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State Police arrest 21 protesters at state transportation building

When state Transportation Secretary Richard Davey wouldn't meet with protesters calling for a discounted "Youth Pass" for teen T riders, they sat down in his office in the Park Square transportation building and wouldn't leave - until State Police made them, and transported them over to their South Boston and Charles River barracks for booking on trespassing charges, according to O'Ryan Johnson, who reports they were released on $40 bail apiece.

The Dig has more.

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Comments

Remember whens teens worked for things instead of expecting to be entitled to everything at everyone else's expense?

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Remember when teens could afford the T to get to work?

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The young and able bodied can WALK to work. It builds character.

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didn't allow people who make student loans to fuck the student over financially?

Fucking Frank Capra, amirite?

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..credential mills decided to emulate corporate oligarchs and jack tuition becuz credentials from a dumbo mill are a gotta have thing.

And naturally the Goldman Sachs circuit was beside itself at the thought of all the new 'financial instruments' they'd be able to sell to those almighty 'investors'

It became a whole new class of loans to bundle into bonds.

I have so hosed this mess.

I dropped out in the 10th grade and became a petty weed dealer.

And I just skated along.

Now I'm 60 and my hair isn't entirely gray yet, like younger friends who ate all that stress.

I failed to convince a female humanzee to use my DNA and dodged all the stress that entails.

(Although I did give it a run of inept tries.)

And I failed to clutter my life with lots of status stuff with money I didn't have to impress people who didn't care.

Hell, I have never even owned a credit card or a car.

And I live in Cambridge for free due to the social capital that accrues when you serve your community.

It's not for everyone, mind you, but I'm pretty psyched by the way it turned out.

Nowadays, kids are just a different kind of consumer profit center to leech from,

They may not be as fat at yielding as female shopping mavens or manly men who need expensive toys but every chump counts when it comes to parasite capitalism.

How did the T become so expensive for everyone?

It's funny to see the new timid fare increase.

It's as if they know their system is a mess and even they are sheepish about chiseling much more than a dime.

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Hmm, yes. Drop out of high school, become a dealer who doesn't pay taxes on income, "skate by," build no credit, use casual misogyny, bitch about capitalism and fare increases. At least you have your hair colour unlike people who went to school, have a family, work and pay taxes.

I'm amazed someone who didn't challenge himself and exuded lowest effort possible would be happy with said situation, hell with all the "squares" am I right.

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As the great St. Vincent said, " The measure of who we are is what we do with what we have."

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..and when you start with nothing it's fun to keep it that way.

I had freedom to do helpful things for people for free because I wasn't stuck chasing money.

By the 80s I just did crap temp jobs when I needed money and the social capital I mentioned, all that free work served as well as the more roundabout way of chasing money to do things.

The most honest way to reduce taxes is to not make money... duuh.

I rarely earn above the minimum threshold. And now I just get free money.

And no debt. No mortgage, car loan, credit card tab or college loan.

Back then you could still do interesting things and make a credential of what you actually do.

This neo feudal system saddles you with debt out of high school and keeps piling it on from there.

And jacking tuition is an odd return to class stratification after after holding a belief that an educated citizenry was a value beyond any derived from new ways to grub money.

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And who pays for that free money?

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I hope you have a safety net for retirement. Sounds like you don't. I wish you well when you 'retire'.

What's your free money? Earlier SSI?

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..My mother died two years ago and always admired all the stuff I do to help people and left me the means to continue.

I see it as a sacred trust, (especially since she always thought it was a bit foolhardy).

And I'm super for a building with a 20 year backlog of work where I can just go fix something and bill for it

I am more or less retired and expect to die in 5 years anyway, cause that's what poor people reliably do.

This is a life long commitment.

It used to be called vows of poverty.

And I just go out and extol the living world by walking through appealing parts of it with a hand held camcorder and a T3 DSLR working like reality vacuums to inhale the visual.

Then I make usable clips with it on You Tube.

I've done more than 500 uploads since mom died and people use them to figure out potential day hikes, dog walk spots, bike rides or what have you.

They've had more than 20,000 visits which is fine given how obscure the topics are.

I got Ornette Coleman 20 thousand dollars to compose a piece of music back in the 80s by talking Tufts into it with a friend who taught there.

I just tapped out a summary for Swirly on a game plan for her kid's summer job search and I don't even know her.

Last month, I was digging up news coverage of the Balkan floods so my Google Plus friends there could get better reports than what they were seeing.

It's all in a life.

