The MBTA has hired 11 subway dispatchers, but needs another four before it reconsiders service cuts that were made in June.
The post pays $103,667 with a $10,000 signing bonus.
Ten hires started taking part in the required 10-week heavy rail dispatcher training program between July and September, and the 11th hire will start training on Monday, MBTA spokesperson Joe Pesaturo said.
“One of the four FTA special directives are targeted numbers to hit, to hire 15 additional heavy rail dispatchers as soon as possible on a rolling basis,” MBTA Chief Human Resources Officer Tom Waye said at Thursday’s workforce subcommittee meeting.
“They are hiring candidates directly into full-time positions, which is a change from our previous practice where we would require candidates to first be hired as spare dispatchers,” he added.
The MBTA cut service on three major subway lines in June to comply with a directive from the Federal Transit Administration, which ordered the T to beef up operations control center staffing and stop overworking dispatchers.
Those cuts on the Red, Blue and Orange lines are set to continue through the fall, and no date has been set for a return to regular service.
“The MBTA continues to work hard at recruiting, hiring and training new heavy rail dispatchers, and some good progress has been made to date in boosting staffing levels at the control center,” Pesaturo said.
“The subway operations team is working closely with the safety department and service planning staff to develop a subway schedule that is consistent with the T’s commitment to operate trains in safe and reliable manner. When a revised schedule has been finalized, the MBTA will make it available to its subway riders.”
Chief Safety Officer Ronald Ester said at a subsequent safety subcommittee meeting that 24 dispatchers are working in the OCC, including three retirees and four former dispatchers temporarily shifted from other MBTA positions.
The T now limits dispatchers to 14-hour days, with at least 10 hours off in between shifts, and they cannot exceed 24 hours of overtime, or six days of work, per week, Ester said. In June, the feds found those employees were working 16-20 hour shifts to make up for staffing shortages.
As of last week, 191 applications had been submitted, but only 40 met the minimum job requirements. Twenty-six candidates have been interviewed, and two others are under consideration for that part of the process, Waye said.
“It is important to highlight that this position is only eligible for internal candidates who have specific qualifications and years of experience, given the nature of the role and the safety implications,” Waye said.
“Heavy rail dispatchers not only help guide trains in a traffic control capacity. They also have a direct line to the motor persons to help troubleshoot any issues with the trains or on the tracks.”
The T had 943 total vacancies as of late September and only made four net hires this fiscal year, based on 202 hires and 198 separations. Board member Bob Butler said the trend was a “little scary.”
Quincy Mayor Thomas Koch, who chairs the workforce committee, indicated that he thought some of the T’s hiring woes were due to bad “publicity.”
“I suppose it cuts both ways,” Koch said. “People say there’s jobs there. The flip side is people say, oh geez, I don’t know if there’s a future there with the way the T’s going.”