SEPTA union agrees to postpone strike

Both sides will continue to work towards a new contract agreement. Officials from the the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority and its union continued intense negotiations for a new labor contract yesterday, two days after the union delayed a threatened strike that would shut down most of Philadelphia's public transportation. On Saturday, the 5,600-member Transport Workers Union Local 234 announced its delay of a threatened walk-out, extending contract negotiations with SEPTA -- which faces a $150 million operating deficit -- beyond the March 15 deadline. The two parties agreed to prolong their time at the bargaining table at a downtown hotel in an effort to avert a possible strike that would leave the system's 450,000 weekday passengers searching for other ways to get around the city. Union spokesperson Bruce Bodner described yesterday's negotiations as "positive." Although Bodner could not say when both parties would settle, he promised that SEPTA riders would be given sufficient notice if a strike is called, and that the system's daily riders would not be left "stranded" in the middle of the day. A strike would close down the operation of most city buses and surface trolleys, while the Market-Frankford and Broad Street subway lines would be operated by SEPTA managers, offering limited service Monday through Saturday. The subway-surface trolley line would operate only between 13th and 40th streets. Since workers on SEPTA's regional railroad lines are in a different union, those lines would remain unaffected and operate on schedule. But all passengers would be required to buy roundtrip tickets before boarding the train. SEPTA, the fifth largest transportation system in the country, reported early yesterday that "rider uncertainty and anxiety" about being stranded by a strike had contributed to a 10 to 15 percent decline in ridership. For most of the past two days, both sides worked independently in private negotiating areas five floors apart in the Franklin Wyndham Plaza Hotel at 17th and Race streets. By mid-afternoon yesterday, both parties had had one face-to-face meeting at the table that day, and were expecting to have another later in the evening, according to Bodner. "Throughout this process, we have had our proposal, [SEPTA] has had their proposal and it's a question of trying to bridge the differences between the two," Bodner said. Nevertheless, the union is preparing for a strike. Thousands of strike signs have already been distributed and strike captains have been organizing members at assigned picket locations while checking in with TWU headquarters on 22nd and Spring Garden streets for breaking news. Several SEPTA riders yesterday said they were worried about the possibility of a strike. "If SEPTA strikes, I won't be able to get to work," said Tameka White, 20. Michelle Toler, a junior at the Philadelphia College of Textiles and Science who works to pay her way through school, echoed White's concerns. "It's a big inconvenience to say the least, if SEPTA strikes," Toler said. "It's like if I can't get to work, obviously I can't get paid." Extending the negotiations beyond the deadline may have been an indication that the parties are coming closer to resolving the dispute. SEPTA management wants to delay wage increases for the union employees, hire part-time bus and train operators, change the current health benefits system and rewrite union work rules to move away from the seniority system. The current negotiations are in reaction to an 85-page contract SEPTA proposed in late December, which left the union claiming management would have too much power. At the time, the union countered with a 15-page list of contract proposals, which included changing the company's pension system to allow employees to retire earlier. Negotiations have been ongoing since December 26. The last city transit strike occurred during a two-week stretch in 1995.

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