2 unions sue over Pike tolls meeting

The two largest unions representing Massachusetts Turnpike workers sued the authority board yesterday, asking a judge to overturn any decision made when the board privately discussed eliminating tolls west of Route 128.

Members of the Teamsters Union Local 127, which represents 200 toll takers and 200 maintenance workers, and United Steelworkers of America, which represents 80 other turnpike workers, allege that the board violated the state Open Meeting Law by going into a closed session before it voted last week to move forward with removing the tolls.

The lawsuit, filed in Suffolk Superior Court, names as defendants state Transportation Secretary John Cogliano , who is also chairman of the Turnpike Authority board, and board members Mary Z. Connaughton , Judy M. Pagliuca , and Thomas H. Trimarco . It does not name John Moscardelli , a board member since 2002 -- the only one not appointed by Governor Mitt Romney and the only one who did not vote to close the meeting to the media and the public .

Romney spokesman Eric Fehrnstrom said the board is in "complete compliance with the Open Meetings Law."

"The unions have a vested interest in maintaining the status quo," Fehrnstrom said. "Their opposition to change is understandable but it should not deter us from seeking savings."

After the closed session, the authority board agreed to move ahead with ending the tolls, by beginning the process of leasing service areas to help pay off the western turnpike's $199 million bond debt, and by commissioning an environmental review of the proposed merger of the turnpike authority with the state highway department.

The unions' lawyer, Richard M. Peirce , said the board violated the Open Meeting Law because members were not discussing or negotiating the pending sale or lease of property, but instead were talking in broader terms.

"We want the court to review the minutes of the meeting and the tapes and make a determination as to whether they were properly in executive session," Peirce said in an interview yesterday outside the court.

Peirce said that if the judge determines the board was not properly in executive session, any action can be declared null and void, or the minutes of the closed-door meeting can be made public.

A study commissioned by the board said removing the tolls on the western turnpike, which would save motorists $114 million a year, could result in higher tolls east of Route 128 and at the Boston Harbor tunnels.

Labor leaders have said removing the tolls could result in 518 union members being fired, mostly toll collectors. Other critics have questioned the environmental and economic impact of the plan and have called on the state to conduct an environmental review.

Mac Daniel can be reached at mdaniel@globe.com