SEPTA’s largest union wants more police on public transit

As contract negotiations between SEPTA and its largest union begin Thursday, leaders of Transport Workers Union Local 234 say the talks will be shaped by the transit system’s looming fiscal crisis, public safety challenges, and slow-to-recover ridership as much as traditional labor disputes over pay and benefits.

“Point blank and period: These negotiations are about the survival of the system,” Brian Pollitt, president of TWU Local 234, said in an interview with The Inquirer.

SEPTA budgeteers expect to exhaust the last $312 million of the agency’s federal pandemic relief, which has kept the trains and buses running, by next April. CEO Leslie S. Richards has warned of service cuts ahead unless passenger fare revenue increases and Harrisburg lawmakers establish a permanent source of state funding for transit systems.

TWU represents 5,000 bus, trolley and subway operators, as well as SEPTA mechanics and others. Its existing two-year contract is to expire Oct 31.

Several other SEPTA unions are also due for new contracts this year: the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen (BLET), which represents Regional Rail engineers, and the union representing Regional Rail conductors; as well as the Fraternal Order of Transit Police Lodge 109.

Amid those stakes, TWU leaders will make a proposal to boost law enforcement on the city’s Broad Street and Market Frankford Lines, possibly augmenting Transit Police and Philadelphia police with state patrols, said Bruce Bodner, general counsel for the union.

He cited fear of crime and social disorder on the subway and El as factors keeping people away from those services. As of May, the two lines carried just 47% of the riders they did in 2019, according to SEPTA data, compared with about 65% for metro buses.

Public safety policies are important to the union, leaders said, because a strong SEPTA will help the region and preserve members’ jobs. In addition, concerns over safety are barriers to hiring and retaining bus and trolley operators amid a shortage of them.

SEPTA agrees on the need for increased public safety. It recently deployed 21 newly hired Transit Police officers and increased pay for the force. The transit agency also has hired several dozen unarmed security guards and built an extensive outreach program to help people experiencing homelessness or drug addiction and those with mental illness.

“Our idea is we have to, in effect, purge the subway and the Market-Frankford El of people who are not there to ride [a] transit service … who don’t belong in the system,” said Bodner, the TWU general counsel. He said more police are needed as a deterrent, in addition to the outreach program, which the union supports.

Bodner said the TWU wants to work with a coalition that includes SEPTA, city police and elected leaders, state government, the district attorney’s office, and others to develop specifics of a public safety approach.

SEPTA said in a statement that it is committed to “negotiating in good faith.” It also said officials looked forward to working with union leaders “to improve the quality of life and work for employees, improve safety and cleanliness for our workforce and customers, and enhance service reliability.”

The TWU also wants to reach agreement on proposals to help recruit and retain operators amid a national shortage, including a pay boost for those early in their careers and changes to aspects of the work, such as reducing unpredictable schedules for less-senior operators.