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9 unions reach deal with Commuter Rail operator after months of tension
"This contract ensures that our members will continue to receive the pay and benefits they deserve for the hard work they do," a union coalition representative said of the agreement.
MBTA Commuter Rail operator Keolis Commuter Services reached a labor agreement with nine of the company’s 14 unions on Wednesday, the company said in a statement.
The agreements, which still need to be formally ratified by each union’s memberships, will be retroactive to when contracts came up for changes in July of 2023, Keolis said.
“Keolis is pleased to have reached fair agreements with nine of our fourteen unions today,” Abdellah Chajai, Keolis CEO and General Manager, said. “We’re proud to be one of the largest employers in Massachusetts and these agreements reflect our commitment to our workforce.”
Tensions built throughout fall as contract negotiations continued
Members of the International Association of Machinists, one of the nine unions, held a rally in South Station in October amidst contract negotiations. Their grievances included poor wage stagnation and missing pay raises, the union said in a statement published around the time of the rally.
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But now, Keolis seems to have met those needs. Keolis said the new five-year agreement includes paid sick leave, annual wage increases, new health and welfare benefits, improvements to bereavement and vacation policy, and the addition of Juneteenth as a paid holiday. Matt Hollis was the chairman of the nine-union coalition that reached the agreement on Dec. 18. In the statement, Hollis said the coalition was “proud” to reach the agreement.
“This contract ensures that our members will continue to receive the pay and benefits they deserve for the hard work they do,” Hollis said.
The nine-union coalition included the American Railway and Airway Supervisors Association (ARASA), The Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employees Division (BMWED), Brotherhood of Railway Carmen (BRC), Brotherhood of Railway Signalmen (BRS), International Brotherhood of Boilermakers (IBB), International Association of Machinists (IAM), Transportation Communications Union (TCU), Brotherhood of Railway Carmen (BRC), SMART Sheetmetal, and National Conference of Firemen and Oilers (NCFO).
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Keolis and the Transportation Workers Union of America, another union involved with the MBTA, reached a new labor agreement earlier this year, which Keolis said was “overwhelmingly” ratified.
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