Boston City Council members Ed Flynn and Matt O'Malley listen during a hearing on gas pipeline safety. (Karyn Regal/WBZ NewsRadio 1030)
BOSTON (WBZ-AM) -- At a Tuesday hearing, Boston City Councilors heard from locket-out National Grid workers who say the company is putting profit over safety.
City Councilor Matt O'Malley chaired the hearing regarding safety and Boston's gas distribution system. The room was loaded with locked out union members.
National Grid, however, declined the invitation, instead sending a letter. O'Malley said he was not pleased.
"It's disappointing, but it's also unsurprising," he said.
O'Malley said maintaining of gas mains is down 80 percent--and said that info comes from National Grid's own report to the state DPU.
Local 12012 president John Buonopane said nobody is watching the system.
"Somewhere along the way, the state seems to have lost control over this public utility," he said. "The DPU is sorely deficient when it comes to field inspections. They're just not staffed properly. It was my understanding that, prior to the Merrimack Valley incident, they only had two field inspectors for the entire state."
WBZ NewsRadio 1030 has reached out to the DPU but has not heard back yet.
WBZ NewsRadio 1030's Karyn Regal (@Karynregal) reports