CAMPUS BRIEFS: Monday, October 26, 1998

SEPTA, transit union poised to ink new deal On Friday, negotiators for the 5,500-member Transport Workers Union and the regional transportation agency signed a binding memorandum of agreement on the terms of a new, two-year contract. The deal now awaits the approval of SEPTA's board, which could come this week at a special meeting. Both sides said board opposition was unlikely. The union represents mechanics and operators of city buses, trolleys, subways and some suburban lines operated by SEPTA. The terms of the deal include 3 percent raises over each of the next three years and a 20 percent average increase in pensions for workers. SEPTA gets stricter controls on sick and vacation days and a tighter drug- and alcohol-testing policy. An earlier, verbal agreement ended the summer strike on July 10. The TWU ratified the deal on July 24, but SEPTA refused to follow suit, claiming that union leaders presented a deal to their membership that differed in key respects from the oral agreement. Union members have been working under the terms of their old contract, which expired in March. SEPTA negotiators maintain that the new contract is essential to putting the authority back into the black. The authority has accrued a $13 million deficit since July 1, the beginning of its fiscal year. SEPTA ridership fell 7 percent in September from the previous year. -- Binyamin Appelbaum