There isn't much conventional status to be slurped but the alternate metrics are healthier and cheaper.

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Dude , maybe you should have said screw the education and sought out an apprenticeship, iron working , pipe fitting , whatever, start earning right out the gate. Someone has to do the dirty work to create the infrastructure of society .

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I was a general contractor's site monkey for several years in Seattle and can communicate well with all the trades.

I had our furnace guy over last friday, (we have 6 furnaces) to check an old wreck and have to assist a roof job later this year.

I never liked having to own all the tools, get a truck, deal with payment disputes, etc. I'd rather just temp or something.

And besides, the broader point is if you don't chase more money than you need for the minimalist life you have, you get that non renewable thing.. Time.

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Dude . work isnt always about chasing money. There is something in the feeling of satisfaction , in a job well done. Whether it is a neat and tidy trench dug by hand ,, some pipe put together cleanly , a row of tomatoes straight as an arrow , its a nice feeling of accomplishment. Plus money in the pocket is a good feeling too. Your life passes as you work , make the best of it , appreciate the work!

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Dude . work isnt always about chasing money. There is something in the feeling of satisfaction , in a job well done. Whether it is a neat and tidy trench dug by hand ,, some pipe put together cleanly , a row of tomatoes straight as an arrow , its a nice feeling of accomplishment. Plus money in the pocket is a good feeling too. Your life passes as you work , make the best of it , appreciate the work!

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You aren't being realistic. Public transportation usually involves a fair bit of walking. It's not as if everyone works near where they live.

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Not if there is a harbor in the way, like in Eastie. Kinda puts a damper on getting a job when you show up soaked in harbor water.

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Just get a job close by , like Liberty Market, bagging the groceries , no swimming needed.

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Because having a car means you are a more important and special human being than somebody who walks or bikes.

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DRINK!

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If you're not making enough in a day to cover your $4 round trip T fare, you should look for another job.

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And so many to choose from!

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that are demanding special treatment from MassDOT carry a cellphone. If they can afford a cellphone, they can certinally afford to pay MBTA fares.

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Afford a cellphone?

Please.

What year is this, 1994?

You have no clue whatsoever. Really. You don't. Just no clue.

My aunt is on disability and has a really nice cell phone. Know why? I BOUGHT IT FOR HER and put her on my plan for free, and that way she saves $65 a month on a land line.

Some people have pay-as-you-go phones for small money, others are on grandma's plan.

In any case CEL PHONES ARE CHEAP AND ARE OFTEN A CONDITION OF EMPLOYMENT.

Go clean your dentures or tie an onion to your belt, please.

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I bet they have solid gold toilets, too. They probably have one a them fancy flat-screen TVs as well.

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Pretty much everywhere I've ever worked required staff to have cell phones. Office temp? You need to answer the assignment call in 2 rings, or you don't get the job. Lifeguard? You need a cell phone so the boss can call you. I currently work at an organization that switched to ADP payroll, which means all the minimum-wage workers need to punch in and out via a smartphone app. On their personal smartphones which they provide.

I actually worked with a guy who couldn't afford a cell phone- he was renting a room in a house that came with internet, so getting in touch with him via e-mail was easy. He came up for a temporary supervisor's job, and he was told under no uncertain terms that he would have to get a cell phone, paid for out of his own pocket, in order to get the job.

With pay-as-you-go phones, even smartphones aren't that expensive if you are judicious with their use, compared to the cost of a landline.

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Don't forget many parents add on their teen to their family plan. I know a few people.. well into their 20s.. who are still on their parents family plan because it saves them money.

When I was a kid, I had a pager for this purpose. (ya I'm O L D )

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I'm curious, what does "tie an onion to your belt" mean? I'm thinking it has something to do with old foggies but I've never heard it.

It sounds like something that would be said by an older family member.

Thanks...

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In the Simpsons, Grampa Simpson went on a rant about how when he was young he would tie an onion to his belt as some sort of fashion statement.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0701151/quotes

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When I was a teenager working part-time retail, I lived within biking distance of the store I worked at. And even making only $7.25/hr, I took in over $100/week. The only things I had to spend money on were things I wanted, and gas if I drove the car. I could easily have set aside $15-$20 a week in order to have unlimited use of public transportation. And if that seemed too high, I could have asked for a few more hours.

Even as someone who grew up living below the poverty line I just cannot fathom not being able to spare $2.33/day for transportation.

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Was a living wage?

Also, you do realize that the countries where governments actually serve the people heavily discount youth travel, right? Like, half price until you are 25 years old (on top of affordable education).

