Mechanics union urges public to continue speaking out against privatization efforts

Last week, Boston University’s The Daily Free Press reported on IAM 264’s announcement that there has only been one bidder on the contract to privatize MBTA bus maintenance. The paper reports that according to Mike Vartabedian, the business manager of IAM Local 264, this is a bad sign for the state’s privatizaion efforts, especially considering that the only bidder is First Transit, which has a poor track record with the MBTA, including a broken contract, safety violations, labor disputes, and sub par bus maintenance services.

However, despite this setback for privatization efforts, Vartabedian tells The Daily Free Press that he doesn’t think this is the end of efforts to privatize, stating, “It’s a failure on their part, but does it mean that privatization is over? No.” He emphasized the importance of ongoing resistance to privatization efforts, saying, “I think that the public needs to speak out and I think that the legislative needs to speak out on this clearly failed system.”

Read the full story here.