Mass. budget shakes unions

The Boston Globe reports:

Lawmakers on Wednesday approved a $38.1 billion budget that included a significant defeat for organized labor — a measure temporarily clearing the way for greater privatization of services at the MBTA.

The move put a small but significant crack in a decades-old measure known as the Pacheco law, which created hurdles to outsourcing services to non-union workers.

Coming after a string of high-profile union victories in the Democrat-controlled Legislature, the blow to one of labor’s most treasured protections has raised a sharp question on Beacon Hill: How did this happen?

The primary driver of the shift, observers agree, is the crisis that has engulfed the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority since a series of winter storms crippled the agency. But union leaders and lawmakers point to other factors, too: a media narrative that framed the Pacheco law, fairly or not, as an “anti-privatization” measure; a popular governor pushing for more outsourcing; and parliamentary maneuvers that cleared the way.

The struggle against those who want to restrain trade.