SEPTA announces strike contingency plan as midnight deadline approaches

A strike on SEPTA's Regional Rail is likely to happen this weekend unless eleventh-hour contract negotiations are successful. The transportation authority is embroiled in a labor dispute with two unions, and a strike could occur as early as 12:01 a.m. Saturday (the end of a "cooling off" period between both sides.)

Some 60,000 people rely on Regional Rail service for their daily commutes, and a strike is likely to make commuting from the city to surrounding suburbs and counties much more difficult.

SEPTA has released a contingency plan regarding a possible strike, saying it will increase capacity on other modes of travel including the Broad Street Line, Market/Frankford Line, Norristown High Speed Line, as well as trolleys and buses. But tell that to the person who commutes to the city every day from Malvern, and it will likely bring them little solace.

"We encourage passengers to flex their work schedules by coming to work earlier or later than their normal shifts," SEPTA said in a statement.

Earlier in the week, a representative from the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen said publicly that a strike was likely. It comes in response to SEPTA's unilateral move of proposing to issue raises for electrical workers and engineers (rather than negotiating the raise amounts). NBC10 has more on those particulars:

    The conflict came to a head this week after SEPTA announced it would impose a deal beginning Sunday. Terms include raising electrical workers' pay immediately by an average of about $3 per hour; the top wage rate for locomotive engineers would rise by $2.64 per hour. "The contract that we've given them is fair and fiscally responsible," Williams said. The agency said the raises are in line with those received by other unionized SEPTA employees, but Bruno disagreed. He said SEPTA offered the engineers raises of 11.5 percent over five years, but workers are seeking at least 3 percent more.

SEPTA seems content to risk a strike now, rather than in winter when ridership is up.

Federal mediators from the National Mediation Board said earlier in the week that they're attempting to hold a meeting Friday morning with the unions and SEPTA to work out a deal.

Check out SEPTA's contingency plan here.

Source: Philadelphia Business Journal