50 Years Ago
- The first state worker’s strike in Massachusetts history took place this week, following three days of negotiations between state and union officials. The contract is the first to be negotiated by state workers under a 1973 law giving them the right to bargain collectively for wages. Discussions continued around the clock as employees picketed state office buildings, welfare offices, prisons, sewage treatment facilities, public works departments and beaches.
- At the University of Massachusetts, the faculty has voted to ask the university board of trustees to rescind recent pay increases granted to officials in UMass President Robert Wood’s office. They also asked that Wood move from his plush rented offices in Boston as soon as possible, charging that such offices were unnecessary.
25 Years Ago
- A design for a 16,000 square foot building in the works by developer Michael Sissman on Strong Avenue was revealed yesterday, showing a structure that would house retail space and condominiums, extending from Kathy’s Diner to the Depot Restaurant.
- Arnold Brown, a short order cook at the Miss Florence Diner, and Ina Kapitan, a waitress, will both turn 80 within a few days of each other. They have been working at the diner for a combined 70 years.
10 Years Ago
- The railroad underpass off King Street is set to be completed on schedule and on budget, project officials said at the work site Thursday. The underpass near Woodmont Road and King Street is scheduled to be complete this October.
- In response to the one-day strike by nurses planned for Monday, Baystate Franklin Medical Center has decided to lock out nurses from the hospital starting Sunday evening and lasting until Wednesday evening, according to a letter sent by President Cindy Russo to the nursing staff. Calling the potential picket an “illegal strike,” Russo said the hospital will hire temporary nursing staff to work that time frame.