Beware the ides of March! How to survive a transit strike

As expected, TWU 234 authorized a strike today in the event an agreement is not reached with SEPTA management. Unlike last year, there will be no contract extention.

Should a strike happen, it will be interesting for all of us to keep getting around. If you live in the city and happen to be near one of the few remaining RR stations you will still have options. The rest of us are out of luck.

I do know that extra trains will be added to help compensate for the additional loads. Routes like the Elwyn and Cynwyd will pick up some of the burden. Surprisingly, SEPTA will only add a few runs on Cynwyd. I guess no one rides it even when it is the only game in town.

Anyone care to elaborate if city transit strikes help or hurt the RRDs?

jfrey40535 wrote:Anyone care to elaborate if city transit strikes help or hurt the RRDs?

The real issue is not the impact on the RRD, but on SEPTA as a whole. This can be SEPTA's opportunity to hold the line on costs and regain control of some work rules. Gonna be a long strike.

I can't see it helping the railroads. They'll get more passengers, but all the new riders will see is overcrowded trains. Plus, you figure a certain number of people will give up on SEPTA and buy a car.

It's funny, this strike threat. For months all we hear about is the funding crisis, and even though I knew the contract expired again this year, it took me completely by surprise when I heard the news last night. I just hope the negotiations don't go the way of the NHL.

So what else is new? At least you don't have to listen to the fake Irish Brogue of Mike Quill ( The TWU's International President during the 1950's and 1960's- the era of the bi-annual PTC strikes).

What exactly will be affected by the strike, for those of us who've never had to live through one?

Surface Routes 1-89, C, L, J, K, BSL/Ridge Ave Shuttle, MFL. No impact on RRD except for more volume and possible extra trains.

At Market East, no one will be permitted on the platforms until the train arrives (probablly to maintain order).

So the suburban bus routes, and the 100, 101, and 102 are all part of different unions?

Well, the excercise will do me good, anyway. Now I'll have to walk the three blocks from 30th Street instead of hopping on the El or a trolley (at 11th and/or Juniper, mind you -- I'm not that lazy ).

R3 Rider wrote:So the suburban bus routes, and the 100, 101, and 102 are all part of different unions?

This is a remnant of the days of private operation. TWU Local 234 was the local which represented the PTC's operating employees and has a long history of going out on strike frequently. The suburban bus routes, and the 100, 101 and 102 are former Red Arrow Lines Routes. The Red Arrow had two unions, Brotherhood of Railroad Trainmen Lodge No. 998 represented the operating employees while TWU Local 267 represented the maintenance employees. While there had been 18 strikes on the PTC and PRT between 1895 and 1963, there was only one strike in the history of the Red Arrow--- and this strike occurred in 1963 immediately following ( and maybe because of) the 18th PTC strike in that year. It was public dissatisfaction over these two strikes that went a long way toward providing the impetus for the eventual founding of SEPTA and its taking over of both transit companies, the thinking being, that once the system was government operated it would not be possible for the unions to legally go out on strike---------- how wrong they were!

In '98, I seem to recall that managers were under a different contract. Could CTD run a few lines with some service using only managers?

Perhaps MFL and the C bus? Maybe bustitute MFL and BSL?

I would guess there are enough managers to man some buses and trains, provided they have the training, but providing station attendants for each station would probably be another story. That is why bussing the MFL AND BSL might be preferable.

flynnt wrote: Could CTD run a few lines with some service using only managers?

Given the militancy of some union members, the answer would be Yes only if the managers were wearing body armor and driving Bradleys.

What routes will be affected

In addition to all CTD lines, any suburban transit route that crosses the city boundary will be curtailed. For ex., the 124/125 out of K of P have in past strikes been diverted to one of the Regional Rail stations such as Villanova or Overbrook so riders can continue into the city.

The other kicker is that SEPTA makes no allowance for the extra costs incurred during such transfers. If you start the month with a Transpass and are forced onto the RRD you have to pay a second fare. Moral - spend the extra bucks on an RRD pass as "insurance", as Tony Soprano might say.

Clearfield wrote:The real issue is not the impact on the RRD, but on SEPTA as a whole. This can be SEPTA's opportunity to hold the line on costs and regain control of some work rules. Gonna be a long strike.

The fact that they talking strike just days after a bailout shows how absolutely, utterly, unredeemably out of touch both labor and management are. What legislator will be able to go back to their constituents and with a straight face talk about the success (such as it is) of finding additional funding, when the first thing that happens is a walkout?? In a year or two, when the next budget hole opens up, SEPTA might as well try robbing the Mint to get more money.

OK, the whole idea of company-paid health care IMO ought to be re-examined at the national level, but that ain't gonna happen in this decade and maybe not the next. In the meantime, the rest of us in private industry have to deal with double-digit increases in premiums and copays, so it's very hard to be sympathetic this time around.

JeffK wrote:

flynnt wrote: Could CTD run a few lines with some service using only managers?

Given the militancy of some union members, the answer would be Yes only if the managers were wearing body armor and driving Bradleys.

What routes will be affected

In addition to all CTD lines, any suburban transit route that crosses the city boundary will be curtailed. For ex., the 124/125 out of K of P have in past strikes been diverted to one of the Regional Rail stations such as Villanova or Overbrook so riders can continue into the city.

