STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE
THE HIGHEST-PAID MBTA EMPLOYEE has been paid about $315,000 so far in 2015, working 4,455 hours, MBTA Chief Administrator Brian Shortsleeve told the T’s Fiscal and Management Control Board on Monday.
That worker, who is a maintenance of way employee, receives a base salary of $85,000 and worked about 2,600 hours of overtime, according to the T. The employee also received $59,000 in back pay this year.
Lisa Calise, a member of the control board, noted the unnamed worker was on the clock for an “incredible number of hours” – the equivalent of two full-time employees.
Calise suggested an audit be undertaken on the situation, asking, “Is this case an anomaly?”
Shortsleeve’s presentation occurred amid discussions of fare increases and cuts to The Ride and early-morning weekend service. A $242 million deficit is projected for fiscal 2017.
MBTA employees received over $100,000 in gross pay this year at a greater rate than executive branch employees, according to Shortsleeve’s presentation. About 24 percent of the 6,482 T employees have grossed over $100,000, compared to 7.7 percent of the 44,141 executive branch employees.
Some retroactive pay raises went into effect this year at the T, according to MBTA spokesman Joe Pesaturo.
The average $35.58 hourly wage for MBTA rail employees exceeds the average for the top five American transit agencies and is 30 percent above the national average, according to Shortsleeve’s presentation.
For MBTA bus operators, who make an average of $34.99 per hour, the disparity is even greater. T bus drivers make about 50 percent more than the national average and significantly more than the average of the top five US transit agencies average.
Shortsleeve’s presentation cited an analysis of John A. Dash & Associates.
This story is a joke.
Tons of inaccurate information here.
explain then. You have plenty of space down here to set the record straight.
Yes- please explain; I’m sure there’s a reasonable explanation for all this.
The MBTA needs more employees. The MBTA does not hire more employees. If the required labor isn’t passed on to more employees, guess who performs the labor?
https://www.reddit.com/r/boston/comments/3xrfdo/t_maintenance_worker_paid_315000_official_says/
There are some theories there.
That’s correct. And they could hire more employees if they didn’t pay such excessive wages.
This reddit thread has several ex-employees who say that the overtime reporting practices on the MBTA are a joke. https://www.reddit.com/r/boston/comments/3xrfdo/t_maintenance_worker_paid_315000_official_says/
Which post talks about the overtime reporting practices? It’s pretty long. Could you name the user so I can search within my browser.
I dont understand how one can take advantage of the system. They ask the employee if they want to work overtime.The employee says YES or NO.
For what he was paid to work roughly 80 hours a week, they could hire 2 additional people and still save $15,000 and have 120 hours worked a week instead of 80 to boot which would probably save even more money by time being put into needed repairs and upgrades.