Existing Charley Cards cost 70 cents to produce, and are given away for free. Block-Schacter said the new smart cards will cost an estimated $2.50 to produce, which could put a significant financial burden on the T. He said nearly 18 million Charley Cards have been issued, which would cost close to $50 million to replace with smart cards.

Block-Schacter said 21 of the 25 largest transit agencies currently charge for their smart cards. Chicago charges $5, while the Philadelphia transit system collects $4.95. He also said riders who use their smart phones or credit cards to pay fares would not have to pay the $5 fee.

T officials said 3.8 percent of their existing customers pay fares with cash and 3.3 percent reload their Charlie Cards on board Green Line trains and buses.

Block-Schacter said he didn’t know what the new automated fare collection contract would cost. He also said the new fare collection system could be adapted to whatever type of fare system is desired, so existing monthly passes could be continued.

The request for proposals will seek a system that would install card readers at every door so passengers would not have to line up for time-consuming fare collection at the front of the train or bus. The system would also be designed so the departure points of passengers could be monitored, which theoretically would allow the T to collect fares based on distance traveled.

Block-Schacter said the existing fare collection boxes on board buses and Green Line trains would be removed once the new automated fare collection system is up and running. He referred to the boxes as “Mercedes” because the boxes cost approximately the same as a Mercedes-Benz vehicle.

Lou Antonellis, the president of IBEW Local 103, which represents workers in the T’s existing fare collection department, urged the transit agency to collaborate with the union during the transition to a new system. The likely contract language, however, would privatize the entire operation because it refers to the contractor handling the design, financing, operation, maintenance, and management of the new system.

Joseph Aiello, the chairman of the T’s Fiscal and Management Control Board, said “this is terrific” after Block-Schacter completed his presentation. Monica Tibbits-Nutt, a member of the board, also hailed the initiative. “Nobody likes paying cash on board,” she said.

Via Commonwealth Magazine.

By Jack Sullivan.

GOV. CHARLIE BAKER said waiving the fines against Keolis for “acts of God” during the brutal winter of 2015 was the right thing to do but insisted the commuter rail operator has been held to answer for shoddy performance over the past year and half and will continue to be fined if the late trains continue.

The Boston Globe reported over the weekend that MBTA officials quietly forgave almost half the $1.7 million in fines levied against Keolis in February and March of last year. But Baker said after review, the fines that were waived were a result of circumstances beyond the rail company’s control, which is allowed by the contract language. He added Keolis paid more than $6 million in fines for failing to meet on-time goals and they won’t be getting any of that back.

“It’s pretty hard to argue the winter of 2015 wasn’t an act of God,” Baker said of the record-breaking snowfall. “I have no intention, nor does the MBTA, of waiving any of those fines associated with on-time performance. They paid those fines and they should have… The fines associated with some of the more technical stuff that were tied more directly with the issues around the weather, I think the T made the right decision.”

The Globe had reported that the T absolved Keolis of the fines in November of last year but Baker said the decision was actually made and relayed to company officials seven months earlier, in May of last year, “before we had a Fiscal and Management Control Board.” Baker said the letter in the fall that the Globe was referring to merely made note of the decision to earlier forgive the $839,000 fine. But, he added, with the fiscal control board in place, the process of measuring performance and assessing penalties has been and will be much more consistent and evenly carried out.

Brothers and Sisters,

The Officers, Business Reps, and Executive Board say thank you to the members of Local 264 who joined Local 589 and other locals on the picket line on Thursday morning. It was a great showing of solidarity.

The recent arrests of our brothers from the leadership of the Carmens Union Local 589, is just another example of union members making a stand on the attacks on working men and women at the MBTA and throughout the this great country. These men stood up against the direction our state and country is spiraling towards, which is the complete destruction of the middle class.

Dear Local 264 members,

Last week the MBTA’s Fiscal Management Control Board presented their yearly required report to the legislature. This particular report highlighted what they have privatized already (money room, tire shop, etc) and this report finally opened the door for more privatization, and they have turned their attention towards the jobs of bus drivers, as well as bus and train maintenance workers

Brothers and Sisters,

Representatives from National Group Protection will be onsite August 24th—September 2nd to communicate the supplemental benefits offered to IAMAW Local 264 members at the MBTA.  Please take the time to meet with a representative to enroll, make changes to the coverage you already have or address any customer service/claims issues.

·         Accident Insurance

·         Critical Illness Coverage

·         Short Term Disability

·         Whole Life Insurance

There are some benefit enhancements/upgrades this year, so please take the time to sit down with a benefit counselor and review your options.  This is also an excellent time to make sure you have filed for your annual health screening benefits, which are part of the accident and critical illness benefit plans.