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The minimum wage was NEVER a living wage.

The whole idea of supporting a family on an entry level job was only possible right at the end of WWII when the US was the only industrial power left standing and the economy the standard of living was underwritten by years of savings. A historical and economic aberration which will likely never happen again.

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In 1985 I had three jobs, and used the T to get between them.

The bus was 50 cents, train 60 cents. I made $5.50 or $6 an hour (depending on the job). Monthly bus pass was $20, train was $28.

Now my son is in the labor market. The same sorts of jobs pay $9 an hour. The bus is $1.50 and rising, train is $2.00 and rising. Pass is close to $70 and rising.

This involves fractions and percentages, so maybe it is rocket science - but in 1985 I worked 5 hours to pay for a pass - now that would be 9 hours.

But, hey, facts and data are so tiresome.

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The numbers makes my head hurts. Kidz are lazy!!! Where's my onion??

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Remember when teens could get jobs if they were under 18?

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Yes, the bad old days when they went to neighborhood schools they could walk or bike to instead of having to ride across town. So much better that all that money has to be wasted on excess transportation and greenhouse gasses.

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Assuming it was two separate bail commissioners that did the paperwork. One person made 440 while the other made 400. Not a bad evening of work!

Hopefully they get their youth discount they are looking for. Suck to waste 40 dollars on top of not getting what they wanted.

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The utes ought to see I Am Just A Bill with our dear State Government substituted for Washington DC. They might understand that storming government offices isn't the way to get things done. Before you all disagree and think their proto democracy efforts are noble, would you want GOAL doing the same thing these people did at the Executive Office of Public Safety?

I made the minimum wage once; $3.35 per hour vs. a $0.75 T Ride with no transfer available. Today with a Charlie Card the fare is 3% higher than 1985 minimum wage versus a single ride fare, but you get to transfer to a local bus for free. I survived and prospered so shall the youth of today.

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Those youth and their organizations have been working with state government towards a youth pass for the past 7 years. They even got a commitment from Richard Davey back in 2011 when he was general manager of the T to back a pilot w/ 2500 participants.

Mass DOT has done nothing to address this commitment, even as the Youth Affordability Coalition lived up to their end of the agreement, identifying means of funding through a proposed University Pass system. This isn't just a random sit-in and demonstration. Neither was Rosa Parks just a tired woman fed up with Jim Crow laws. When traditional politicking fails, protests and actions keeps politicians accountable and forces them to stop ignoring.

Get a quick overview here: http://www.ace-ej.org/open_letter_to_secretary_of_transportation_opportu...

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How many young people, not adults, are taking 3 T rides to get to a minimum wage job? There are help wanted signs all over the place yet we still have protests about "Summer Jobs for Kids".

Two years after I was making minimum wage at Burger King at $3.35 an hour, the minimum wage was $3.60 an hour, but the market rate for an entry level position was $6.50 owing to the tight labor market. We are in that same labor market position right now as we were in 1986 around here. There is no way that a summer job is paying minimum right now in Boston.

Call Senator Forry, Call Senator Chang-Diaz. Call your reps and make them force the T to live up to its commitments if this has been what was promised. This isn't Thailand. It isn't Burkina Faso either and by the way, don't go comparing not wanting to pay your fare/fair share on the T versus being forced to sit at the back of the bus. Remember, a lot of people walked in Birmingham when things didn't go their way, so can some of our young folks. It might be the healthy way to go.

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I'm not comparing. I'm just continually amused that people think protests happen out of nowhere, w/ no process, no planning, and no carefully considered ramp up process.

Youth need to get to school and passes are not always paid for by the school. Youth need to get to medical appointments, and no one is paying for that. Youth need to get to programs which give them opportunities they wouldn't otherwise have, broadening their lives. And if the argument must always be directly economic, broadening lives is a byword for improving employability, health, and communities.

It's all here, published and lobbied with members of our illustrious Legislature 3 and a half years ago: http://youthwayonthembta.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/OpportuniT-Youth...

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Include the addresses and all that too, please. I know a number of kids who would be thrilled to just find that special, storied neighborhood chock full of "help wanted" signs everywhere, with places that they can get to that will hire them for the summer!

My son has been pounding the pavement for weeks and is willing to bike or T to any job he gets. Boston slows way down during the summer, and even an 18 year old can't find much to go on.

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I'm too busy working to pay taxes to support the T and the indirect / direct subsidies which go to the community activist groups which urge on the youths to occupy 10 Park Plaza to start a tumblr.

