As of Monday, November 7th, the 5,000 Transport Workers Union Local 234 and 320 United Transportation Union Local 1594 members returned to work. A tentative agreement with SEPTA was unanimously approved by Local 234 Executive Board voting. The Local 234 Executive Board recommended ratification of contract by membership. Ratification Vote of the Tentative Contract is to be held Tuesday, November 15, 2005. 7AM to 7PM. The new contract provides 3 percent raises each year and requires employees to contribute 1 percent of their base salary toward health care premiums, Local 234 spokesman Bob Bedard said Monday. "In return, management will contribute 1 percent to health care based on their salaries," he said.

Current average annual wages for Local 344 members is $47,900. Health care contributions had been the main sticking point in negotiating a new agreement. SEPTA wanted workers to pay 5 percent of the premium cost, but union members maintained they had given up concessions in the past for guaranteed health care.

"We won some very important work rules changes that have to do with due process and fairness," Bedard said. "We also won back a few things. We think this is a victory for the members."

Instead of new hires paying 30 percent of their health care premium the first year and 20 percent the second year, now they will pay the same 1 percent as everyone, he said. New hires will also get dental, prescription and vision coverage earlier and SEPTA will make a bigger contribution to pensions, he said.

Jeff Brooks, President of the Transport Workers Local Union 234, has announced that as of 12:01 AM, October 31, the union and its approximately 5,000 SEPTA workers is officially on strike. The talks ended shortly before midnight without a deal or a contract extension. No new talks are currently scheduled.

The strike impacts SEPTA buses, trolleys, the Broad Street Subway and the Market-Frankford El. The strike will not affect regional rail, whose workers are covered under a different contract agreement.

According to union leaders, health care, specifically SEPTA's stance that workers should contribute to health care premiums, was the major issue standing in the way of a resolution, although other issues were at stake as well.

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SOLIDARITY RALLY FOR STRIKING SEPTA WORKERS

Support the SEPTA workers!

Solidarity rally for SEPTA workers every wednesday for the rest of the strike!

7:30-9:00 a.m.
1234 Market St.

http://www.unionvoice.org/campaign.v/SEPTA_Strike

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Email SEPTA GM to Support Strike

Click on the link to send this letter:

I am writing to express my grave concern with the slow progress of the contract negotiations between SEPTA and Transportation Workers Union Local 234. The bus drivers, mechanics and sales people who work for SEPTA are my friends and neighbors and their health is of great concern to me as a rider.

SEPTA management has been unable develop a budget that protects workers and adequately provides for the riding public. Now, SEPTA management is putting workers and riders at risk by threatening to raise health care co-pay and premiums on its workers. By shifting costs onto workers, workers are less likely to use the health care that they do have. Many government agencies and corporations are shifting the costs of health care onto employees. Public institutions which receive tax money, like SEPTA, should be setting the standards for how workers should be treated. Raising co-pays and premiums could push workers and riders toward a strike. Our city will loose millions of dollars, workers and riders will suffer. SEPTA management, on the other hand, benefits from a strike. Everyday that the public transit system stops running, SEPTA management puts ten million dollars in the bank in saved operating costs.

As a rider I demand that you keep your hands off of the health care of my friends and neighbors!

Like Dr. Martin Luther King said fifty years ago, that if a strike is necessary, "in the long run, it is more honorable to walk in dignity than ride in humiliation... in a quite dignified manner, we decided to substitute tired feet for tired souls, and walk the streets." Fifty years later my community and I are willing to make the same march for justice and support these workers.

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Help End the SEPTA Strike ASAP
by Ray Murphy

"It is unfortunate that SEPTA has forced this strike. Neither our members nor the riding public desired this outcome," stated TWU Local 234 President Jeff Brooks.

Well, it’s official, SEPTA workers are on strike. As someone who does not own a car, I am interested in seeing this strike end as quickly as possible. However, as someone who also pays out of pocket for my own health insurance, I am only interested in seeing this strike end if SEPTA workers win their demands for a fair deal on healthcare.

So, if you are in the same position as me, what can you do to help make this strike end as quickly as possible?

