Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) commuter rail O&M (operations and maintenance) contractor Keolis Commuter Services has reached amended labor agreements with an additional nine of fourteen unions. The agreements, which need to be ratified by members, will be retroactive to July 1, 2023, when the contracts became amendable.
The unions includes the American Railway and Airway Supervisors Association (ARASA), 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).
Among other provisions, the five-year agreements include paid sick leave, annual wage increases, health and welfare benefits, enhancements to the bereavement and vacation policy, and addition of Juneteenth as a paid holiday.
Earlier this year, Keolis and the Transport Workers Union of America (TWU) reached an agreement, ratified by TWU’s membership. With these nine additional agreements, the company has settled with ten of fourteen unions.
“Keolis is pleased to have reached fair agreements with [ten] of our fourteen unions,” said Abdellah Chajai, CEO and General Manager of Keolis Commuter Services. “We’re proud to be one of the largest employers in Massachusetts, and these agreements reflect our commitment to our workforce. The railroad is a legacy industry, and we want it to continue to be a place where people are proud to work and develop a career.”
Keolis Commuter Services has marked its tenth year operating and maintaining the MBTA’s commuter rail system, the sixth largest in North America. The company is a subsidiary of Keolis North America, both headquartered in Boston, and employs approximately 2,500 people throughout the region. Both are part of Keolis Group, which describes itself as “an innovative global leader in transit services with more than a century of passenger transportation experience and operations in 13 countries.”
