Members of SEPTA's transit union vote to ratify new contract
PHILADELPHIA - Members of the SEPTA's transit union, the Transport Workers Union (TWU) Local 234, voted to ratify a new contract on Friday.
Members approved the contract by a better than a 2-1 margin with a vote of 1,450 to 631.
The new contract includes wage increases of three percent in each year of the two-year agreement.
Members of the union also will receive a pandemic hazard bonus of one dollar for each hour worked between March 15, 2020 and March 15, 2021, to a maximum of $2,200.
SEPTA, for the first time ever, will be contractually obligated to provide two weeks of paid parental leave for both men and women at the birth or adoption of a child. Paid maternity leave benefits for women while pregnant or following a birth—different from sick leave—are included in the contract.
According to officials, in the past, a pregnant employee was required to exhaust all sick leave before qualifying for unpaid pregnancy leave.
Other gains include adding the Juneteenth holiday as a paid holiday and adjustments to vacation quotas and attendance policies.
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