A looming SEPTA Transit Police strike is in limbo Monday morning amid hope that one more set of talks could produce a deal to prevent officers from walking off the job.
The union set a midnight deadline for Sunday night, which came and went. However, officers put off a walkout and stayed on the job to see if union reps and SEPTA’s general manager could come to terms.
SEPTA Transit Police union leaders say SEPTA’s general manager has not been directly part of the negotiations, adding that they want to meet with her instead of those they’ve been dealing with.
WHYY thanks our sponsors — become a WHYY sponsor SEPTA officials spoke with the union for nearly six hours on Sunday, but officials say they are still negotiating a potential agreement. Transit police have been working without a contract for the last seven months and say the main issue is pay.
SEPTA officials say they believe they are offering a fair deal that includes a signing bonus and a 13% pay increase over three years.
However, the transit police union president is not satisfied and says SEPTA hasn’t matched the pay and benefits it recently gave to members of the Transport Workers Union, which represents thousands of SEPTA employees outside the agency’s police force.
“There are organizations and corporations going on strike right now because workers are tired. They’re tired of being mistreated and so we want to make sure that those workers — those SEPTA police officers — are well treated, well paid and well resourced,” said commuter Keon Gerow, from Drexel Hill.
LINK: https://whyy.org/articles/septa-transit-police-union-negotiations-strike/
