SMART Transportation Division members approve Metra contract

With 85 percent of eligible ballots returned, SMART Transportation Division members who serve as conductors and assistant conductors at Metra have approved a seven-year mediation agreement that governs wages and working conditions.

The agreement, which runs through 2018, includes lump-sum signing bonuses, general wage increases each year of the contract, retroactive pay, enhanced deferred compensation, conductor certification pay for modified short-term disability plan and seniority retention provisions, union officials said in a press release.

The approved contract follows last week's announcement that Metra and the Transportation Communications Union reached a tentative clerical agreement that would provide more than 20 percent in wage increases in addition to a $3,000 signing bonus over a six-year term.