Mass transit discrimination ruling exposes corrupt status quo

The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority just got slapped with a 
$7.6 million fine in a law suit brought by an ex-employee. The 
plaintiff, Roberta Edwards accused the MBTA of firing her in retaliation for a 
discrimination complaint she filed with the Massachusetts Commission 
Against Discrimination in 1997. Hired in 1996, she was the highest 
ranking black womyn ever employed at the "T", as it is called locally. In her 
complaint Edwards said that she was racially and sexually discriminated 
against by the then deputy general manager, Philip Puccia.

Edwards had offered to settle for $625,000, but the MBTA administration 
chose to fight, denying the allegations of discrimination and 
retaliation. The jury which was somewhat lopsided having only two men, 
apparently did not accept the denials because they gave the plaintiff a $7 
million punitive award on top of $603 thousand in compensation.
This is not by any means the first time the "T" has been disciplined 
for racial bias. Two years ago a jury awarded a Charlestown equipment 
yard foreman $5.5 million (later reduced to $1m) for racist verbal abuse 
he had been subjected to over the course of a decade. More recently the 
state's Black Legislative Caucus has been looking into allegations of 
racial profiling by MBTA police in their harassment of young riders. The 
response was to make minor changes to policing and data-gathering 
procedures.

The "T" is clearly a white dominated, patriarchal organization which 
needs to go through a radical change. Under socialism, chauvinism of any 
variety will not be tolerated in government officials. Anyone found 
guilty of this sort of crap -- or using their position of authority to 
avoid being held responsible -- will be sacked and sent to re-education 
camp or prison. 

This is the essence of what MIM calls the "leadership principle." We 
will only accept leaders who can accept penalties for serious errors or 
failures. We reject all kinds of careerism and opportunism in the 
picking of leaders. We do not want to vote for leaders who have no threshold 
to cross and are free to use every manipulative and posturing trick to 
obtain our support. Such happens in questions of leadership in 
bourgeois parliamentary democratic society. Viewing a leadership position in a 
government or corporation as one more perk in life is just as corrupt 
as putting people below profit directly for monetary reasons.

The ability of managers to use their position of authority for persynal 
gain to avoid criticism will also be greatly curtailed under socialism 
-- since everyone is guaranteed a job, managers will not be able to 
intimidate subordinates with the threat of dismissal.

Finally, it is also worth noting that while Edwards apparently was 
discriminated against, she was certainly not exploited. Her annual salary 
of $83,200 put her at the high end of the labor aristocracy. -- By 
friend of MIM and MC206

Source: Boston Globe, 9 Jun 2001