Tentative Agreement Reached in Boston

March 24, 2025  — SMART-TD GO-769, led by General Chairperson Rick Pauli, has reached a tentative agreement with Keolis Commuter Services. Keolis employs 450 SMART-TD represented conductors and assistant conductors on behalf of the MBTA in Boston. 

If you are a Keolis employee please contact Secretary/Treasurer Cole Czub (cole.czub@yahoo.com) to verify your address, email and phone number as soon as possible.     

The ratification process will be conducted electronically through BallotPoint. Instructions for casting a ballot will be mailed to each member over the next few days.  

The tentative agreement includes: 

•  Retroactive pay from July 1, 2023. 

• Scheduled general wage increases (GWI): July 1, 2023 – 5%, July 1, 2024 – 5%, July 1, 2025 – 5%. July 1, 2026 – 5%, June 15, 2027 – 5% plus an additional $2.00 per hour. 

• These increases compound to 32.69% for conductors and 33.51% for assistant conductors over the life of the agreement. 

• Three (3) additional paid sick days per year. 

• The addition of Martin Luther King Jr. Day as a paid holiday. 

• The modification of vacation allotments for new employees within their first two years of service. 

• Modification of bereavement leave to include additional family members. 

 These increases were negotiated with minimal work rule changes. The significant GWI increase provides a precedent for other commuter railroads moving forward.  

Pauli would like to thank Local 898 Chairpersons Cole Czub and Kenny Owens, Vice General Chairperson John Vessels, GO-769 Secretary Javier Ramirez and Vice President David Weir. Pauli would also like to thank former Local 898 Chairperson Wayne Thistle and former GO-769 Secretary DeVar Thompson for their contributions early in the process. Without their help this TA would not have been possible.