First and foremost, read up on the issues so you can be a source of knowledge for family, friends, neighbors and co-workers. Click here (http://youngphillypolitics.com/node/317) to read an interview with the SEPTA worker’s union or here (http://youngphillypolitics.com/node/269) to see what our friend Fabricio at Jobs with Justice has to say about the reasons for this strike.

Next, click here (http://www.unionvoice.org/campaign/septaworkers/k5s6bsr27w77x8?) to take action. You can send an email to Faye Moore, SEPTA’s General Manager, telling her that the riding public supports the union’s demands on healthcare.

Next, call Big Ed himself. Pennsylvania’s healthcare crisis is bigger than SEPTA itself. Tell Governor Rendell to step in and use state funds to fix the short-term contract problems while making a real commitment to doing something about the skyrocketing cost of healthcare that so many of us Pennsylvanians are facing. You can email (http://sites.state.pa.us/PA_Exec/Governor/govmail.html) the Governor here or just give him a call at (717) 787-2500.

Lastly, talk to friends about rides, dust off bikes and do whatever you can to get around town while TWU members do what they have to do for what’s right. The last SEPTA strike I can remember was in high school and it was rough. But, this is a frontline battle not just for the transit workers, but for all of us. So, let's buck up, make the best of us and put the screws to SEPTA managment every day until this thing gets resolved.

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In addition to the numbers posted in the article above, you can also call these SEPTA numbers. All the workers are on strike, almost all of the customer service centers are shut down in various places across the city, so I can only assume management is answering these lines. When I called a little while ago and expressed my support for the union and asked to speak to someone I could voice that too, the woman responded "We are the only ones working," and hung up. Sounds like management or managment stooges.

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Customer Service agents are available via telephone 24 hours a day now through Tuesday, Nov. 1 at 12 midnight. After Nov. 1, Customer Service will operate extended telephone hours throughout a service interruption - weekdays 6 a.m.-12 midnight and weekends 8 a.m.-8 p.m.

Customer Service: 215-580-7800
Para información en Español llame al 215-580-7800, luego marque el número 2
Customer Service (TDD): 215-580-7853

CCT Connect:
Customer Service: 215-580-7145
Trip Reservations: 215-580-7700
Same Day Cancellations/Trip Problems: 215-580-7720
TDD: 215-580-7712
Parking Information: 215-580-3400 or cservice@septa.org

For an email form:
http://www.septa.org/inside/customer_service/cs_survey/service_info.html

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Interview with SEPTA Workers About Contract Negotiations
from youngphillypolitics.com

Bob Bedard who does press and communications work for TWU Local 234, was kind enough to grant an interview to Young Philly Politics about the contract the union is currently negotiating with SEPTA management. Bob offers a lot of insights into the demands of SEPTA workers and also reveals a posisble hidden agenda on the part of the Daily News in asking workers to take health care concessions.

Bob answered a lot of questions for us including many that were raised by commenters in response to Fabricio Rodriguez of Jobs with Justice who wrote about SEPTA a few weeks back (see that post here). Bob conducted his interview with YPP over email.

Who does TWU represent?

Local 234 represents the vast majority of SEPTA's union employees About 4,700 in the City Transit Division (CTD). 130 at Red Arrow. 150 at Frontier. About 200 at Eden’s.

Why is it important that public transit employees have a union?

Unions are important to employees because they negotiate and enforce contracts with management. Through a written contract, both sides know what is expected of them and what they get in return.

What is the average salary of SEPTA workers? How has that changed in real terms in the past 20, 10 and 5 years?

Different jobs pay different amounts. The key thing on salaries in these negotiations is that over the years the union has agreed for lower salaries for starting employees.

It used to be SEPTA paid every bus driver about the same amount. Then, in an agreement for SEPTA to pay for health care, the union agreed to have new hires get less. That way, new people knew what the agreement was before they started employment.

Now, a new hire bus driver gets $12.95 and hour. After 5 years, a bus driver gets $21.53 an hour.

As a side note, if you have asked SEPTA the same questions, you should be very leery of their answers.

Since 1979, the union has taken less in benefits and wages to establish and finance the health care Covenant.

And, not just concessions in wages but in all kinds of benefits -- a cap on pensions, disability, insurance. As an example, for the first three days a union SEPTA employee is out sick, they get NO pay. And, less than half pay after that.

