Boston, MA—With less than a week to prevent the MBTA’s janitorial services cuts, dozens of T janitors and supporters will be flashmobing the news on Wednesday to the tune of Charlie and the MTA: “Citizens, hear me out! This could happen to you!”
“The Baker administration knows full well that cutting back on janitorial service will do little to fix the financial hole of the MBTA, and yet they are ready to throw a hatchet to the lowest-paid workers of the T and to the hundreds of thousands of riders who expect clean and sanitary stations.”
The protest comes on the heels of an MBTA plan to cut cleaning services to the bone beginning September 1. More than 70 full-time janitorial positions will be eliminated on September 1. This means grime-filled staircases, dirty walls, garbage-strewn stations and sticky floors, according to the janitors.
The MBTA unprecedented cleaning cuts couldn’t have come at a worse time. As Boston continues to grow, expecting to bring more riders into the system, fewer cleaners will be available to clean up after them.
VISUAL: At Boston Common’s Brewer Fountain Plaza protestors to perform parody version of Charlie and the MTA. (“Charlie and the MBTA mess”)
WHAT: T Janitors to Protest Drastic MBTA Cleaning Service Cuts
WHERE: Boston Common’s Brewer Fountain Plaza, Boston, MA
WHEN: Wednesday, August 24, 2014 at noon
WHO: MBTA subcontracted Janitors and supporters
Lyrics:
CHARLIE AND THE MBTA MESS
[SPOKEN INTRO]
These are the times that try people’s souls. In the course of our nation’s history, the people of Boston have rallied bravely whenever the rights of people have been threatened. Today, a new crisis has arisen. The Massachusetts Bay Transit Authority, better known as the M. (B.) T. A., is attempting layoff nearly 100 janitors right after a subway fare increase. Citizens, hear me out! This could happen to you!
[Verse 1]
Well, let me tell you of the story
Of a man named Charlie
On a tragic and fateful day.
He put folks out of work, now the stations are grimy
But he never rides the M. B. T. A.
[Chorus]
Well, will he ever learn?
No, he never has learned
Cutting jobs is not deserved
Watering eyes and noses
And trash full of roaches
He’s the man who let us get burned
[Verse 2]
Charlie cut every last dime
From the Kendall Square Station
To the orange line in Jamaica Plain
When folks got there the conductor told ‘em
“Hold your noses”
But Charlie doesn’t feel their pain
[Chorus]
Well, will he ever learn?
No, he never has learned
Cutting jobs is not deserved
Watering eyes and noses
And trash full of roaches
He’s the man who let us get burned
[Verse 3]
Now all day long
Trash piles up in the tunnels
Folks cry ‘what’s become of our T?’
How can we stand to ride from Chelsea
to see our cousins in Roxbury?
[Chorus]
But Charlie never learns.
No, he never has learned
Cutting jobs is not deserved
Watering eyes and noses
And trash full of roaches
He’s the man who let us get burned
With more than 145,000 members in 11 states, including 18,000 in Massachusetts, Rhode Island and New Hampshire, SEIU 32BJ is the largest property services union in the country.
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