RSS
Home
SEPTA Strike Ends
Print
Email
RSS
Subscribe
The buses and trolleys in Philadelphia have already resumed regular service this morning after the Transport Workers Union Local 234 (TWU) and SEPTA officials agreed to a new contract early this morning and ending a 6 day strike.
The contract is essentially the same offer SEPTA made last week; 5 years with no wage increase in year one, 2.5% increase in year two, and 3% for the remaining years. An increase in pension contributions from 2% to 3% and no change in health care contributions for employees from the current 1%.
The question many people have is if the terms did not change from last week then why did the union agree to this contract now? Was it public pressure as most citizens felt the union was too greedy? Was there other concessions the city and state made that were not made public? Did union members become divided on the new contract proposal?
All of the above may have been a factor but the most significant reason came from Governor Rendell over the weekend after a handshake agreement fell through in the 12th hour.
Governor Rendell took a firm stance with the TWU and threatened to withdraw $7 million in state funding if they did not agreed to the new contract. It was a tactic that was rumored to have been used after the TWU threatened to strike during the World Series. The union officially went on strike early Tuesday, November 3, just hours after the series ended in New York.
Governor Rendell has faced a quite a bit of criticism this year as the recession lead to a very heated and very public budget dispute. The governor and lawmakers in Harrisburg did finally reach an agreement but many citizens felt more cuts in spending were need opposed to less cuts and another tax hike. But his hard-line approach in this labor dispute will help the governor earn a respite from the cross hairs of Pennsylvanians at least in the short-term or until the new income tax shows up on your paycheck.
