SEPTA workers strike possible as contract deadline looms

PHILADELPHIA - Workers with a local transit union have voted unanimously to authorize a strike amid contract negotiations with SEPTA.

The Transport Workers Union Local 234 says the strike would go into effect if no settlement is reached by midnight on November 7.

"Enhanced safety and security for passengers and workers, along with modest increases in pay and pension adjustments are major issues,"  the union state in a press release.

Votes were cast during a special meeting on Sunday, a day after workers gathered to honor SEPTA bus driver Bernard Gribben, who was killed on the job a year ago.

"Because too little has changed in the year since his untimely death, I have been forced to gather us here today to ask you to give me the authority to call a strike, if the Executive Board deems it necessary to achieve our objectives," said TWU President Brian Pollitt.

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The union says SEPTA management has "stonewalled" their proposals for bulletproof vests and shields, more cameras, additional law enforcement in the subway, and a functioning radio system.

A wage increase has also been requested, but exact numbers have not yet been released.

"We’re not asking for the moon," Pollitt said. "Just what every person deserves – safety and security and economic justice."

In response to the vote, SEPTA says they are in "ongoing talks" with the union:

"We are 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," said Andrew Busch, SEPTA Director of Media Relations. 

"A major factor in these negotiations is SEPTA’s ongoing funding crisis. With the exhaustion of federal COVID relief funds earlier this year and ridership still recovering from the pandemic, SEPTA is facing an operating budget deficit of nearly a quarter billion dollars annually. We continue to work with Governor 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."

The vote comes just days after SEPTA CEO and General Manager Leslie Richards announced that she will step down from her post next month.