PHILADELPHIA – SEPTA workers have narrowly avoided a strike as their union contract expired on November 7. Transport Workers Union (TWU) Local 234, which represents over 5,000 SEPTA workers, unanimously authorized a strike on October 27 for the second year in a row. TWU is currently in negotiations with SEPTA officials, but a strike is still a possibility if the union’s demands for a 10% pay raise and better safety measures are not met. “I’ll roll my sleeves up and bang on the table and do everything I have to do to avoid a strike,” says TWU Local 234 President Brian Pollitt. However, Pollitt also affirmed that SEPTA workers will strike if negotiations fail.
Had the SEPTA strike occurred, some but not all SEPTA services would have experienced delays. If a strike occurred, Regional Rail would have run as normal, with the Paoli/Thorndale Line, which both Bryn Mawr and Haverford stops are on, running on a modified schedule. Most buses and trolleys would have been halted. Because Regional Rail was formerly a private company, employees are represented by different unions than the bus and trolley workers. The full list of service updates in the event of a strike can be viewed here.
The strike would have inevitably impacted Bi-Co students, who frequently utilize SEPTA services both for classes and recreation. The Tri-Co Philly Program, which offers classes in and about Philadelphia with frequent trips to the city to Bryn Mawr, Haverford and Swarthmore students, had plans in place after receiving reports of a potential strike. Callista Cleary, the head of the Program, communicated with all students and faculty in the Program on Wednesday, stating that students will rely on Regional Rail for their few remaining trips. Cleary told the Bi-College news that the timing of the potential strike is fortunate because most Tri-Co Philly trips have already been completed. However, a prolonged strike could pose a problem for the program as students “often make use of transit within the city,” according to Cleary.
Jamie Horowitz, a spokesperson for TWU, said that the two main reasons for a potential strike are SEPTA workers’ wages keeping up with the cost of living and safety for both workers and passengers. SEPTA workers are requesting new safety measures such as radios and bulletproof glass. “There has been some movement over the past few days,” said Horowitz, but SEPTA’s current position does not meet the union’s demands for a raise or improved safety measures. Horowitz particularly cited an incident from a year ago where a SEPTA bus driver was shot and killed by a passenger. Horowitz said student solidarity with striking workers is important because “higher education is big business in Philadelphia,” and “This fight is [student’s] fight,” as well as workers.
Prior to news of the November 22 agreement, the city of Philadelphia had been bracing for the impacts of a potential strike, especially for 55,000 students in the School District of Philadelphia. The school district has released a plan saying that they will deploy Central Office staff support, if needed, and that staff and student tardiness or absence due to the strike will be excused. If student or staff attendance is severely impacted by the strike, the school district will recommend virtual instruction.
The potential strike comes on the heels of the members of Philadelphia’s largest city workers union, AFSCME District Council 33, voting to authorize a strike on October 30 after working without a contract since July. Over 9,000 union members will vote on whether to have the strike on November 14. Members of Unite Here Local 274, which represents stadium concessions workers at Citizens Bank Park, Lincoln Financial Field and Wells Fargo Center, also had a four-day strike last month, which concluded before the Phillies entered the playoffs last month.
UPDATE November 22: Transportation Workers Union Local 234 and SEPTA management reached a tentative agreement for a one-year contract on November 20. The deal includes a 5% pay increase, increased health benefits, and a trial program for bulletproof shields for bus drivers. It will need to be ratified before going into effect on December 8. The International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers (SMART) Local 1594, which represents SEPTA workers in Chester, Delaware and Montgomery counties, also reached a tentative agreement on November 20. Bi-Co students can expect SEPTA services in and outside the city running as normal for the next year.