·         Supplemental – these plans supplement any existing coverage

·         Voluntary – members choose to participate

·         Limited Underwriting – no medical or physical exams required

·         Family Coverage – available with all of the plans (except Disability)

·         Portable – members can continue coverage if they leave the company (except Disability)

·         Payroll Deduction – premiums are paid through payroll deduction

Enrollment Schedule

1.       Everett Shops                                                               August 24th—26th

2.       Quincy                                                                           August 24th—25th

3.       Arborway                                                                      August 26th and 29th

4.       Arlington                                                                       August 29th—31st

5.       Charlestown / Outside Machine Shop                      August 29th—31st

6.       Cabot                                                                             August 30th—31st

7.       Lynn                                                                               August 31st—September 1st

8.       Fellsway                                                                        September 1st—2nd

9.       South Hampton                                                            September 1st—2nd

10.   Albany Garage                                                              September 1st—2nd

If you have any questions regarding the upcoming enrollment, please contact National Group Protection (NGP) at 800-344-9016.

In an effort to support and augment its highly successful Negotiation Preparation for Bargaining Committees program, the William W. Winpisinger Education and Technology Center is rolling out a new Field Negotiation Preparation program for bargaining units as they prepare for negotiations.

One of the primary aims of the field program is to strengthen the critical role stewards play in the bargaining process and their vital link between the membership and the negotiating committee. The Field Negotiation Prep program will be available to groups unable to travel to the Winpisinger Center and will offer a flexible format for negotiating committees, stewards and members.

“The Negotiation Prep program is one of the most requested and respected programs offered at the Winpisinger Center,” said IAM International President Bob Martinez. “It needs to be more accessible to bargaining units and particularly Shop Stewards across North America. That’s why I directed the Winpisinger staff to work with Strategic Resources, Communications and our territorial vice presidents to deliver a program that puts the fight back in the Fighting Machinists and gives our locals and districts every chance to win better contracts.”

In advance of the new program’s rollout, leaders from every IAM territory took part in a weeklong Train-the-Trainer program facilitated by Winpisinger Center Director Chris Wagoner and Strategic Resources Director Neil Gladstein. The group discussed how negotiation prep modules and material might be adapted and delivered in the field. The week culminated with the preparation and presentation of training agendas and curriculum material developed in response to six different field-training scenarios.

The new program is not designed to replace the Winpisinger-based Negotiation Prep program, but will accommodate situations where in-the field negotiations preparation is the better option. In the coming weeks, specific information will be provided to districts and locals concerning the process for requesting the Field Negotiation Prep Program.

Recently, Mayor Marty Walsh sat down with the Boston Globe for a wide-ranging interview about his first-term in office and what he sees as the most pressing issues facing the city. At the top of his list was his opposition to privatizing public transit. Below is the portion of the interview that focused on his opposition to privatization.

As part of the push to fix the MBTA’s financial outlook, the state transit agency’s management has pushed to outsource certain union jobs to the private sector.

But Walsh, whose connections to labor were vital to his election, said that privatization won’t fix the T.

“Privatization doesn’t work,” Walsh said. “Anytime you look at a privatization, in the short term when the first contract goes out, there might be a savings there. And then when the second contract goes out, it’s right back up. The costs go right back up.”

Established by Gov. Charlie Baker, the T’s control board has seemed interested in cutting costs by privatizing functions like the “money room,” which is tasked with counting the fares collected at gates.

“I know that the money room has gone up recently,” Walsh said. “Let’s revisit the money room in three years and see how that’s working out for people.”

The Carmen’s Union, which represents thousands of MBTA employees, has pushed back on the privatization effort and questioned whether it will indeed bring savings. Similarly, Walsh said he did not have high hopes for the privatization effort.

“You can’t regulate yourself by privatization,” Walsh said. “You can’t reform yourself—that’s a better word—by privatization. It just doesn’t work.”

Via Carmen’s Union 589’s website

On Friday, we released a statement that said the allegations of sunroofs in armored trucks were untrue.

We are happy to report that the media concurred and wrote several stories about how the governor was playing fast and loose with the truth in an attempt to justify outsourcing the jobs of those who operate the trucks―and it’s not the first time. The media even published photos (like the one above) of the supposed “sunroofs,” which in no way look like what he said. Click on any of the stories below to see for yourself.

MBTA union says Governor is wrong about armored car sunroofs
Boston Globe | By Nicole Dungca | July 22, 2016

MBTA union: Gov. Baker’s allegations of sunroofs in armored trucks ‘pure fiction’
MassLive | By Shira Schoenberg | July 22, 2016

Union blasts Baker on armored car sunroofs
Commonwealth Magazine | Jack Sullivan | July 22, 2016

As we said in our statement, “All that we have asked for is for MBTA leadership and the Baker Administration to be truthful, but they have chosen time and again to say anything in an attempt to justify getting rid of hardworking public employees.”