BOSTON MAYOR MARTY WALSH appears to be working behind the scenes to find common ground between MBTA unions and Gov. Charlie Baker on privatization efforts at the transit agency.
At a rally of MBTA workers on the State House steps Thursday, Walsh said he had spent the last few weeks talking with the administration about its privatization efforts and indicated some progress was being made.
“They’ve been decent conversations,” said Walsh, who headed the Boston Building Trades Council before he was elected mayor. “I know that there’s an opportunity to move forward and not lose any more services.”
As he walked away from the rally, Walsh offered a few more details. He said he had been talking directly with the governor, with whom he has formed a close relationship.
“We’ve had conversations about going down a different road,” the mayor said. “I think the governor is looking at every option that’s in front of him as the governor will and should do. I think the union officials are fighting to make sure they keep the jurisdiction that they have today. I think there’s an ability to get to common ground. I do believe that we can get to a place where both sides can win. There can be savings that are needed for the long-term stability of the MBTA and also security for the jobs.”
Walsh declined to provide details on his negotiations, but said he has focused primarily on ways to prevent privatization of bus services and the T’s warehouse operations, both of which he opposes.
Baker told reporters that administration officials are engaged in talks with the union. “We hope and anticipate that those discussions will lead to positive results, but as I said many times, it’s important for us to ensure that the T is a highly functioning, effective, and reliable, dependable transportation system for the millions of Massachusetts residents that ride it and for all of the taxpayers and riders that pay for it.”
In his remarks to the T workers, Walsh seemed to enjoy being back at a labor rally. “It’s an honor to be here today standing with my brothers and sisters from labor,” he said, as workers holding signs and wearing matching orange shirts shouted their support.
Walsh said the T has been facing a structural deficit for years. “It has a revenue problem and we have to figure out how we fix that. And you don’t fix it on the backs of the working people at the T. That is not how you do it,” he said. “Maybe we should look at the management structure. Maybe we should do some reforms in the office there.”
The mayor also called for the governor and T management to start talking directly with union officials. “I encourage the governor and the head of the MBTA to sit down with the leadership that we have up here today to talk about how we move forward.”
Walsh said his position is clear. “I stand with the workers,” he said. “I will stand with you until this issue is over.”
