SEPTA workers vote to authorize strike if no deal is reached by Nov. 8
The union representing transit workers announced that its members have voted to authorize a strike at SEPTA.
Transport Workers Union Local 234, which represents more than 5,300 employees, said in a statement that 100% of its members in attendance during the vote said they support a strike if the union and SEPTA can't reach a deal on their contract by midnight on Nov. 8, 2024.
According to the union, negotiators have proposed "basic, common-sense proposals" for higher pay and safety and security improvements.
"We're not asking for the moon," TWU President Brian Pollitt said. "Just what every person deserves – safety and security and economic justice."
As of Monday evening, Pollitt said Local 234 was offered a one-year contract with a 0% increase in wages. He said they will not accept that and plan to go back to the negotiating table Tuesday.
"It's about safety, security, not only of my members but the riding public as well. You all see it and the mayhem is continuing," Pollitt said on Monday.
In a statement, SEPTA said the agency is "committed to engaging in good-faith negotiations, with the goal of reaching an agreement that is fair to our hard-working employees and to the customers and taxpayers who fund SEPTA."
However, SEPTA said its ongoing budget crisis is contributing to the agency's ability to negotiate. City leaders have said SEPTA is currently facing a $240 million shortfall in its operating budget.
"We continue to work with the Gov. Shapiro and legislative leaders on sustainable, long-term funding, but at this point, there is no solution in sight. This stark reality impacts these negotiations, as well as SEPTA's ability to provide critical transportation services throughout the Philadelphia region," their statement said.
On Monday, SEPTA's director of media relations Andrew Busch said: "When you're talking about negotiating a contract where certainly economic issues are a big part of what's on the table — you're always going to be talking about wages, benefits, and all those things have a cost. So that does loom over these discussions in a big way."
Busch said SEPTA has created a guide for customers with information and tips in the event of a strike.
The union's strike authorization vote comes one year after the SEPTA bus driver Bernard Gribbin was shot and killed in Philadelphia's Germantown neighborhood.
Gribbin had worked for SEPTA for 12 years when he was shot multiple times while driving his Route 23 bus. Zhontay Capers, 21, was charged with murder and other counts in connection with his death.
The shooting also happened as TWU Local 234 and SEPTA were negotiating a new contract.
Riders who spoke to CBS News Philadelphia said they aren't looking forward to potential service interruptions.
"I use it almost every day to get everywhere I need to go, just now I just used a train to come down here, now I gotta use the train right to go back to college," SEPTA rider Tyrell Boggs said.
Brianne Serverson, another SEPTA rider, acknowledged employees' safety concerns.
"I think safety is certainly important," Serverson said. "I think even just as a passenger on those trains there are times that I don't feel safe, so I can see on their side why they would feel that way for sure."