No deal, no strike: SEPTA Transit Police continue negotiations, possible strike on Thanksgiving

PHILADELPHIA - SEPTA Transit Police will work yet another day without a contract and without going on strike as they continue to negotiate with the authority into Wednesday. 

Both SEPTA and the Transit Police Union have yet to release statements updating the public about the status of a pending new contract after Tuesday's negotiations, but Andrew Busch, SEPTA's Director of Media Relations, said "talks will resume early after noon after everyone regroups and touches base in the morning." 

SEPTA’s unionized police force drew up a counterproposal to hand to negotiators Tuesday evening as both sides tried to reach a labor deal as a possible strike looms.

The 178 member police officers’ union has been working without a contract since March. 

Negotiations have picked up this week as the union has begun to suggest it may walk.

At the start of the week, SEPTA had offered the union a 3-year deal with a 13 percent pay hike over the life of the contract. SEPTA also offered a $3,000 signing bonus if there was no strike. The union argued the length of the contract was 43 months since they are asking for a straight 36-month deal.

On Monday night, SEPTA offered a 2-year deal and that’s where the contract talks stand as of late afternoon Tuesday. The 2-year agreement would include a 6 percent raise along with the signing bonuses.

Troy Parham, Vice President of the Transit Officers Union, said his members don’t like the deal. He expressed his concerns to FOX 29’s Jeff Cole Tuesday, explaining that if he brought the offer back to his members, they would turn it down. He added his members want to strike now but union negotiators still want to talk. The union said it was drawing up a counteroffer to hand SEPTA later Tuesday evening.

"I don’t know how much longer we can do this," said Parham. 

A SEPTA spokesperson said the transit police officers remain on the job, but if they do strike, SEPTA will secure its system with non-union police supervisors, state, and local police.

Parham said if a strike comes it may begin on Thanksgiving.

In a statement released by SEPTA's Transit Police Monday evening, the union had delayed its strike deadline until midday Tuesday as SEPTA's managers promised to deliver a new proposal Tuesday morning. 

"FOTP represents 170 police officers who patrol SEPTA’s stations and fleet of buses, subways, trains and trolleys," said FOTP's statement. "The union has been insistent on reaching an agreement that offers parity with the recent contract signed between SEPTA and the bus drivers’ union, TWU Local 234."

According to a statement released Monday evening by Busch, SEPTA and FOTP leadership had a productive conversation during Monday’s meetings and they are happy union leadership will allow officers to remain on the job as they work to make progress at the "bargaining table" on Tuesday. 

"Our goal is to reach a fair contract without a strike, and we look forward to tomorrow's negotiating session," said the statement. 

For now, transit police remain on the job at a time when SEPTA has struggled with crime, including violence, on its system. It says it has a plan to secure the lines if the transit cops walk.

"Do you have any inkling there could be any movement in the last three days before your strike deadline," FOX 29’s Steve Keeley asked Thursday evening.

"Not from what we just walked into from today, I don’t think so," V.P. Fraternal Order of Transit Police, Troy Parham said.

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"I’ve been here 24 years and we’ve gone out twice and we’ve been near strikes in several negotiations," Parham, stated. "I don’t know why, if they are telling the public how important safety and security is to them, why it always gets this far for the police department. Because, we want to deal. We want to be at work. We don’t want to strike. We want to get a deal."

Chief Lawson, commented, "They’re scheduled to talk non-stop this week and into next week, so fingers crossed. But, we are making our contingency plans. We’re working with our partners in the city and private security to enact a plan in case that happens."

In a letter to SEPTA’s general manager Thursday, the president of SEPTA’s police union wrote:

"We find ourselves operating at 25 percent below our budgeted headcount. Officers are routinely leaving our department to accept positions with other police departments in the region that offer more competitive wages, better benefits and improved working conditions."

"It’s a dangerous job. I support them in that, but it also reasonably has to be fair for the Authority and everyone else," Chief Lawson added.

Asked about any optimism concerning the talks and Parham remarked, "They gotta get way more serious than they’ve been the last couple of days."

Riders are split on whether they will take SEPTA with the force on strike.