SEPTA’s largest union appears to be on the verge of a strike that would shut down nearly all public transit service in the Philadelphia region.
Late last week, leaders of Transport Workers Local 234, which represents nearly 5,000 SEPTA drivers, operators, mechanics, cashiers, custodians and other employees, signaled their intent to call for picket lines.
“A strike is imminent. It’s going to happen,” TWU International President John Samuelsen said during a brief news conference Friday afternoon. “It may happen tonight. It may happen tomorrow.”
No date or time had emerged when Metro went to print Sunday. A spokesperson for the union did not respond to a request for comment Sunday. SEPTA representatives had no information about the timing of a potential work stoppage, and Local 234 does not have to warn them in advance.
Authority administrators are preparing for the possibility that two smaller labor units – SMART 1564 and TWU’s Frontier division – would join the walkout, as their collective bargaining agreements have also expired.
“If there’s a strike, it impacts potentially about 90% of the service that we provide, and there aren’t great alternatives on public transit for our customers to go to,” SEPTA spokesperson Andrew Busch told Metro.
A coordinated strike would leave only Regional Rail in operation, and that system has been dealing with major capacity issues since Oct. 1, when federal regulators ordered the authority to undertake a number of safety measures in response to recent fires.
“It’s probably not going to be a good alternate for significant numbers of people,” Busch noted.
Nearly 51,000 students in the city’s public schools would be impacted, and the School District of Philadelphia said Sunday that it would consider shifting to remote learning at particular schools if attendance drops severely. Lateness for students and staff will be excused if there is a SEPTA work stoppage, officials added.
“I respect the right of union members to advocate for themselves,” Superintendent Tony B. Watlington Sr. said in a statement. “I do hope that this strike can be avoided so that we can continue to operate normally and support the social, emotional and academic needs of our students without disruption.”
Negotiators for SEPTA and Local 234 did not formally meet at the bargaining table over the weekend, though Busch said there has been communication between the sides.
Samuelsen has directed the international union’s staff and all transit division presidents from around the country to travel to Philadelphia to support a potential strike. He referred to SEPTA as “the most incompetent transit operator in the United States of America.”
“We have not asked for anything that has not been fair and reasonable,” said Will Vera, who became Local 234’s president in September. “We’ve asked for modest raises. It’s not going to cripple the company.”
Talks have also centered on pension and health care benefits, according to both sides. SEPTA leaders believe they have put forward a “fair offer” but that pension increases are “very difficult to do in the current fiscal climate,” Busch said.
Local 234’s contract expired Nov. 7, and, a little more than a week later, members voted to authorize Vera and his team to call for a strike.
“It was unfortunate the way that they (negotiations) ended on Friday, but we’re still working through to see if there’s some compromises can be reached,” Busch added.
