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SEPTA's biggest labor contract expires Friday night, but an immediate strike by Philadelphia bus drivers, subway and trolley operators, and maintenance workers seems unlikely.
Negotiations between SEPTA and union representatives continued Wednesday at the Sheraton Philadelphia Downtown Hotel.
Although TWU leaders have alerted their members to prepare for a strike, a walkout seems unlikely before the suburban contracts expire in April.
And so far, no strike-authorization vote has been taken by the TWU's members.
In the event of a strike, Regional Rail trains would continue to operate because their crews are covered by separate contracts. Train engineers have been working without renewed contracts since 2010.
Typically, any agreement reached by TWU 234 for its city workers sets the pattern for SEPTA's 16 other labor contracts.
The TWU last went on strike in 2009, seven months after its contract expired.
Emily Babay, Philly.com wrote:SEPTA officials say the Transport Workers Union Local 234 didn't show up for contract negotiations this morning, less than a day before the contract expires for one of the union's divisions.
[...]
If City Transit Division workers strike, the Market-Frankford and Broad Street subway lines will be shut down. Bus and trolley routes in the city also won't run. All told, the division carries an average of 825,000 passengers each weekday.
Service that will continue includes Regional Rail, bus and trolley routes in the suburbs, the Norristown High Speed Line, LUCY and CCT Connect. Some suburban buses would have their routes adjusted.
SEPTA said Regional Rail service would be heavily burdened by the extra passengers if there is a strike.
R3 Passenger wrote:I can't say that I didn't see that one coming. But what I do see coming is going to be far worse.What do you mean by far worse???
Quinn wrote:I believe that some of the suburban contracts are due for renewal in early April. Simultaneous strikes then would cause some bigger problems than the city division alone.I could be wrong...but I feel that if all the divisions went on strike simultaneously, the strike would be very short-lived (probably lasting one week tops), as I cannot imagine an entire major metro area being without any form of public transportation for any considerable length of time. If that does happen, I imagine every Regional Rail train will be standing room only no matter the time of day.
jackintosh11 wrote:Is NPT going to be an issue in the terms of the new contract, such as the fact that subway booth attendants aren't staying?What's NPT?
motor wrote:NPT is "New Payment Technology", the upgrade to the payment system where you can use tap cards to pay fares instead of tokens and plastic passes.jackintosh11 wrote:Is NPT going to be an issue in the terms of the new contract, such as the fact that subway booth attendants aren't staying?What's NPT?
motor
Tritransit Area wrote:Sounds similar to the CSA's at the farecard machines on the DC Metro.motor wrote:NPT is "New Payment Technology", the upgrade to the payment system where you can use tap cards to pay fares instead of tokens and plastic passes.jackintosh11 wrote:Is NPT going to be an issue in the terms of the new contract, such as the fact that subway booth attendants aren't staying?What's NPT?
motor
The subway booth attendants are staying; however, they will be more like Customer Service Attendants that will actually leave the booth and assist passengers with questions and the vending machines.