Keep looking, hate to get all Judge Smails, but the world needs ditch diggers too.

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I'm too busy working to pay taxes to support the T

So are they. And it's even worse for them. Because the tax that supports the T is the sales tax and it was just raised, in part, to cover for the fact that it wasn't providing enough to the T as it had been predicted to do in the Forward Funding legislation of 2000.

By raising the sales tax, all non-exempt goods are now more expensive to the customer. For you, doing so well, it's a few pennies more and you probably don't even notice it any more (quick: what year did the sales tax increase take effect?). However, for someone at the poverty line or below, making minimum wage, it takes a much bigger percentage of your take-home pay. Getting some of that back via a discount to use the transit system it's paying for would be a big deal.

Also, a particular ditch digging is the primary reason the MBTA is having problems these days and passing that pain on to you and these protesters. N'est-ce pas?

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From $9 an hour cashiers, to $13 an hour sales depending on scale.

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or 3 minute bike ride from the West Roxbury commuter rail stop. Problem solved! I hope he looks good in Orange.

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They probably pay a little less, but you might get some free golf swings and ice cream out of it.

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A friend of mine is a manager there. They are looking for some sales people. They actually pay pretty well, up to $14 an hour. Go to the website and apply. No experience necessary.

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His problem is that Home Depot doesn't want summer employees. He checked. They want full-time permanent or part-time permanent 20+ hours a week (which won't work when he starts school). At least he meets the "must be 18" criteria.

Fingers crossed for Trader Joe's ...

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Restaurants and bars are always looking, and if your willing to come back and work during breaks, they might take you.

Recreation departments for cities and towns that have day camps are always an option too. Sometimes those jobs are hard to get, but they usually pay very well.

Tons of private day camps and golf courses too.

Tough to start lookin grow though too, you need to start in the spring.

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Restaurants and bars are always looking

For teenagers?

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..someone has to haul away the dirty dishes and wash them and if you seem astute you even get prep work.. chopping onions.

You can also do bar back crap like hauling cases to the ice chest or schlepping kegs.

And because the hospitality biz is loaded with half assed risky mess proprietors and yucky office politics, there is high turnover.

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I'm actually familiar with the various jobs available in the restaurant business, and worked many of them between my 15th and 20th birthdays (i.e. very long ago).

However, I got the impression (although it doesn't say so explicitly) that this article is about high school kids looking for summer jobs. Not too many bars hire high school kids.

And when I was a kid, the restaurants who did (especially the ones that didn't require a car to get to) could generally hire all they wanted from direct referrals, i.e., children of friends, siblings of current employees, etc. Finding a job by walking in off the street as a high school kid wasn't easy then, and I don't imagine it's any easier now.

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The downtown Boston tourism monstrosity is probably a turnover churn but a tourist-less backwater may not be.

And of course the whoyaknow aspect will trump a lot.

It was an early kid job scene for me too... Magic Pan in Boston,.. the original Legal when Norman was still alive,.. and some gawdawful freak show called 'Betty's Rolls Royce.'

I ran club stuff for the Middle East but was off the hook for the food side.

Stand alone pouring license taverns aren't likely to be a good bet, but a restaurant with full booze service has tasks that kids are allowed to do.

Pot walloping or manning the Hobart is a common kid task and it is a transferable skill to biotech as lab glassware washers are just ultra precise Hobarts with an autoclave instead of a dryer.

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For teenagers?

Yup, my neighbor has two daughters that have worked in a local bar/restaurant since they were ~17. Another neighbor also had a 17 yo daughter doing the same thing. In a business where the help is notoriously unreliable, the most important part of the job is showing up.

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I agree with Swirly on this.

A lot of retail places no longer want summer help. Why? because its a training thing. Why spend time and $ training someone who is only going to leave at the end of the summer. Retail places would rather spend the time on someone who is going to stay longer.

Even Apple Store has eliminated all < 20 hour/wk positions (and one weekend day). Its getting harder and harder for part time jobs.

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They were my bread and butter for years when I got tired of weed.

The evil ones are like Labor Ready and expect you to show up at 5 am.

The civilized ones let you call them once your intake stuff is done.

There are lots of 'light industrial' contingency labor things and he might like the variety and flexibility, initially, and get glimpses of various working situations.

There are lots of things like lab glassware washing in the huge biotech cluster.

Harvard even has its own internal temp entity.

Careerists hate the things but I always work to live and it is interesting. I got my old Biotech job as a hire on after being a pet temp.

