SEPTA strike put off after last-minute Shapiro intervention

A anticipated SEPTA work stoppage that could have caused transportation chaos Monday morning has been put off for the time being thanks to a last-minute intervention by Gov Josh Shapiro Transportation Workers Union Local reported Friday that a strike was imminent because contract negotiations over pension and healthcare contributions were at an impasse But Sunday the governor s staff joined the talks and the union agreed to postpone a walkout Shapiro was instrumental in preventing the strike TWU president Will Vera disclosed Workers could still walk off the job in the coming days if negotiations with SEPTA management falter again but the two sides say they re having productive discussions toward a new contract for particular TWU members If they do strike it would be the latest of multiple work stoppages over SEPTA s history However in contemporary years strike threats have been more common than actual strikes Here s a look at the status of the current negotiations and the history of labor conflicts at the transit agency Why is the union threatening to strike TWU usually signs a new contract with SEPTA every two years But over the last couple years as the agency has considered making severe system cuts due to a structural budget deficit they signed a series of one-year deals instead The last contract expired Nov and on Nov TWU members voted to authorize a strike The sticking points have been SEPTA s request that union members pay more toward their wellness coverage and TWU s demands for a boost in pension benefits and changes related to sick time and to dental and vision benefits for new hires the Inquirer communicated TWU Local and TWU International twusamuelsen in Philly drawing up strike action plans Incompetent SEPTA s unrelenting attacks on our strength benefits and pensions will soon upshot in the TWU shutting down the th largest transit system in America pic twitter com o nIa QovJ TWU transportworker December On Friday TWU International President John Samuelsen accused SEPTA of not taking the contract negotiations seriously SEPTA is attacking our medical benefits they re attacking our retirement measure he disclosed and stated that a strike was imminent SEPTA maintained that it was negotiating in good faith but representatives there were reportedly concerned about the cost of the proposed pension increase and other demands What effects would a strike have A strike would cause major institution disruptions halting the operations of city buses and trolleys as well as the Market-Frankford Line and Broad Street Line Regional Rail Suburban Transit LUCY and CCT Connect provision would not be impacted Philly s school Superintendent Tony Watlington sent a letter to district families Sunday saying that nearly students would be affected by a strike and warned that the district could not step in to provide transportation due in part to an ongoing national driver shortage He explained students who were late or absent due to SEPTA-related advance challenges would not be marked late or would be excused if a parent or guardian sent in a note Staffers would also be excused for late arrivals If aspirant or staff attendance at a school were dramatically affected by a strike the school might be recommended to switch to virtual instruction Watlington declared He advised parents to make sure their kids Chromebooks were working and advised them to keep checking the district s strike blog and social media posts What happens next It remains to be seen when SEPTA and TWU will reach a contract agreement or when they might hit another impasse that could consequence in the strike going ahead However Shapiro s involvement may indicate that a strike is less likely The union stated Sunday that critical progress had been made after the governor s intervention while a SEPTA spokesperson reported there were specific productive discussions and the agency was looking forward to continuing talks on Monday How is this related to SEPTA s budget problems It isn t clear exactly how the agency s long-term financial challenges contributed to this impasse A year ago when SEPTA last agreed to bump up worker pay and pension benefits then-chief operating officer now general manager Scott Sauer announced the move would not have a major impact positive or negative on the authority s plans for dealing with its looming budget emergency SEPTA has a million annual structural deficit due in part to rising labor costs as well as higher spending on fuel power equipment and other demands There are also other factors like reduced ridership since the pandemic and the end of federal relief aid Its annual budget is billion The agency has a backlog in capital requirements like new vehicles and station upgrades that authorities say amounts to more than billion It s also spending tens of millions of dollars to respond to a series of safety challenges and federal mandates majority of lately to retrofit fire-prone -year-old Regional Rail cars Republican state legislators have repeatedly rejected Shapiro s proposals to permanently boost funding for transit The funding gap led SEPTA to substantially hike fares and temporarily eliminate specific routes in August and to plan more severe cuts including the shuttering of several Regional Rail lines The dispute contributed to a four-month state budget stalemate That ended without more money being earmarked for transit but Shapiro directed PennDOT to let SEPTA transfer million from its capital funds to help fund operations over the next two years With its structural budget now temporarily patched it appears that SEPTA has enough to cover its projected labor costs According to a few transit advocates SEPTA is a relatively efficient organization that is its per-ride operating costs are lower than at multiple other major transit agencies which could endorsement arguments that it s stingy in various areas including employee pay and equipment Chosen critics contest the validity of those calculations Have SEPTA workers gone on strike before SEPTA has been called the nation s preponderance strike-prone transit authority Since it was created in out of a collection of old transit systems it s had strikes starting with a -day walkout in That was followed by an -day strike in and a -day work stoppage in the longest in its history Mayor Frank Rizzo refused to kick in further funding general sentiment turned against workers and TWU ended up accepting a worse contract than the original offer The strike led to a lingering drop in ridership Over the next four decades strikes occurred every limited years There was a -day walkout in related to SEPTA s demand to change rules on part-time employees drug testing and other issues However strikes have been relatively uncommon in the st century with only three so far The the bulk contemporary was a six-day work stoppage in November just before the presidential referendum Like this year pension improvements were one of the biggest issues along with union demands for bathroom breaks and changes to address operator fatigue Fearing a disruption in voting campaigns for Hillary Clinton and other candidates sought an exigency injunction to force transit workers back to their jobs but the strike ended the day before the voting process TWU members voted to authorize strikes in and during laborious contract negotiations but ended up reaching agreements without striking The post SEPTA strike put off after last-minute Shapiro intervention appeared first on Billy Penn at WHYY