Philadelphia’s mass transit system averts a strike by reaching a deal with its largest workers union

The largest workers’ union and Philadelphia’s public transit system have negotiated a tentative contract agreement, preventing thousands of workers from going on strike.

The one-year contract was announced Wednesday by the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority and Transport Workers Union Local 234. It demands a 5% pay increase and an undisclosed pension modification for union members. Since many frontline workers experience abuse and violence, the contract also includes provisions to improve their personal safety, such as erecting bulletproof enclosures for drivers.

A ratification vote will take place on December 6, according to Union President Brian Pollitt.

The deal was reached almost two weeks after union members decided to go for a strike on November 8 when their one-year contract with SEPTA expired. However, as long as they believed that progress was being made at the negotiating table, union officials agreed to postpone a strike.

The roughly 5,000 members of Local 234 include mechanics, cashiers, custodians, maintenance personnel, and operators of buses, subways, and trolleys.

Pollitt stated on Wednesday that preventing a strike was a top concern, pointing out that many locals depend on public transportation, including employees who depend on the SEPTA to get to work and students who ride its buses and trains to school.

According to Pollitt, we received a fair bargain and must now concentrate on ensuring that SEPTA remains robust for all those who rely on it.

Both parties put a lot of effort into coming to an agreement, according to Scott Sauer, SEPTA’s acting general manager.

“This agreement is responsible to the customers and taxpayers and fair to our hardworking frontline employees,” he said.

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SEPTA, which has frequently stated that its financial situation is uncertain, recently suggested drastic service cuts that would begin next summer along with a 21.5% fare rise that would be implemented universally on New Year’s Day. A public hearing on the plan has been set for December 13 by the agency.

In addition to the 7.5% interim average fee hike that the panel is expected to discuss later this month, riders would pay the increase if it were authorized by the SEPTA board. If approved, it would go into effect on December 1. The single charge for using the city bus and subway would increase from $2 to $2.90 if both hikes are implemented. On January 1, SEPTA key rates, which currently vary from $3.75 to $6.50, depending on the zone used, would range from $5 to $8.75. Riders would receive reductions if they bought with a prepaid card.

The planned fare hike is anticipated to generate an extra $23 million for this fiscal year and $45 million annually beginning in 2026, the last time SEPTA raised fares, which was in 2017.

As federal epidemic aid phases out, SEPTA, the sixth-largest mass transit system in the country, has an annual structural budget deficit of $240 million. Since the Republican-controlled state Senate refused to vote on Democratic Governor Josh Shapiro’s request for $283 million in new state aid to public transportation, it lost out on roughly $161 million in state funding. Instead, SEPTA received $46 million as part of a one-time payment to the state trust fund for transportation agencies that was approved by lawmakers.

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