SEPTA Police back on duty after tentative agreement reached on new contract: officials
PHILADELPHIA - SEPTA and Transit Police have reached a tentative agreement on a new contract, ending a stalemate between the two sides that forced officers to go on strike, officials announced Saturday afternoon.
The agreement will go to the union membership and SEPTA board for approval Thursday.
"We’re relieved to have this step behind us," SEPTA spokesperson Andrew Busch said. "We’re moving full forward with our police coming back."
SEPTA Police Officers are back on duty after walking off the job Wednesday when they reached a two-thirds majority vote to decline SEPTA's latest contract offer and head to the picket lines.
On the eve of the strike, Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 109 Vice President Troy Parham hinted that officers were unhappy with SEPTA's latest contract offer.
SEPTA strike: Negotiations continue through weekend as officials told to find solution
SEPTA and representatives for its unionized police union will be back at the bargaining table Saturday after they were told Friday to go home and come back with creative solutions to the strike.
Negotiations began anew Thursday, with Parham saying officials retreated on certain specifics of a new contract offer, including taking away a $3,000 signing bonus for members.
Parham, described the week’s process this way, "The last few conversations we had, they didn’t go well. They weren’t productive. Some of them even got heated."
Saturday, union leaders said SEPTA officials were able to offer the union the asked-for 36-month pay raise, crucial to members in coming to an agreement on the contract. The union conceded by giving up the $3,000 signing bonus.
"We got the 36 months and that’s all we really wanted," Parham continued. "Those other things, we didn’t lose much. You can’t lose what you didn’t have."
Parham credits a lot of people for the agreement, but says a call from Governor Josh Shapiro did not hurt. "So kudos to him and his office for making whatever they did. They made it happen."
"Do you think that made the difference?" FOX 29’s Ellen Kolodziej asked.
"I would say so, because we were literally nowhere until that phone call."
"We are happy to welcome back our police officers with this tentative agreement in place," said SEPTA CEO and General Manager Leslie S. Richards. "Negotiators for both SEPTA and the FOTP have been working around the clock, as have our police supervisors who have been covering patrols."
The brief strike came days after a man was stabbed at 69th Street Transportation Center, underscoring SEPTA's ongoing battle with violent crime that has victimized both riders and employees. In the last two months alone, a SEPTA bus driver was shot to death while on the job and a security guard was slashed in the neck.
Officials expect officers back on the job sometime Saturday, with a full complement of staff for the overnight shift into Sunday.