Testimony: Why Pioneer Supports MBTA Reform
Pioneer Research Director Greg Sullivan and Senior Fellow Charles Chieppo will present testimony before the Massachusetts state legislature this afternoon in support of House Bill 3347 to bring MBTA costs under control, increase efficiency, and improve performance.
Read excerpts from their testimony below, or download them here and here.
Greg Sullivan’s Testimony:
I want to focus on three specific components of the Governor’s proposal that I believe are necessary to solve the MBTA’s chronic fiscal and management problems: 1) putting an end to final and binding arbitration at the MBTA, the only public entity in Massachusetts whose collective bargaining agreements are not subject to approval by a governmental entity, by substituting in its place a collective bargaining system used elsewhere in state and municipal government in Massachusetts; 2) authorizing the creation of a finance control board to implement an intensive efficiency overhaul at the MBTA; and 3) waiving applicability of the Pacheco Law at the MBTA. Until these proposals are adopted, the MBTA will continue to be run, in effect, by arbitrators and union organizations, not by MBTA management, the legislature, or the Governor. Read more.
Charles Chieppo’s Testimony:
For more than 15 years, I have written and spoken about the dire condition of the MBTA. But since the T’s collapse this winter, I have to say that even I am stunned at just how bad things are. I truly believe this is the last, best chance to save this authority, which is so critical to the economic well-being of our region. I would like to focus on three issues in my testimony: The urgent need for a fiscal and management control board, for the T to be released from provisions of the so-called Pacheco Law, and the troubling condition of the MBTA Retirement Fund. Read more.
Visit #FixTheT to learn about ways to get involved
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