Federal mediators, appointed by the President, will sit down
for the first time on Monday with SEPTA and its rail workers to try and hash
out a deal to avoid a further strike on the Regional Rail lines.
About 400 members of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers
and Trainmen and International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers walked off the
job on June 14 leaving the transit authority's 13 Regional Rail lines shut
down. But the strike only lasted for one day. President Barack Obama, at the
request of Gov. Tom Corbett, signed an executive order forming a federal
mediation board and putting the workers back on the job.
The rail workers are fighting for increased pension
contributions, four years of retroactive pay and wage increases. Both unions
have been working without a contract for years. SEPTA says the union demands
are not economically viable.
The board will have about a month to meet with both sides
before making recommendations to President Obama on July 14. While the
mediation is seen as a way to resolve a future strike, the boards
recommendations are non-binding.
The president does have the ability to sign two additional
executive orders, each preventing the workers from striking for 120 days.
Should the president sign those orders, the next possible strike could come in
February 2015.
Source: NBC10
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