Boston City Council Hearing on Reviving Red Shirts Program - April 9, 2026
Boston City Council Hearing on Reviving Red Shirts Program - April 9, 2026
The Boston City Council Committee on Labor and Economic Development, chaired by Councilor Brian Warrell (District 4), held a hearing on April 9, 2026, at 2:05 PM to examine the feasibility of reviving Boston's Red Shirts program. The hearing was sponsored by Councilor Kaletta Zapata and referred on January 28, 2026. Councilors Louis Jen and later Councilor Peppin also participated. The discussion focused on whether a modern version of the program—originally launched under Mayor Menino to deploy young people for tasks like emptying trash barrels, sweeping sidewalks, and clearing hydrants—could supplement existing workforce and youth employment initiatives, particularly SuccessLink and PowerCorps, while being financially responsible.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Alex DeFranzo (Executive Director, Pierce Park Sailing Center, East Boston) testified in support of integrating a revived Red Shirts program into existing youth employment efforts. He noted that his organization employs about 205 young people and works in coalition with other groups. DeFranzo emphasized that youth employment provides meaningful mentorship and professional development, and expressed support for making cleanup activities a component of current programs. He also highlighted a proposed $6 million cut to school year jobs and immigrant youth advancement in the budget, calling it an existential crisis for his program and urging the city to dip into reserves to level fund those positions.
Discussion Items
- Councilor Kaletta Zapata (sponsor) opened by stating the program’s history and the need to address litter and service demands in neighborhoods like East Boston. She stressed that the goal is not to recreate the 1990s program exactly, but to design a modern version that supplements—not replaces—existing workforces and integrates with SuccessLink and PowerCorps.
- Joyce Joseph Lee (Chief of Staff for Worker Empowerment) acknowledged the pride associated with the Red Shirts program but noted that youth programming has grown more robust, with 10,000 youth activated each summer. She suggested leveraging existing programs (e.g., PowerCorps) and proposed integrating civic duty days, such as a citywide activation day, rather than a standalone program. She raised concerns about safety, supervision, and career development.
- Alison Vernere (Executive Director, Office of Youth Employment and Opportunity) provided context: SuccessLink pays $15/hour for ages 14–18 and $20/hour for ages 19–24; PowerCorps offers a stipend of $550/month (first four months) and $625/month (academies). She noted that many current programs already include beautification and cleanup (e.g., Speak for the Trees, The Food Project, George Wright Golf Course). She suggested that a revival could better work as a component of SuccessLink rather than a standalone program, but acknowledged challenges like budget, logistics, and ensuring young people are placed in desirable roles. She also mentioned that youth receive a minimum of 15 hours of career readiness training, though specific certifications (CDL, OSHA) are not systematically offered.
- Councilor Zapata pressed for more direct action on litter, noting that East Boston has only one seasonal hokey and that frozen positions have worsened service. She asked about the cost savings of employing youth at $15/hour versus city workers at higher rates, and advocated for career pathways (e.g., CDL licenses, OSHA certifications) tied to city jobs. She also requested data on how many youth are placed in city departments and in which neighborhoods.
- Councilor Brian Warrell suggested coordination with Love Your Block and PowerCorps for low-hanging fruit like cleanup days.
- Councilor Peppin expressed support, noting that the Red Shirts program is fondly remembered in her district (Hyde Park) and praising PowerCorps work at Mattahunt Woods.
- Panelists responded that they cannot currently provide data on seasonal hokey numbers or frozen positions, and that tracking youth placements into city jobs long-term is not yet systematic. They emphasized that PowerCorps is open to more cleanup-focused recruitment days and that a civic duty component could be integrated.
Key Outcomes
- No formal votes or decisions were made; the hearing was informational and exploratory.
- Councilor Zapata committed to continued advocacy for integrating a modern Red Shirts component into SuccessLink and PowerCorps, particularly to address litter in neighborhoods like East Boston and the North End.
