As a major transportation organization SEPTA prides itself on helping people reach their destination on time.
But whether SEPTA can reach a contract agreement with four
of its employee unions with deadlines looming remains to be seen. Those four
contracts are set to expire between March 15 and April 7 and just what will
happen no one knows for sure.
“We are still optimistic and still working hard to come to
an agreement,” said SEPTA spokesperson Jerri Williams. “The last thing we want
is a disruption of any type of service.”
According to the Transport Workers Union Local 234,
disruption may well be option. In it’s newsletter, “On The Move” published
Monday, the TWU Local 234 said that SEPTA wants to “save money by doing away
with our pension plan.”
The current pension plan calls for employees to receive
$2,500 a month after 30 years of service. According to the newsletter, SEPTA
wants to replace that plan with a 401(k) plan.
The newsletter also said that TWU Local 234 President Willie
Brown told SEPTA at the bargaining table that the chances of SEPTA getting that
kind of pension change in a plan to pass are “as likely as a fish drowning.”
Local 234 has said it is seeking an increase in the monthly pension benefit for
future retirees.
Williams could not comment on the exact nature of
negotiations, but did say as of Wednesday morning that SEPTA was continuing
talks with TWU Local 234.
The TWU newsletter also noted that strike preparations are
under way. That would include reaching out to local merchants and supermarkets
for discounted food and other essentials and talking to the credit union to
make sure emergency loans are available. The next scheduled meeting of the TWU
Local 34 is March 10.
The newsletter ends with a bit of warning, saying, “Get
ready, when the time comes we may have to act on short notice.”
The first contract set to expire at midnight March 14 is
with the TWU Local 234 and would affect SEPTA’s city division in Philadelphia,
which would include bus operators, subway operators and mechanics. The TWU
Local 234 has about 4,700 members in the city division.
Two more contracts would expire on April 1. One of those is
TWU Victory members, which covers maintenance workers in the suburban division.
The other one is the United Transportation Union 1594, which
covers bus operators out of 69th Street, operators on the Media and Sharon Hill
trolley lines and conductors and operators on the Norristown High Speed Line.
The final contract to expire will be at midnight April 6 and
includes employees from the TWU Local 234 Frontier Division. That will include
suburban bus operators and mechanics. TWU Local 234 has about 700 worked
combined in the other three divisions that are negotiating.
One SEPTA division that would not be affected by a strike is
regional rail. That’s because under rules of the Federal Railroad
Administration, which is governed by the Railways Labor Act, members cannot
strike until going through a complicated mediation process.
Regional rail conductors of UTU Local 61, reached an
agreement with SEPTA last fall. The regional rail engineers’ contract expired
on July 14, 2010. Those engineers have been working under the old contract
since then.
If all or some of the TWU members do strike, it could lead
to more crowded rides on regional rail.
“We do have a service interruption plan, but we don’t want
people to panic,” Williams said. “Some of our tips will allow folks to be able
to use regional rail service where it is helpful for them.
“We will release that plan when it is appropriate. The last
thing we want to do is for the union to go on strike.”
The last strike by SEPTA employees was in 2009 and lasted
six days. One of the most notorious SEPTA employee strikes was in 1983 and
lasted 108 days.
Source: Delcotimes.com
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