Chipping away at the Red Line

I think it's a good idea, but i think the T can only contract labor like this with unions.

Not sure it would be possible to get this done as 'community service'; maybe an attorney can comment on that.

Also it's a slippery slope if the state is allowed to get cheap/free labor from people who have broken the law.

Still, we need a lot of workers asap, so if it's remotely possible I'd be all for it.

This is where Baker needs to step in as the highest executive in the state. The T is in crisis and while Dr. Scott may lack the money or authority to get things done, Baker does not. He can order the National Guard out there to remove the snow or help in any way possible. He can ask MassDOT to redirect highway workers to do the same. If the Transit police are understaffed to supervise the additional people Baker can get the state police to step in.

We need a leader, not someone who refuses to talk to about the T until after the crisis (err, bad weather) is over.

If Baker did these things he'd likely be violating multiple union agreements. In this case, that's not a problem. Let Baker go to the public and say he is working around the clock and devoting every state resource to getting the T back to being fully operational and the union is trying to stand in his way. That's how you gain public support if you have to do something the unions won't like in the future. (I'm not anti-union but I'm very pro-transit. You can't let contracts stand in the way of 1.2 million people getting to work.)

Sadly, Baker is doing none of this. The T management seems to be doing what they can but after three weeks they are burnt out and without any support from Baker and others we're going to keep having non-stop problems. What Baker and others fail to understand is that this shutdown massively hurts the state economy now and in the future. It's not just frustration to the people who use the T it's a real turn-off to the types of businesses the state needs to attract.

Volunteer....it's not forced....it's not obligatory...volunteer, with credit...not payment. I am a Union member....but I also know things need to be done in a timely practical way. I think the Governor knows this as well. He isn't where he is by accident. Put a practical emergency package in place to address these issues on a one time basis, and could be revisited should the emergency occur again, which it will by the week's out. Practical informed planning.

I recall that the operating procedure is they keep running the trains through the storm and thus use them as plows including hours not taking passengers. But it seems that this tactic no longer works. It may just be too much snow, but I remember hearing how 40% of the OL trains are out. So if I am to speculate, since the first storm knocked out 40% of the Orange Line fleet, this shows the trains are no longer capable to act as plows anymore. Both that there's so few working trains left to use as plows and possibly the train just no longer have the endurance to plow snow if they are still "functional".

I also speculate if 40% of the fleet was out, then they have not been able to recover those trains before the second storm. Thus, likely knocking out more trains that were still alive. And the 3rd one... And now the 4th one...

If I'm right, this might get even worse before it get better. As this implies that trains can't be use as plows anymore. And thus increasingly smaller storms can do the same effect as these storms. And we will have to endure until the new trains comes that are capable to plowing through snow without breaking down.

Uh-huh, well if you heard it, it must be true.

It must have nothing to do with everyone's resources being tapped out; so much so that the T is asking people to bring their own shovels.

To pull the union made snow blowers.