Engineers who operate SEPTA Regional Rail trains will soon
vote on authorizing a strike, the national office of the Brotherhood of
Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen said Friday.
The engineers, as well as SEPTA railroad electrical workers
represented by the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Local 744,
are in a federally mandated 30-day "cooling off" period that will end
June 14.
After that, it is likely that a presidential emergency board
will be created to investigate the long-running labor dispute; that would delay
a strike or lock-out by up to 240 days.
The upcoming strike-authorization vote follows SEPTA's
decision to decline an offer of binding arbitration from the National Mediation
Board. Both unions, which represent about 440 workers at SEPTA, had agreed to
arbitration.
The electrical workers authorized a strike several years
ago, and that authorization remains in effect, said Arthur Davidson, general
chairman of IBEW System Council 7.
Source: Philly.com
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