Another thing to check is landscaper/lawnmower companies on craigslist although they usually start forming crews in late March.

And Dunkie D's surely has some ineptly run franchise on a corner near you where a kid might be handy.. they just suck a lot.

Oh yeah and then there are painting crews. Classic entry level kid crap labor and maybe even under the table although getting hosed for pay by slime contractors is a hazard.

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Swirls , send the lad over to Budweiser on Riverside ave, maybe they need night help unloading or loading the city trucks. That industry gets busy in the summer, and it's also vacation time too. Think he can lump the stuff at 18, worth a shot.

Company: Anheuser-Busch, LLC - Anheuser-Busch Sales of Boston (WOD)
Location: Medford, MA
Salary: $14.10/hour
Position Type: Temporary
Job ID: J-2014-373

Company Overview: Based in St. Louis, Anheuser-Busch is the leading American brewer, holding a 48.5 percent share of U.S. beer sales. The company brews the world's largest-selling beers, Budweiser and Bud Light. Anheuser-Busch also owns a 50 percent share in Grupo Modelo, Mexico's leading brewer. Anheuser-Busch ranked No. 1 among beverage companies in FORTUNE Magazine's Most Admired U.S. and Global Companies lists in 2008. Anheuser-Busch is a major manufacturer of aluminum cans and one of the world's largest recyclers of aluminum cans. The company is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Anheuser-Busch InBev, the leading global brewer, and continues to operate under the Anheuser-Busch name and logo. As the leading global brewer, AB InBev is committed to finding innovative ways to continually improve. It's this kind of thinking that creates a unique work environment by rewarding talent, celebrating diversity and encouraging forward thinking. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, protected veteran status, disability status or any other characteristic protected by applicable law. For more information, visit www.anheuser-busch.com.
Requirements and Competencies:

This is an on-call position. Number of hours will vary seasonally depending on needs of the business.
Ability to perform physical requirements of job (e.g., lift/move full cases/barrels of product) and to work in cold temperatures.
Ability to safely operate job-related equipment (e.g., hand truck, pallet jack)
Ability to communicate in English, verbally and in writing
Ability to work productively in a team environment with minimal supervision
Primary Responsibilities:

Load and unload delivery and over-the-road trucks and ensure proper stock rotation in the warehouse and on the trucks.
Ensure loads are built and loaded accurately and in a timely manner
Maintain appearance of facility including monitoring and repacking damaged product and general maintenance of equipment
Safely operate various types of warehouse equipment as necessary

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Thanks, Kvn - will do!

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True about beer wholesalers needing extra help in the summer. When I loaded beer trucks and delivered beer in the 70's, though, you needed to be drinking age which was 18 then. Good pay, union wages - after you join the union.

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I jumped the turnstyles and used slugs. Let's see some initiative, kids!

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With pennies use to work,too.

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Tomorrow is the semi-annual public hearing to discuss MBTA compliance with the MBTA/BCIL accessibility settlement. Transportation building 10 Park Plaza 1pm-3pm. Rooms 1, 2, & 3. http://www.mbta.com/about_the_mbta/public_meetings/?id=6442451739

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Deval's worst nightmare, a roundup of minority youth with legitimate concerns by white guys wearing leather gloves and wearing uniforms that give the appearance they are about to storm Poland. Its about time for the annual battle of the beaches where the MSP repel the hordes of minority youth who are all labeled gangbangers when they flock to the beaches this summer.

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What does race have to do with this? Nice Godwin btw.

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Police? There are no non-white politicians? There are no non-white 'oppressors'? Really? And of course our governor is an 'oppressed' non-white male, what does he have to say? Flying under the radar,as usual?

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One should reflect upon the fact that the members of the Mass. State Police are proud graduates of the "Barney Fife Police Academy." They like to think of themselves as the "PREMIER" State Police in the country. Sadly, they are the most bloated and inept bunch of fools. Need proof? Read the headlines.

That said, it would not sink the T into insolvency to provide a reduced fare pass for teenagers. Providing them with a pass is not handing them anything great. They still get to experience one of the worst public transit systems in the county. So nothing is free!

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The State Police suck! The T sucks! Everything SUCKS!! AAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!

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actually most every indication from those involved in this thing was that the officers were very nice. I don't think they felt it was much of a stressful situation. There's always plenty of opportunities to complain about law enforcement officers, this just doesn't happen to be one of them. Relative to other places in this country, I think there's a lot more to complain about - both on the public transit front and the law enforcement officer side -- elsewhere. We're getting soft here in the Bay State.

