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Will SEPTA workers go on strike?
If SEPTA and the Transport Workers Union Local 234 have not reached a new agreement before their contract expires at 12:01 a.m. Nov. 1, union members could walk off the job — provided members vote beforehand to authorize a strike. A meeting is scheduled for Sunday.
Is SEPTA service impacted now?
No.
Who would be on strike?
About 5,000 workers in the City Transit Division. They operate buses and trolleys, as well as trains on the Broad Street and Market-Frankford lines. Other members of TWU Local 234 are mechanics, skilled tradespeople, maintenance workers, and custodians.
» READ MORE: SEPTA transit union tells members to be ready for a strike vote
Why would SEPTA workers strike?
The union wants a four-year contract with wage increases and a “pandemic payment” to compensate frontline workers for the risks they have taken amid COVID-19. Union leaders also are demanding paid parental leave and object to contract changes SEPTA wants that would curtail seniority rights. They also want more police patrols of the system, given high-profile crimes and abuse and assaults against members, some from passengers frustrated at federal mask requirements on transit.
Transit authority negotiators offered a two-year contract with a wage increase and pandemic payment or a four-year deal that would peg any wage increase to SEPTA’s ability to pay. With ridership yet to rebound fully from its pandemic nadir and an unclear picture of where commuting and transit-use patterns are headed, the agency says, it can’t afford to guarantee wage increases so far into the future.
When would a strike begin?
Early in the morning Nov. 1.
How likely is a strike?
A strike is not inevitable. If an agreement is close as the contract expires, union leaders could decide to keep members on the job without a contract or make an agreement with SEPTA on an extension of the current deal. Negotiations would continue.
When was the last SEPTA strike, and what was the conflict?
A six-day TWU Local 234 walkout in 2016. The biggest issue was retirement benefits. SEPTA’s contributions toward union members’ pensions did not rise in tandem with wages when workers made more than $50,000. Managers’ pension benefits were not capped. The union also wanted to reduce members’ out-of-pocket health care costs.
What is a strike authorization vote, and why do unions take it?
It’s a majority vote by a union’s members giving leaders the power to call a strike when they decide the time is right — without having to hold a general membership meeting first. As a practical matter, an authorization vote saves time and gives negotiating leverage to the union, because it represents a credible threat of a strike that management must consider.
Which SEPTA services would be affected by a strike?
A strike would shut down buses, trolleys, and the subway and elevated train lines operating in Philadelphia.
It would not affect Regional Rail, the commuter railroad from the suburbs to Center City, which has 52 stops in Philadelphia, though fares are more expensive than on city transit. Regional trains also serve the airport, Wilmington and Trenton.
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City transit riders are SEPTA’s most loyal customers, and many Philadelphia residents rely on buses, the two “heavy” rail lines, and trolleys to get to work and for essential travel — particularly people of color and those who live in lower-income neighborhoods.
» READ MORE: SEPTA bus riders are frustrated by persistent delays. Officials say a shortage of drivers is to blame.
What are the stakes of a strike at this moment?
On the system overall, ridership is at 47% of pre-pandemic levels, and SEPTA says it continues to lose $1 million a day. It has received $1.5 billion in operating funds from three federal pandemic relief payments — likely enough, officials say, to last through 2023. Future state funding is uncertain; the legislature has not acted to replace a transit funding formula that is expiring. And SEPTA has no authority to levy taxes within its five-county territory, unlike many peer transit agencies in the United States.
» READ MORE: SEPTA is following through on employee suggestions that could save $117M a year
Besides 2016, when have SEPTA workers gone on strike?
Since 1975, SEPTA and its customers have experienced 12 other strikes that shut down at least some public transit. There were stoppages in 1975, 1977, twice in 1981, 1982, 1983, twice in 1986, 1995, 1998, 2005, and 2009.
What is the longest strike in SEPTA history?
The 1983 walkout crippled Regional Rail service for 108 days.
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