November 19, 2024
Thom Carroll/for PhillyVoice
SMART Local 1594, which represents SEPTA operators in the Philadelphia suburbs, is working without a contract and has authorized a strike. SEPTA is continuing negotiations with Local 1594 and TWU Local 234, which also has authorized a strike.
Two SEPTA transit workers unions are now working without contracts, but the transit authority says negotiations are continuing with no immediate threat of a work stoppage.
SEPTA's contract with SMART Local 1594, which represents 350 operators in Montgomery, Chester and Delaware counties, expired Monday. Contract talks have continued, but if the union strikes, services for the Norristown High-Speed Line, the Route 101 and 102 trolleys and buses in the suburbs would be disrupted.
Transit Workers Union Local 234, which represents 4,000 operators in Philadelphia, authorized a strike three weeks ago. If it strikes, the city's buses, trolleys and subways would shut down.
Neither strike would impact Regional Rail lines.
Both unions are seeking higher pay and improved safety measures for operators.
SEPTA said negotiations with Local 234 will resume Wednesday, and that there is no immediate threat of a strike from either union. Though talks with both unions are separate, SEPTA spokesperson Andrew Busch told CBS Philadelphia that negotiations are "kind of happening in parallel."
Local 234 officials told 6ABC that there has been progress in talks for safety precautions, which would include a pilot program that would add bulletproof glass enclosures to eight buses.
But SEPTA said it faces challenges in figuring out how to increase the pay of workers. The transit authority, which has a budget deficit of $240 million, warned last week that it is entering a "transit death spiral," and has proposed large fare hikes and drastic service cuts.
Later this week, Philadelphia City Council will vote on a resolution calling for Pennsylvania to "flex" funds from highway projects to public transportation
