October 29, 2021
Thom Carroll/For PhillyVoice
SEPTA has reached a new contract agreement with Transport Workers Union Local 234. The deal includes salary increases, paid parental leave and a one-time payment for working through the COVID-19 pandemic.
SEPTA agreed to a new two year-contract with its transit union Friday, providing workers with annual 3% salary increases and, for the first time, paid parental leave.
The short-term deal averted a potential strike that would have shut down bus, trolley and subway service throughout the Philadelphia region.
The new agreement also awards Local 234 workers with $1 for each hour they worked during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic. It makes Juneteenth a paid holiday and includes adjustments to employee vacation time and attendance policies.
The deal still must be ratified by Local 234 members and the SEPTA Board. The transit union has scheduled a vote for Nov. 5.
"SEPTA's frontline employees were critical to keeping our region moving during the worst of the pandemic, and this agreement reflects their dedication and sacrifice," SEPTA CEO and General Manager Leslie S. Richards said.
Negotiations between both parties began over the summer, but significant progress had not been made until this week. At one point, the transit union slammed SEPTA's contract offers as "an insult to our intelligence."
But Local 234 President Willie Brown said negotiations were more productive after the union authorized a strike.
"I am very pleased that we were able to come to terms without a strike," Brown said in a press release. "Our members are essential workers who move Philadelphia and who have risked their lives putting their own families at risk during this pandemic."
Local 234 represents 5,000 transit workers in the Philly region. Its members unanimously authorized a strike last weekend in the event an agreement could not be reached before the current contract expires. A work stoppage could have begun as soon as Monday.
While in-person learning would have continued, the School District of Philadelphia warned that a potential strike would have left nearly 60,000 students without reliable transportation.
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