MBTA To Cut Non-Union Workers, Freeze Wages To Deal With Debt

By Abigail Beshkin (The Third Rail)

BOSTON — As the MBTA struggles with a massive budget shortfall, it will lay off 75 workers, freeze wages and institute mandatory furloughs.

T spokesman Joe Pesaturo says the real problem is that almost 70 percent of next year’s $160 million budget shortfall is due to debt.

“What’s driving this deficit is not really operational costs. It’s the crushing debt that is on the MBTA,” said Pesaturo. “A lot of it has to do with the projects that the T was mandated to build as part of Big Dig mitigation.”