In your opinion, does SEPTA's administration manage money well? Given the rising costs of healthcare, and the SEPTA deficit, what does the TWU say to those, like the Daily News, who say that there is no choice but to take the healthcare plan offered by management, or at least, make employees pay for it? Are you worried this percentage will increase?

No. SEPTA runs a terrible business. Look at the Market-Franford El fiasco. The $85 million trolley. They can't even sell a $1.30 token for a $1.30 to most people. It's easier to buy a Lottery ticket in Philly than it is for most people to buy a token for $1.30

The Daily News is currently in negotiations with its own people represented by the Newspaper Guild. We feel that the management written editorial was more a message to their employees than to members of 234.

The bottom line is that, through concessions and lower wages, we have already paid for full health care. Maybe not through premiums but through concessions. If you walk into a McDonald's and pay the bill with a $10 bill or a roll of quarters, the bill is still paid.

How does TWU's plan to communicate with the public if you do go on strike?

First, there will be a ton of free media. And, as we have done, we will spend some of our meager resources on paid advertising in print and on TV. If SEPTA forces a work stoppage, we will have 5,000 people to distribute informational stuff at picket lines, in the community. Many people already check our website daily. www.twulocal234.com.

Do you see a transit strike as something Philadelphians should support, and why?

I think fair people will support a strike if SEPTA breaks their deal with union employees. Health care is an issue on everybody's mind. Fair people will support the health care fight just as fair people supported Rosa Parks' fight for her rights in Montgomery. Nobody likes the greedy tyrant...

What role if any do city leaders play in contract negotiations?

There are elected officials who have been trying to mediate. All of the SEPTA Board is appointed by politicians who should be concerned with their constituent's welfare. Some will stand with us in the fight. Others, especially those who have a history of undervaluing public employees won't.

What role if any do state leaders play in contract negotiations?

Same as above. Politicians have a Bully Pulpit and can get on TV anytime they want. We only have truth on our side.

Outside of this contract, how could both city and state leaders improve SEPTA?

They are in the process of getting the information to assess SEPTA currently. The Governor appointed the Transit Funding and Reform Commission. It is trying to do an honest audit of SEPTA now. When they get that information they will be able to make educated decisions.

They can put any strings they want on the tax money that funds SEPTA. I'm sure that will be discussed after the audit and the fight for dedicated funding starts again.

At a minimum, SEPTA's management employees should be getting a better health care deal than the unionized employees -- it's Classism. Why should the union employee be treated like the people in New Orleans' 9th Ward and management employees get the Bourbon Street preferences?

Some of our readers complain about SEPTA customer service. They also complain about SEPTA service (frequency, route coverage, etc.) What role does TWU play in improving these things?

Local 234 has offered a Partnership With the Riding Public Platform to SEPTA as part of the negotiations. SEPTA has refused to discuss a single issue -- even about buying token. It's on the website.

Does TWU work with other unions that are working at the state and national level to fix the health care crisis?

YES. And, as we entered negotiations, the Jeff Brooks Local 234 administration formed an alliance, a Transit Summit, with all the other SEPTA unions. That's a first.

Our members and leadership have been to City Council, to Harrisburg, in meetings with Federal representatives to support SEPTA's fight for dedicated funding and for health care reform. We want SEPTA to win those fights.

Jeff Brooks, the President has been appointed a VP of the Philadelphia AFL-CIO and TWU International. His personal effort is to try and see everyone's boat rise in the health care fight. To defeat the few who would drag everyone else down.

Would fares be lower if there was no union?

No. My guess is that they would be higher if no one was looking over their shoulder and exerting pressure. SEPTA has become the new Ma Bell. We don't care. We don't have to. We're a monopoly. If it wasn't for the press and the SEPTA unions, the boondoggles would create a bigger deficit.

Do you know of any study or reliable statistics comparing transit worker salaries and benefits across major cities? Is there any data that shows comparative analysis of SEPTA's efficiency with respect to costs and revenues per transit rider?

No. I am trying to do a salary/benefit comparison on our own. But, again, beware of SEPTA's numbers.