- Panelists agreed to follow up with data on youth placements and explore potential collaborations with Public Works and Parks departments for supervision and training.
- The next steps include further discussions with PowerCorps, Public Works, and the administration to refine logistics, costs, and career development opportunities.
- The hearing was adjourned.
Meeting Transcript
For the record, my name is Brian Warrell, District 4 City Councilor, and I'm the chair of the Boston City Council Committee on Labor and Economic Development. Today is April 9th, 2026. It is 205 p.m. This hearing is being recorded, is also being live streamed at Boston.gov, backslash city dash council dash TV and broadcast on Affinity Channel 8, RCN Channel 82, and files channel 964. Rand comments may be sent to the committee email at ccc.labor at Boston.gov. It'll be made part of the record and available to all counselors. Public testimony will be taken at the at the beginning of this hearing. Individuals will be called on in the order in which they signed up. We'll have two minutes to testify. If you are interested in testifying in person, please add your name to the sign-up sheet uh near the entrance of the chamber. If you are looking to testify virtually, please email our central staff liaison, Shane Pack at SHANE.pac at Boston.gov for the link. Your name will be added to the list. Today's hearing is on document number 0168, order for a hearing regarding the red shirts program. These matters were sponsored by Councilor Kaletta Zapata and referred to the committee on January 28, 2026. Today I'm joined by my council colleagues in order arrival, Council Killed Zapata and Councilor Louis Jen. I'll now turn it over to my colleagues if they have any opening statements. Council Kill Zapata, the floor is yours. Thank you, Chair. I want to thank you for clearing your schedule today and thank my colleague for being here and thank the administration and some folks in the audience for their soon to be public testimony. I see Alex DeFranzo from uh the East Boston Sailing Center, so thank you for being here. Um we're here to examine the feasibility of reviving Boston's Redshirts program. It's initi an initiative that for many residents represented a visible and responsive presence of city government in our neighborhoods. It originally launched under Mayor Menino and the Redshirts program uh deployed young people into communities to take on the everyday but essential work that keeps the city running. So this is emptying trash barrels, sweeping sidewalks, which are the top things that I hear in my community of East Boston, clearing hydrants and reporting issues in real time. These weren't just tasks, they are the nuts and bolts of city service delivery done in a way that built pride, trust, and connection between residents and their government. Today we find ourselves at an inflection point. Across departments, we continue to hear about staffing shortages and increased service demand, particularly during peak seasons in the summertime. At the same time, we're working hard to expand meaningful youth employment opportunities and to do more than provide a paycheck. They can create pathways into public service, the trades, and long-term careers. We're not trying to recreate the 1990s program exactly, but we're trying to figure out whether a modern, thoughtfully designed version of this uh can help meet today's needs. And so the questions that I want to ask are can we create a program that supplements, not replaces our existing workforce as well as youth opportunity programs, and can we integrate it with efforts already underway through success success link and power core? And more importantly, can we design it in a way that is financially responsible given the fiscal landscape that we're in today and operationally feasible? And so I look forward to this conversation and thank you both for being here. Thank you. Thank you, Counselor. Uh the chair recognizes Councilor Louis Jen. Counselor, the floor is yours. Thank you, uh Mr. Chair and thank you to uh the sponsor for putting this docket forward. I'm just here to learn more. Uh my sister was uh a red shirt, and um I know that people look back at their program fondly, although there were some challenges, so I like hearing that we're not necessarily talking about the program exactly, but um something similar. Um, and so I look forward to hearing from you. I I do have um uh time command conflict um in community, and so I won't be able to stay for the entirety of the hearing, but I look forward to um hearing and reviewing the tape. Thank you. Thank you, counselor. Um we will now go to public testimony. We hear your name call. If you could please uh step to this mic, uh you'll have two minutes uh to testify, and Alex DeFranzo, uh the floor is yours. Thank you very much to the chair and to the council for this hearing. Thank you very much to the chair and to the council for this hearing and to OIEO for being here today.
openpublica.com