Philadelphia Bus, Subway Service At A Standstill As Workers Strike

November 3, 2009 10:40 a.m. EST

Philadelphia, PA (AHN) - The biggest union of the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) went on strike early morning on Tuesday, disrupting bus and subway service for thousands of commuters only hours after Philadelphia hosted the World Series. Workers had been in talks with the transit agency over a new contract since last year.

The work stoppage by the Transport Workers Union Local 234 began at 3 am ET, halting service on trolley routes 10, 11, 13, 15, 34 and 36, and all lettered city transit bus routes as well as 1 through 89. Owl service and Frontier Bus routes 90 through 99 have also been affected.

Regional rail will operate but may be delayed for up to half an hour because of the walkout, according to SEPTA. Bus, trolley and high speed lines in suburban areas, except route 116, will also run on regular schedule, as will the green and gold loop service from 30th Street Station into University City.

Mayor Michael Nutter has activated the Philadelphia's emergency operations center in response to the strike, which coincides with municipal elections. The emergency response includes a suspension of parking restrictions in selected locations. The University of Pennsylvania is also offering special shuttle along Lancaster Avenue, Spruce Street (returning on Chestnut Street) and Woodland Avenue to accommodate commuters.

The TWU's contract expired on March 15, without any new agreement despite talks with SEPTA since December last year. The contract covers 4,700 bus, subway and trolley workers in the city.

The union wants a 4 percent annual pay raise and a $25-per-month increase in pension payments for each year of service. It originally sought a 6 percent annual wage hike. But transit officials had proposed no pay raises for the next five years, and then offered a 2 percent increase for the third and fourth years of service.

According to the Philadelphia Daily News, SEPTA was proposing a 2.5 percent increase in the second year and 3 percent hikes for every year thereafter, when negotiations broke down.

The transit agency had prepared a service interruption plan for commuters last Wednesday, but over the weekend said the intervention of Nutter and Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell had pushed both sides to continue negotiations "until a tentative contract agreement is reached."