Philly Transit Strikers Reach a Deal in Time for Election Day

By Jason Laughlin and Tom Avril, Philadelphia Media Network

07 November 16

 

hiladelphia’s transit strike is over.

The week-long work stoppage that sidelined subways, trolleys, and buses and threatened to complicate a closely contested presidential election ended in the predawn hours Monday as SEPTA and leadership for the Transportation Workers Union Local 234 reached a tentative five-year contract for 4,738 transit personnel. While the agreement needs to be formally approved by SEPTA's board and union members, it means workers will return to their jobs during the day.

The city's mass transit system gradually returned to service Monday morning, with full service promised before Tuesday morning's commuters begin their treks to work — just in time for Election Day. SEPTA started limited service on the Market-Frankford and the Broad Street Lines at 9 a.m. with some of the busier bus routes to follow.

The strike was SEPTA's 12th since 1975. The most recent was in 2009, when the TWU also walked away from work for six days. With each strike, hundreds of thousands of people who rely on public transportation every day are left scrambling for other modes of transportation. Aside from the inconvenience for workers, children have trouble getting to school, mobility for people with disabilities is severely hindered, and people with illnesses must contend with more difficult trips to the hospital. All part of being a Philadelphian, officials said.

"It's just a normal course of business how it gets done in the city," said Pasquale Deon, SEPTA's board chairman, at an early morning news conference held at the TWU's headquarters at Second and Spring Garden streets. "It's unfortunate,but we all work together and it all comes out in the end."

The agreement erases the possibility that the lack of mass transit in Philadelphia could hinder voting on Election Day. The strike had made commuting a lot harder, and some election watchers were concerned voters would not have enough time to get to and from work and still make it to the polls. Sunday night the City of Philadelphia filed a motion requesting that a judge force a temporary end to the strike and make workers return to their jobs for Election Day.

The officials at the press conference said the election wasn't the only concern that drove a resolution.

"The election was just one factor but I think the riding public we had out there was more important," Deon said.

His opponent at the negotiating table, Local 234 president Willie Brown, said he did not consider the election as negotiations progressed.

"It didn't really play a factor with me," he said. "We were trying to get a contract and that's what we did."

The end of the strike was catalyzed by a phone conversation Sunday night between SEPTA’s general manager Jeff Knueppel, Dwight Evans - a Democratic state representative who is running for Congress - and Brown. The conversation resulted in SEPTA offering workers a new proposal that went to the union's executive board at 7 p.m. Sunday. Negotiations continued past midnight.

Neither party would discuss the details of the agreement. Deon, who credited Evans with helping resolve the impasse, said SEPTA had the money in its budget to pay for the deal, and no new funds were needed. The agreement included wage increases over the next five years, an increase in employee contributions to health care coverage, and, in response to the issue that dominated the talks, a completely new way of calculating pensions, sources said. Details on the revamped pension were not yet available Monday.

The agreement now goes to the TWU Local 234 executive board for its formal blessing, then will be ratified by a vote from members. The union's national office will then vote to approve the contract, a process that will take several weeks. SEPTA's board will also need to approve the contract to finalize the agreement.

Talks between SEPTA and the union were progressing Sunday night when the hotel hosting negotiations, the Sheraton Philadelphia at 17th and Race streets, created an unexpected disruption by announcing it would cut power to the building from midnight to 4 a.m. for "critical work," according to a statement given to guests. With a court hearing pending at 9:30 a.m. that could lead to a judge ordering strikers back to work, SEPTA and TWU leadership scrambled back to their offices and kept a dialogue going. A state mediator shuttled between SEPTA's offices at 12th and Market Street and the TWU headquarters on Second Street just south of Spring Garden Street, almost two miles away.

Almost immediately after the strike began, political leaders expressed concern that it could depress voter turnout in Philadelphia. Rep.Bob Brady (D-Phila.) predicted earlier in the week presidential candidate Hillary Clinton would need 460,000 votes in Philadelphia to offset Republican leaning parts of Pennsylvania and win the state.

The resolution made moot the court hearing scheduled for Monday morning to address motions that sought to force workers back to work Tuesday.

On Friday, Common Pleas Court Judge Linda Carpenter declined to issue an order on SEPTA’s request for an injunction to end the strike, saying there was no immediate need to do so.

Negotiations themselves appeared to have reached an impasse Sunday night, with both sides accusing the other of failing to negotiate in good faith. Deon, SEPTA's chairman, has accused union leadership of prolonging a strike even though the authority made an offer he said addressed most of the union's concerns. The union has countered that SEPTA is stalling negotiations in the hopes that the judge will end the strike.

By Monday morning, though, Deon and Brown were sitting at the same table, congratulating each other for ending the strike. The good vibes may have been surface deep, though. Brown said setting aside a week of accusations and resentment took some work.

“It’s not easy, but you have to put the personal stuff aside,” he said.