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"one of the worst public transit systems in the county"

Have you been to the rest of the country?

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Everyone should pay for the privilege of riding on a train that will beak down.

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That's half a day of work at minimum wage for a full month of unlimited transportation within a 10 mile radius of Downtown Boston. Doesn't seem like a terrible injustice to me.

Let me know if I am missing something.

I just copied and pasted the info I found on the MBTA website this morning:

Students ride the T for 50 percent off the price of standard T fares and are eligible for a Monday through Friday pass for $25/month as well as 7-day pass for $28/month. Student T-Passes are good for unlimited travel on Bus, Subway, Express Bus, and Commuter Rail Zones 1A, 1, and 2 on school days.

Discounted rides or passes require a Student CharlieCard or CharlieTicket, available at participating junior high and high schools. See your school administrator for details.

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Only during the school year, not after 8pm.

Also, you can only get them through the school using bizarre gymnastics and have to be outside of the walk zone to qualify during the year.

Again, not available in the summer, even for summer school.

Sorry, try again.

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Well even still, that takes care of half the arguments for a youth pass - getting to school.

And if you need it to get to work as well, get a monthly - at $70, that's $2.33 per day. I highly doubt there is anyone out there who cannot spare $2.33 worth of their daily pay for transportation.

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You are assuming a 7 day workweek. At 5 days (or 20 days a month,) under the new fare structure it would be $3.75, or less than a half hour work per shift.

I'm the crotchety old man on this one. I got my C Pass for $28 for 3 months the summer between junior and senior years in high school, and I didn't gripe about it. I also remember that the student passes were not usable after 6 PM, and looking at the new fare proposal, I don't see any limits on them. They have weekend passes!!!! I paid the fare for every Saturday and Sunday I worked during the school year, again without griping about it.

If you are working, you incur costs. If you somehow don't want to deal with the costs, that's on you. This reminds me of people who gripe about the graduated income tax. Yes, you are making that much more than before, and the money you make over x is taxed 3% higher. Do you really not want the 60% of the wages that are not taken for taxes in spite of the 40% that are taken for taxes?

On the other hand, if they get this pass, I won't be crying about it.

(I edited the subject- poor grammar from me)

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My apologies, you are correct. I worded that poorly, but the $2.33/day still holds true. Counting only M-F it becomes $3.27 per day.

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Nobody should be working 30 day months, let alone a youth employee.

At 20 workdays, that's $3.50/day...which isn't really much of a discount over a $4 round-trip cost on the subway/buses. The monthly pass is much more of a convenience than it is a discount program. Also, if you're working at $8/hr (minimum wage), then that's pretty much a half-hour of your work day or 6% of your GROSS (if you're even allowed to work an 8-hour shift which likely puts you in range of benefits...so 6% is the low-end of the scale) lost just to get to and from work alone.

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Yes, if you only ever take the T to work, it is less than a $1/day discount.

But that's still a discount. That's still $10/month you're saving.

And the savings add up if you occasionally use the T for other things. Say you go out to dinner downtown after work. Say you come into the city on the weekends. Each of those additional trips has no additional cost.

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"The coalition is calling for a $10-a-month MBTA youth pass, “which would be available to young people ages 12 to 21, valid for use year-round without time or day restrictions,” according to a coalition statement."

21? If you can't afford a T pass at age 18 you're a loooza.

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21? If you can't afford a T pass at age 18 you're a loooza.

If you have to make statements like this to feel all tingly, you are a loooza.

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I do not agree with the (activist) adults in this situation

I have been and remain a longtime supporter of youth led advocacy, but the adults should not have allowed youth to be arrested for this.

However small the offense may turn out to be, it is not okay.

Yes affordable youth passes are important.

Not as important, however as a clear record for those youth involved.

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It's kind of ironic that these people are complaining about not being able to afford something, so in response they go out and get a criminal record, which will only hurt their ability to get a job!

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I mean, I know the first amendment has been nullified by a private-public consortium and the prison industrial complex loves to take in a much larger chunk of our population than anywhere else and all ... but I don't think this is a criminal offense.

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arrested for kid?

Trespassing.

And they all moved away from me on the bench

with apologies to Arlo Guthrie

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... creating a nuisance.

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With respect to the T's miserable finances, did anyone else see this interesting article from CityLab (f/k/a Atlantic Cities)?

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Do you know how hard it is to figure out the cost/schedule of some of the buses in the UK because there are 20 different websites of varying degrees of quality and information?

No thanks. One crappy MBTA website is fine enough for me.

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