SEPTA Regional Rail on Strike - 6/14 - PEB to Mediate

This Willie brown man needs to goto SEPTA HQ and make some type of deal. Or something. He seems like he doesn't want to work any type of thing out. I actually hate this because now I'm thinking the state is thinking after years of pressure for us to give them money this happens. Don't the SEPTA workers lose pay when they are on strike ?. I had heard some of them don't want to strike. How is Willie gonna try and get the regional rail union to strike with him. He needs to stay in his lane. I can't understand for me the health pay issue. I think everyone is paying more. I think if I worked at SEPTA and had my health plan and had a family and had to shelve a lil more I think I would. It might be BEST to get it through your job. Then pay for it out of pocket or the regular rate.

Mr. Brown's job is to get union members the most compensation for the least amount of work. Period. Anything less and he is not doing what they are paying him to do. SEPTA's job is to do the opposite.

loufah wrote:Mr. Brown's job is to get union members the most compensation for the least amount of work. Period. Anything less and he is not doing what they are paying him to do. SEPTA's job is to do the opposite.

Mr. Brown's job is to get re-elected .

The history speaks for itself. Willie Brown is just the current president who may have to strike and although it will be his second time around, I believe 3 of the last 4 negotiations with TWU have had some sort of work stoppage. This just seems like the way SEPTA historically handles their contract negotiations.

There also seems to be a feeling in many unions (not just in transportation) that if they get a new contract without a strike they left money on the table. A president who negotiates a new contract without a strike may find himself challenged at the next election by some firebrand who accuses him of having given away the store.

ExCon90 wrote:There also seems to be a feeling in many unions (not just in transportation) that if they get a new contract without a strike they left money on the table. A president who negotiates a new contract without a strike may find himself challenged at the next election by some firebrand who accuses him of having given away the store.

no union man wants to strike, nobody wins in a strike. as a 234 member i can tell you the healthcare payment is only one of many issues we are upset about. i can also tell you that nobody is crying for anything ridiculous or outlandish. we want to keep what we have and be treated with respect by management, and we want them to follow the same rules as we agreed to. contrary to popular belief, people who work at septa are NOT driving around in gold plated ferraris.

It's funny all we hear is how much money these greedy SEPTA workers make but in other news stories there are more millionaires and multi-millionaires than ever, the stock market is reaching all time highs, billion dollar corporations are given tax breaks (like Comcast) while cities are in financial crisis, billionaire sports team owners hold cities hostage to build them stadiums so they can make more money, pro athletes make 12 to 22 million in ONE year and we pay for it when we buy food, beer etc., the healthcare CEO's make how much per year, the drug/ pharmaceutical companies, the banking industry..... where does it end.

The transit workers, city workers, state workers, teachers, police, firefighters are the greedy bad guys though.

And how much does SEPTA spend to retain the well known law firm to negotiate the TWU deal although their payroll already has many lawyers and labor relations staff on it?

It's going to be a while until the engineers go on strike: http://www.philly.com/philly/business/t ... looms.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Paul Nussbaum, Philadelphia Inquirer wrote: For Philadelphia-area commuters, the possibility of a first-ever transit strike by all SEPTA union workers could loom large when a federally mandated mediation process for Regional Rail engineers expires later this year.

After that, the engineers, who have been working without a new contract since 2010, would be permitted to strike. SEPTA's labor contract with city bus drivers and subway operators has already expired, and contracts with suburban operators and mechanics will expire in early April. If those units and the engineers go out, SEPTA's unions would be able to shut down the entire transit system for the first time in its 50-year history.

[...]

On Tuesday, representatives of SEPTA and the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen, which represents Regional Rail engineers, will meet in Washington as part of a continuing mediation process required by the federal Railway Labor Act.

If the two sides are released from federal mediation, that would start a 30-day "cooling off" period and a 240-day dispute-resolution period required before a strike or lockout was permitted.

That period would expire in November or December, depending on when a presidential board was created to investigate the long-running contract dispute.

House Bill 3191, introduced on March 18.
http://www.legis.state.pa.us/CFDOCS/Leg ... 09&pn=3191" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Strikes by employes of the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA), guards at prisons or mental hospitals, or employes directly involved with and necessary to the functioning of the courts of this Commonwealth are prohibited at any time.

http://www.pahousegop.com/NewsItem.aspx?NewsID=20102" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Rep. Kate Harper (R-Montgomery) is reintroducing legislation to prohibit SEPTA employees from going on strike.

“The mass transit system is absolutely vital to the Philadelphia region, and to the millions of people who rely upon it to get to and from work, school, appointments and errands every day,” Harper said. “We simply cannot afford a repeat of the 2009 strike, which occurred with no notice and left people stranded.

