Monks: Why put workers on hook to cut city costs?
SAM ALLIS correctly states the problem in his Oct. 4 column “Candidates dodge numbers: City spending can’t keep pace with health care, pension costs’’ (The Observer, Page A2). But instead of looking at new sources of revenue, he wants working people to give up their collective bargaining rights regarding health insurance by joining the Group Insurance Commission, and to give away a real pension for a glorified savings plan called a 401(k). How do these measures raise the standard of living or secure a better future for working people?
Why doesn’t he talk about getting more revenue from our so-called nonprofits, such as Harvard, Boston College, Boston University, Massachusetts General, and all the other universities and hospitals that pay a tiny fraction for city services in lieu of property taxes. I’d like to see our mayoral candidates address this elephant in the room during the next several weeks. That would earn the respect and gratitude, and maybe even a vote or two, of Boston’s residents and workers. Dick Monks
Jamaica Plain
The writer is vice president of the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 877. His views here are his own.
