GOV. MAURA HEALEY has been very generous with the MBTA’s unions, winning all of them over with lucrative contracts that include sign-up, longevity, and retention bonuses.
Keolis, the private operator, has new deal with only 1 of its 14 unions
Union leaders have been showing up at MBTA board meetings to complain about their situation and workers gathered in force outside South Station on October 23 to protest what they regard as inadequate pay and benefits. “Stop the War on Workers,” said one electric sign on the side of a truck pulled up alongside the protest.
Of the 14 Keolis unions, only one has agreed to new contract amendments. The rest have all been without new language since their contracts could be updated in July 2022. Under federal laws, railroad contracts technically never expire and remain in place until they are amended.
Union leaders don’t get into specifics about amendments they want, but they insist their members are underpaid relative to their counterparts at other rail systems and receive no sick time.
Daniel Tavares, who leads the machinists local, handed out a flier dated from July 1, 2023, showing top hourly rates for machinists at rail systems across the country. MBTA/Keolis came in dead last at $32 an hour, with most other systems in the $36 to $37 an hour range, and two commuter rail systems in the New York area topping out at $42.60 and $47.28 an hour.
Amtrak recently negotiated a new contract with its top conductors that pays them $46.50 an hour. Keolis’s top conductors are currently paid about $6.70 less. An MBTA employment ad for ticket verification agents, who are described as non-safety personnel being hired to make sure riders on subways and buses comply with the T’s new tap-in system, indicates the agents are also paid more – $44 an hour.
Keolis, through a spokesperson, said the company is trying to find common ground with its unions and noted some of the discrepancies in pay compared to other systems are due to the timing of union agreements.
“We are currently negotiating in good faith with each collective bargaining unit to amend their existing agreements,” the company said. “Our goal is to reach fair agreements with all unions while being mindful of our role as financial stewards of the commuter rail on behalf of the MBTA and the Commonwealth.”
Keolis has signed an agreement with the Transport Workers Union of America. The agreement provides a 23 percent wage increase over five years; three days of sick leave, which is the first time that’s been offered in the commuter rail system’s history; and a provision allowing many of the union’s newest workers to immediately start at the top pay scale rather than stepping up to the highest level over time.
Sick time is a sore spot for union officials. Keolis employees participate in a federal program that offers a “sickness benefit” after a worker has been out for several days, but they receive none of the more flexible sickness benefits required under Massachusetts state law. When she was attorney general, Maura Healey argued the rail workers were subject to the state’s sick leave law, but a federal appeals court ruled against her. As a result, sick time on the commuter rail system is not automatic; it has to be negotiated.
Dave Stevenson, the safety and legislative director for the union representing conductors in New England, said the commuter rail system is performing very well. He said its post-Covid ridership and on-time performance are among the highest in the country, and its workers deserve a contract reflecting that performance.
“We need a fair contract that reflects our hard work,” he said.
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