The other kicker is that SEPTA makes no allowance for the extra costs incurred during such transfers. If you start the month with a Transpass and are forced onto the RRD you have to pay a second fare. Moral - spend the extra bucks on an RRD pass as "insurance", as Tony Soprano might say.

Clearfield wrote:The real issue is not the impact on the RRD, but on SEPTA as a whole. This can be SEPTA's opportunity to hold the line on costs and regain control of some work rules. Gonna be a long strike.

The fact that they talking strike just days after a bailout shows how absolutely, utterly, unredeemably out of touch both labor and management are. What legislator will be able to go back to their constituents and with a straight face talk about the success (such as it is) of finding additional funding, when the first thing that happens is a walkout?? In a year or two, when the next budget hole opens up, SEPTA might as well try robbing the Mint to get more money.

OK, the whole idea of company-paid health care IMO ought to be re-examined at the national level, but that ain't gonna happen in this decade and maybe not the next. In the meantime, the rest of us in private industry have to deal with double-digit increases in premiums and copays, so it's very hard to be sympathetic this time around.

Re: company-paid health care, rumors circulating that our (CNIC) next contract might involve substantial changes in our contribution to our medical coverage.

Not to go too far off on a political thread, but the idea of company-paid health care pretty much only dates back to WWII. There were wartime wage and price controls but fewer restrictions on "soft" costs such as benefits and perks. Companies couldn't offer higher wages to retain scarce workers, so they started picking up the tab for things like health care as a way of sweetening the pot. Once these programs were in place, it was very hard (read: impossible) to rescind them without a backlash. Offering were also more similar when costs were lower since a company didn't need to have deeeep pockets to remain competitive.

I understand 100% why the drivers are angry. The raises my employer gave last year, such as they were, were eaten up entirely by health care increases AND like everyone else I'm paying more for food and fuel. But unless somebody can figure out a different way to pay the bills, it's hard to say one group should be exempt while so many others are getting the screws tightened.

I concur with Bob. It is going to be a knock-down drag-out over the principle of the bulk of TWU members paying nothing towards health benefits (FWIW, I work in health technology and health policy research), in an era where very few workers don't pay at least part. There was an article on the subject (trends in employee cost-sharing) in JAMA a coupla years ago--someone could look it up if they wanted to know the exact percentage of workers whose employers still pay 100%. (*)

While SEPTA's funding crisis has been relieved for the next year and a half, there is still no long-term funding, and whatever SEPTA gets is gonna have to come from the legislature. It would be very hard for SEPTA to get an increase if they don't have something to show from these negotiations--in other words, the legislature isn't going to put up any more money if they think it's just gonna go into TWU pockets.

Furthermore, you could make the argument that the jobs of the principals on both sides are at stake in these negotiations. If Moore can't come out with some kind of significant concession, her support is gonna erode even further. If Brooks (new TWU 234 president, not to be confused with the late Steve Brookens) gives up the 100% SEPTA-paid health plan, he's gonna be voted out next election.

1--I think contract extensions are likely in lieu of a strike (just like last year). Extensions are in the union's interest because they'll be able to maintain the current SEPTA-paid benefits, and from management's standpoint, they get them a little farther along without a catastrophic outcome (well, catastrophic may be a little too strong a word, but don't ever underestimate the ability of this Authority to think in the short-term)

2--The only way out I see is for management to get some other major concession in lieu of a concession on medical benefit co-pays.

One more thing: it surprises me that nobody has made a stink about the conflict of interest on the SEPTA negotiators' side. Traditionally, the A-payroll (supervisory, administrative, management) benefits, including medical, are tied to the TWU package, so SEPTA's negotiators are negotiating their own benefits while they are supposed to be holding the line on costs for the TWU.


*--my own opinion is that some degree of cost-sharing is beneficial because it reduces the distortion in economic incentives in the health care system: people tend to use services unnecessarily if the cost is being paid by somebody else. [/b]

The impact of past CTD strikes has been mitigated a lot by the effective contingency plans of SEPTA and the major employers in the city. In fact, I daresay that the employers' alternatives have been more important than the added RRD service. Typically, places like the University of Pennsylvania and some of the big banks in the city charter their own buses and run them back and forth between their locations and park-ride sites or central locations like the Spectrum and Olney Terminal.

RRD contingency will probably entail ticket lifts before the stairs to the platform at the Center City stations, plus longer consists on the city lines. It's gotten pretty routine.

SEPTA did threaten last time to keep the subway and El running using management personnel, but did not carry out the threat. If they were to do so, it would very seriously weaken TWU's leverage, since very few areas would be without some kind of service either from Suburban Transit (whose labor unions have been at odds with TWU 234 in the past), the railroad, or the subway and El. I was not aware of the history that Walt provided, but most of the STD workers are represented by UTU local 1594. Their leadership has been less militant than TWU leadership, which I think has been beneficial to the rank and file--it's more possible to arrive at win-win solutions with the UTU people.

Guys: If anyone has not heard by now,the CTD strike deadline has been pushed back to April 15th. I hope that you all agree with me that cooler heads do prevail in this situation. Tax day might be interesting in more ways than one. On previous strikes,at NRHS someone donated copies of Conrail/SEPTA's strike plan for 1981. There was one printed for the Reading Division and the Philadelphia Division(PC) rail routes. In the plans were equipment and employee utilization and how both divisions would handle the extra passenger loads anticipated. Anyone remember how long the '81 strike was? Interesting reading! MACTRAXX