Leaders of three Philadelphia unions met to discuss a possible strike of about 14,000 workers in transit and city services

Leaders of three distinct unions that represent SEPTA operators and municipal workers say they are coordinating strategy amid separate contract negotiations, which could include a united-front strike.

Around 11 a.m. Tuesday, leaders of all three unions, which together represent roughly 14,000 workers, left a diner on Spring Garden Street in Northern Liberties, where they met over breakfast.

Before Tuesday, leaders of Transport Workers Union Local 234 (TWU), which represents SEPTA operators, and AFSCME District Council 33 (DC33), which represents municipal workers, had acknowledged being in discussions but had not shared further details of what their coordination looked like.

TWU and DC33 leaders were joined Tuesday morning by representatives of the International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail, and Transportation Workers (SMART), Transportation Division, Local 1594, which represents operators of the Norristown High Speed Line and buses and trolleys in Montgomery, Chester, and Delaware Counties.

For Philadelphia-area residents, a simultaneous strike of the three unions could bring most SEPTA services to a halt and mean no trash pickups, and a lag in police, fire, and ambulance response. Brian Pollitt, president of Transport Workers Local 234, said such an action would be historic.

“This is public-sector union unity,” Pollitt said. “If we all go out, we’re going to shut the region down.”

Greg Boulware, president of DC33, which represents over 9,000 municipal workers including 911 operators, sanitation workers, and others, said he felt positive after their discussion that morning. He said the unions are working together “strategically” about a potential strike at the same time, but could not say when that might happen.

» READ MORE: What you need to know about two possible SEPTA strikes

“Unions, as you see, are a diminishing breed across the country,” he said. “This is Philadelphia. It’s a strong union city. We have an obligation to make sure we support one another. So that’s kind of what we’re doing right now.”

» READ MORE: What to know about District Council 33, the Philly city union that authorized a strike

Leaders of TWU and SMART, meanwhile, said they’re going to keep negotiating with SEPTA “in good faith,” as Pollitt said.

DC33 has plans to meet with the city this week, Boulware noted, but did not share a date.

Members of DC33 voted earlier this month in support of a strike, if union leaders call for it. Boulware has said that could happen if negotiators cannot reach an agreement with Mayor Cherelle L. Parker’s office, but union leadership wants to avoid a work stoppage.

DC33 is seeking a four-year contract that includes wage increases, flexibility to a rule that requires most city workers to live in Philadelphia, and improvements to pension plans. The Parker administration has proposed a one-year contract that roughly extends the terms of the previous contract and includes a 4.4% raise, as well as a one-time bonus of $1,400.

As of Tuesday, Boulware said, the city administration was still pushing for a one-year extension of the current contract.

In 1986, when DC33 went on strike for 20 days, trash collection was halted throughout the city and neighborhood disposal sites were set up where residents could drop off their own trash. By the end of the work stoppage, some disposal sites were filled with “stinking, maggot-laced garbage,” the Daily News reported, and roughly 45,000 tons of trash had accumulated, the New York Times reported.

Transport Workers Union Local 234 members have been working without a contract since their current one-year agreement expired in the early morning of Nov. 8. The union represents about 5,000 bus, subway, and trolley operators, mechanics, cashiers, maintenance workers, and custodians in the city.

TWU is seeking raises for its members and concrete action from SEPTA on last year’s promises to deploy measures to help protect frontline transit workers from assaults, harassment, and general disorder on the system.

“SEPTA wants us to pay for our raises with health-care concessions,” Pollitt said. “We’re not doing it.”

The 350 suburban bus, trolley, and Norristown High Speed Line operators represented by SMART saw their contract expire this month. They also want action on safety from public attacks and harassment and an increase in wages.

“I’m just tired of seeing top brass take care of themselves — you always have to take care of your front line first,” said Anthony Petty, general chairman of Local 1594.

“We’re the ones that’s going to take care of the passengers, and we’re the ones that’s going to try to take care of their equipment to get it back safe and soundly,” Petty said. “All we’re asking is for us to return home safe and soundly.”

SEPTA, meanwhile, is facing a drastic fiscal crunch. The transit authority recently announced fare increases that would have riders paying 29% more than they do currently beginning on New Year’s Day and deep service cuts that could take effect in July.

That has sparked urgent calls from political leaders and transit advocacy groups for Gov. Josh Shapiro to come to the rescue with an infusion of cash to help SEPTA get by without taking actions that it said could cause a “death spiral.”