SEPTA transit workers choose not to strike as contract negotiations continue

Leaders SEPTAThe largest transit union, Transport Workers Local 234, and transit agency management agreed Thursday to continue negotiations even though the current contract was set to expire early Friday, postponing a strike that would have snarled travel in the Philadelphia region by disrupting school operations. . jobs and trade.

“We have made some progress toward a fair agreement and have decided to continue negotiations,” TWU Local 234 President Brian Pollitt said shortly before 9:30 p.m., as both sides emerged from a conference room in Philadelphia’s historic Wyndham neighborhood in Old town. “There will be no strike today.”

SEPTA will continue to “negotiate in good faith” a deal that is “fair to our hardworking employees and the customers and taxpayers who fund SEPTA,” spokesman Andrew Busch said, noting that all SEPTA services will continue to operate as normal Friday .

Pollitt said negotiators plan to meet Friday to pick up where they left off. The strike option is still under consideration as the contract has not been officially renewed.

“I still have the right to go on strike, but I’m trying to do the honorable thing,” he said. “We don’t want to cause harm to the people of this region if we can avoid it.”

The union is pushing for higher wages and better safety to protect workers from attacks and harassment. For its part, SEPTA stated that ongoing financial crisis limits his spending flexibility.

SEPTA insisted on a one-year contract with no pay increase until Thursday, Pollitt said.

Negotiators met for several hours Thursday, racing against the clock to try to reach an agreement on a new contract as the 5,000-member union prepared to begin a strike that would begin shutting down SEPTA transit service in the city at 12:01 p.m. Friday.

“I will roll up my sleeves, bang on the table and do everything I can to avoid a strike,” Pollitt told reporters shortly after noon. SEPTA also said it is ready to redouble its efforts at the negotiating table to move forward on

SEPTA also said it is prepared to redouble its efforts at the negotiating table. Negotiations appear to have stalled over wages. The transit agency opened up offering a one-year contract with no pay increase to union members.

SEPTA faces a $240 million deficit that could lead to service cuts and a second fare hike soon.with no action in Harrisburg to increase state aid to public transit systems proposed by the governor. Josh Shapiro.

Local 234 represents bus, subway and trolley operators, mechanics, cashiers, maintenance staff and custodians. Members voted unanimously last week to authorize a strike.

Broad Street and SEPTA MarketFrankford Lines and trolleybus and bus routes in the city will not operate due to the workers’ event leave work.

Regional railway, Norristown High speed line, commuter buses, Media/Trolleybus lines and paratransit in Sharon Hill will continue to operate.

Asked about SEPTA’s financial struggles, Pollitt said the agency has a $600 million “rainy day fund” and needs to use some of those funds to invest in its workforce. “We don’t want all this,” he said.

SEPTA says the balance of the cash account, called the Service Stabilization Fund, fluctuates from day to day and month to month as money is withdrawn to pay operating and capital costs and revenue comes from sources such as government grants.

As of June 30, the end of the fiscal year, its balance sheet stood at $565 million and currently has $286 million in cash in the account after it dropped to $105 million last month before some government grants already allocated arrived. , SEPTA officials said.

Using working capital to raise wages will worsen the financial crisis as costs rise in the future – unless there is another source of funding to support long-term obligations, officials say.

In an earlier interview with The Inquirer, Pollitt said the agency often “miraculously” finds money stashed away to fund its priorities, including $40 million for planning and engineering proposed extension of the Norristown High Speed Line to King of Prussia — the project has been suspended indefinitely after the Federal Transit Administration refused to help fund it.

“SEPTA tends to try to make people think they are constrained. That’s not true,” Pollitt said in an interview.

Meanwhile, members of the governing body and staff are considering a general tariff increase of 22.5% early next year in addition to effective 7.5% increase introduced in October by eliminating some discounts.

This step will mean SEPTA riders pay about 30% more per transit trip.

SEPTA is known as one of the most strike-prone major transit systems in the country. Since 1975, at least 11 unions have walked out. Last year, SEPTA police officers went on strike for three days in December after nine months of working without a contract.

” READ MORE: History of SEPTA Strikes