A bunch of ladies who work on the MBTA alleged in a letter to federal transportation authorities that they’ve skilled office harassment, discrimination, and have confronted retaliation for talking up and reporting their unfair remedy.
The group, which is asking themselves the Concerned Women within the MBTA Engineering and Maintenance Track Department, mentioned they opted to contact the Federal Transit Administration — the federal oversight authority for the T — as a result of their previous complaints to the MBTA Office of Diversity and Civil Rights haven’t resulted in any disciplinary motion to the particular person at fault.
While they want to stay nameless, the ladies mentioned they’ve labored as generals, gear operators, forepersons, system restore individuals, monitor individuals, laborers, iron employees, and carpenters on the MBTA.
“Many of us have experienced and/or continue to experience workplace harassment, retaliation, discrimination, intimidation, and mistreatment,” the group wrote. “Women in this department have consistently been faced with retaliation for speaking up and reporting unfair treatment, slander, and inequality.”
The girls mentioned they’ve brazenly been accused of performing sexual favors for a place and/or promotion, verbally berated by an individual in a supervisory place in entrance of coworkers, spat upon by a coworker and handled with indifference and unconcern when reported, transferred to different areas with out rationalization, suspended and/or focused, handed over for promotions, and given unfair detrimental opinions.
The girls described a tradition the place they’re handled as drawback staff who can’t get together with their co-workers after complaints have been filed, and mentioned that within the occasion the place the MBTA finds fault has been dedicated by a male worker, disciplinary motion is never taken and the offending worker is “simply moved to another location.”
The group mentioned it’s searching for the MBTA’s coverage of dignity within the office to be “upheld and strictly enforced,” and requested an in-person assembly facilitated by the FTA Civil Rights Department and an out of doors range and inclusion skilled.
“Some of us have been made to feel very afraid to speak up,” the group wrote. “We are making these requests in order to be heard, to prevent being retaliated against, and mainly to permanently change the environment within the MBTA Track Department.”
Peter S. Butler, FTA regional administrator for Region 1, instructed the group in an electronic mail shared with the Herald that he had referred their criticism to FTA Civil Rights Officer Margaret Griffin, and inspired them to contact the USDOT Office of Inspector General.
MBTA spokesperson Joe Pesaturo mentioned the T’s Department of Organizational Diversity and Civil Rights will evaluate the criticism after it is available in.
“The MBTA values the contributions of all employees and fully supports its diverse workforce in making those contributions in an atmosphere of dignity and mutual respect,” Pesaturo mentioned. “The MBTA works diligently to make sure that discrimination, harassment, and retaliation within the office just isn’t tolerated.
“As such, the Authority has issued several Equal Employment Opportunity policies that promote an inclusive, professional workplace. The Department of Organizational Diversity/Civil Rights monitors the MBTA’s EEO policies to ensure that they are applied fairly and consistently.”
Source: www.bostonherald.com”