The union representing SEPTA police officers have approved a walkout and are threatening to hit the picket lines Nov. 20.
Union leaders said SEPTA’s police department has become a revolving door, with so many officers leaving the force because the transit agency doesn’t pay enough.
“It’s a shame because, you know, we lose a lot of good people,” said Omari Bervine, who heads up the Fraternal Order of Transit Police that represents the officers. “It’s almost like we’ve become a training ground for other police departments. We train them up and then they get our well-trained officers.”
Bervine said Philadelphia police, Amtrak, even Temple’s police department have better pay and benefits compared to SEPTA.
“Nobody takes this job with the impression that they’re going to be rich. That’s not what we’re trying to do,” he said. “We’re trying to fully staff a police department and we haven’t been able to do that in years.”
LINK: https://whyy.org/articles/septa-police-union-threatens-strike/
