Boston Lodge 264 v. Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority

The plaintiff union sought an order to compel the defendant Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) to proceed to arbitration on the MBTA’s refusal to make certain cost-of-living adjustments allegedly *820required by a collective bargaining agreement. A judge in the Superior Court ordered the complaint dismissed because there was no collective bargaining agreement in effect. He also concluded that, in any event, the MET A was barred by statute from making the claimed cost-of-living payments. We transferred the union’s appeal here on our own motion. We reverse the judgment. There was an…