What you need to know about two possible SEPTA strikes

Negotiators for Transport Workers Union Local 234 and SEPTA management continue to meet about a new contract, without much progress. Additionally, the contract for the workers who operate the Norristown High Speed Line and most suburban buses expires on Nov. 18.

The timing of these two contract expirations creates the potential for both unions to go on strike concurrently, a work stoppage that would cripple the region’s transportation by ceasing most transit operations in the city and Montgomery, Chester, and Delaware counties.

SEPTA says it isn’t able to get too specific yet on wage increases because it doesn’t know what it can afford. The authority has an operating deficit of $240 million and, like other transit agencies in the state and nation, needs more state money. Harrisburg has not put together the legislation.

» READ MORE: No deal, no strike: SEPTA and transit union will continue talks despite contract expiring

SEPTA is considering plans for 20% service cuts and a double-digit fare increase early in 2025. A strike by its largest union would cause chaos for workers and communities around the region and threaten SEPTA’s ongoing recovery from the pandemic. Here’s what you need to know.

Members of TWU voted on Oct. 27 to authorize a strike if the union and SEPTA did not reach a new agreement before their contract expires at 11:59 p.m. Nov. 7.

SEPTA and TWU — which represents city bus, trolley, and subway operators, among others — have continued to negotiate without a work stoppage since the contract expired.

The strike option is still on the table as the contract was not formally extended.

“I still have the right to call a strike, but I’m trying to do the honorable thing,” TWU Local 234 President Brian Pollitt said last week. “We don’t want to hurt the people of this region if we can avoid it.”

» READ MORE: Transport Workers Union has authorized a strike against SEPTA

Members of the International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers, Transportation Division, Local 1594 — whose members operate the Norristown High Speed Line, suburban bus routes and Delaware County’s two trolley lines — voted on Nov. 8 to authorize a strike when their contract expires at 12:01 a.m. Nov. 18.

If a deal has not been reached by the time the contract expires, workers could walk off the job, or union leadership could decide to keep negotiating with SEPTA while working without a contract.

No.

SEPTA is known as one of the most strike-prone large transit systems in the country. Since 1975, SEPTA unions have walked off the job at least 12 times.

Ridership on SEPTA has not bounced all the way back to where it was before the pandemic, but it has improved since last fall’s contract negotiations. A strike would interrupt the recovery. As of Sept. 30, the transit agency carried, on an average weekday, 70% of the passengers it did before COVID-19 shutdowns. Bus ridership was highest at 80%.

More workers are returning to their Center City offices, including city government employees at the direction of Mayor Cherelle L. Parker, and retail foot traffic has improved. SEPTA depends on fares for about 40% of its revenues, more than some agencies in the U.S. where regional, county, and local governments have dedicated transit levies.

The Transport Workers Union Local 234 represents 4,500 members, who work as operators for buses, trolleys, and trains, as well as mechanics, skilled tradespeople, maintenance workers, and custodians.

A strike would shut down buses, trolleys, and the subway and elevated train lines operating in Philadelphia.

Many Philadelphia residents rely on buses, the two “heavy” rail lines, and trolleys to get to work, but thousands of riders with essential jobs that can’t be done from home could be hit harder than others in the event of a strike. Black workers and low-income workers are more likely to rely on public transit.

It would like a contract longer than the current 1-year term, if possible. The union is seeking a wage increase to keep up with increases in the cost of living. It is asking for a retention-incentive that would let retirement-eligible members bank pension checks in an interest-bearing account while continuing to work. SEPTA has persistent staff shortages in some jobs, including operators.

Local 234 leaders and members say SEPTA has not made enough progress with promised protections for operators, including bulletproof vests, bullet-resistant shields in buses and trolleys, more cameras and a modernized radio system. It would like even more police patrolling the subways.

Since TWU’s contract expired at 11:59 on Nov. 7, a strike can be called at any time. Currently, the union and SEPTA are continuing to negotiate.

The International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers, Transportation Division, Local 1594 represents operators of the Norristown High Speed Line and buses and trolleys in Montgomery, Chester, and Delaware counties. The union has about 350 members.

The union wants wage increases for its members and shares TWU Local 234′s demand that SEPTA implement measures to protect operators from harassment and assaults on the job — with bulletproof shields or compartments on buses and trolleys, for instance.

“We are both trying to reach similar goals. Their fight is our fight,” SMART-TD Local 1594 Alternate Vice-President Anthony Petty said in a statement on the international’s website.

It would not affect Regional Rail, the commuter railroad from the suburbs to Center City, though fares are more expensive than on city transit. Regional trains also serve the airport, Wilmington and Trenton. In the event of a Local 234 work stoppage, the Norristown High Speed Line would also not be affected, unless SMART 1594 also went out on strike.

No, it will continue to operate within Philadelphia for seniors and people with disabilities who are registered for the service. The transit agency will communicate with riders about possible delays and disruptions due to demand or traffic congestion, according to an agency representative.

District-wide, 55,000 students rely on SEPTA buses, subways, trolleys, and trains to get to school.

If SEPTA bus, trolley, and subway operators call a strike at midnight Friday, some Philadelphia schools could need to move to virtual instruction, Superintendent Tony B. Watlington Sr. told staff.

“In cases where student or staff attendance is dramatically affected by the strike, the district may recommend that a school move to virtual instruction,” Watlington wrote in the email. “In such a case, district and school leadership will ensure that all students, including and especially those with special needs, are equipped with the digital and physical materials they need to participate in virtual learning.

Teachers will not be asked to deliver virtual and in-person instruction simultaneously, Watlington said.

Late students will not be marked late, and absent students will be excused after a parent or guardian sends a note. Employees who are late because of the strike will also be excused, and the superintendent will send central office staff to schools where there are SEPTA-related shortages.

The district will post updated SEPTA strike information on its website; Watlington said he will brief staff and families further as he receives more information from SEPTA.

» READ MORE: If SEPTA strikes, Philly schools may need to go virtual

The protocol is for operators to “finish the run they are on and return the vehicle to the depot,” SEPTA spokesperson Andrew Busch said.

SEPTA plans to have transportation managers, who are not unionized, in the field to respond to issues, including if a bus or other vehicle is parked when the strike starts and needs to be driven back.

“That has not been much of a problem with past strikes,” Busch said, but sometimes confusion or maybe unclear communications leads to a couple of buses having to be driver back.

A six-day TWU Local 234 walkout in 2016. The biggest issue was retirement benefits. SEPTA’s contributions toward union members’ pensions did not rise in tandem with wages when workers made more than $50,000. Managers’ pension benefits were not capped. The union also wanted to reduce members’ out-of-pocket health-care costs.

» READ MORE: SEPTA workers might strike soon. It wouldn’t be the first time.

Since 1975, SEPTA and its customers have experienced 12 other strikes that shut down at least some public transit. There were stoppages in 1975, 1977, twice in 1981, 1982, 1983, twice in 1986, 1995, 1998, 2005, and 2009.

The 1983 walkout crippled Regional Rail service for 108 days.