“It crippled the city, and quite frankly, the customers deserve better.”

As a union member myself, I don't think it is right for the legislation to specifically single out employees of SEPTA. I can understand part of the reasoning behind why this legislation was introduced. However, I think this is going about it in all the wrong way. Completely taking away the union's ability to strike takes away their most powerful tool. And, knowing the political nature of SEPTA, the organization would take full advantage of that and walk all over them.

In a more reasonable light, I feel that the legislation should instead recognize that all public transportation workers are essential for keeping the State's economic engine running, and as a result should place limits on strikes instead of outlawing them all together.

Just my $0.02.

I understand that the union members think that striking is a useful tool, and while it may get them more money, it also makes every person in philadelphia hate them. Due to the fact that public transit is an essential service, it is unreasonable to think that the employees should be able to walk out like that. I am in full support of prohibiting the right to strike of any people that are essential to the functioning of a city, including, but not limited to, teachers, public transit employees, sanitation department employees, utility company employees, police, firemen, health system employees, other emergency service employees, and security service employees. The unions can find another way to negotiate.

R3 Passenger wrote:In a more reasonable light, I feel that the legislation should instead recognize that all public transportation workers are essential for keeping the State's economic engine running, and as a result should place limits on strikes instead of outlawing them all together.

Just my $0.02.

A cooler head prevailing!

R3 Passenger wrote:As a union member myself, I don't think it is right for the legislation to specifically single out employees of SEPTA. I can understand part of the reasoning behind why this legislation was introduced. However, I think this is going about it in all the wrong way. Completely taking away the union's ability to strike takes away their most powerful tool. And, knowing the political nature of SEPTA, the organization would take full advantage of that and walk all over them.

In a more reasonable light, I feel that the legislation should instead recognize that all public transportation workers are essential for keeping the State's economic engine running, and as a result should place limits on strikes instead of outlawing them all together.

Just my $0.02.

When you say "limits on strikes", do you mean limiting how long strikes can last? I know strikes by SEPTA, or just about any company can last from just one day to months. Here is a list of SEPTA strikes between 1977 and 2009...as you can see, the 1983 (Regional Rail) strike lasted a whopping 108 days (nearly 3 1/2 months!) and was SEPTA's longest strike, while the 1986 strike lasted only 4 days and obviously was the shortest. The 44-day 1977 strike I'm guessing was the city transit division and was the longest strike of that division, with the 1998 strike coming in 2nd. The longest period between strikes was 1986-1995...9 years!
Strike Year & Length in Days:
1977 - 44
1981- 19
1983 - 108
1986 - 4
1995 - 14
1998 - 40
2005 - 7
2009 - 6

SubwayTim wrote:When you say "limits on strikes", do you mean limiting how long strikes can last? I know strikes by SEPTA, or just about any company can last from just one day to months. Here is a list of SEPTA strikes between 1977 and 2009...as you can see, the 1983 (Regional Rail) strike lasted a whopping 108 days (nearly 3 1/2 months!) and was SEPTA's longest strike, while the 1986 strike lasted only 4 days and obviously was the shortest. The 44-day 1977 strike I'm guessing was the city transit division and was the longest strike of that division, with the 1998 strike coming in 2nd. The longest period between strikes was 1986-1995...9 years!
Strike Year & Length in Days:
1977 - 44
1981- 19
1983 - 108
1986 - 4
1995 - 14
1998 - 40
2005 - 7
2009 - 6

Are the work stoppages by UTU 1594 included in those figures?

BuddCar711 wrote:

SubwayTim wrote:When you say "limits on strikes", do you mean limiting how long strikes can last? I know strikes by SEPTA, or just about any company can last from just one day to months. Here is a list of SEPTA strikes between 1977 and 2009...as you can see, the 1983 (Regional Rail) strike lasted a whopping 108 days (nearly 3 1/2 months!) and was SEPTA's longest strike, while the 1986 strike lasted only 4 days and obviously was the shortest. The 44-day 1977 strike I'm guessing was the city transit division and was the longest strike of that division, with the 1998 strike coming in 2nd. The longest period between strikes was 1986-1995...9 years!
Strike Year & Length in Days:
1977 - 44
1981- 19
1983 - 108
1986 - 4
1995 - 14
1998 - 40
2005 - 7
2009 - 6

Are the work stoppages by UTU 1594 included in those figures?

I'm not sure. I just Googled "SEPTA Strike History" then clicked on one of the links. Since it includes the 108-day Regional Rail strike of 1983, I'm assuming that's all the SEPTA strikes.