USA: Philadelphia Transit Strike
Associated Press: October 31, 2005
Five thousand members of Local 234 of the Transport Workers Union went on strike at midnight, shutting down Philadelphia's subway, light rail and bus system. The dispute is over health care costs and benefits, an issue which has become the lightning rod for employee/employer relations throughout the U.S. economy.
Robin Merriweather, an employee of the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA), pickets in front of SEPTA's Midvale depot in Philadelphia Monday, Oct. 31, 2005. Thousands of city transit workers went on strike Monday, idling buses, trolleys and subways operated by SEPTA. Wages, work rules and the health care plan are the main issues in dispute. (AP Photo/Jacqueline Larma)
Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) admitted that the union's action had led to a complete shutdown of their services, advising the public in a statement that: "Due to a service interruption by Union employees, buses, subways, and trolleys are not operating. Regional Rail is the primary service available."
TWU Local 234 President Jeff Brooks stated: "It is unfortunate that SEPTA has forced this strike. Neither our members nor the riding public desired this outcome".
"Local 234 members don’t argue that health care is an inalienable Right; we correctly argue that members have already fully paid for health care through a Covenant we made with SEPTA decades ago," the Local said in a statement. "Union members have accepted less in wages and benefits in a deal made with SEPTA for health care."
You can watch Local 234's video explaining what their strike is about here.
The Associated Press reports ('In Philadelphia, Thousands of Transit Workers Strike' October 31, 2005) that 920,000 riders use the city's mass transit system on a typical weekday.
PHILADELPHIA — Thousands of city transit workers went on strike today just after midnight, leaving nearly half a million commuters in need of alternate transportation.
Buses, trolleys and subways operated by the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority will be idle. Commuter rails are expected to remain in service because their employees have a different union contract.
City preparations for the strike include setting up extra bicycle racks and allowing more parking. City schools, which don't provide bus service for high school students, plan to remain open but might reconsider if the strike is prolonged.
The last Philadelphia transit strike, in 1998, lasted 40 days.
Although negotiations went on most of the weekend, they broke off about midnight. Wages, work rules and healthcare have been the main issues in dispute.
No new talks were scheduled between the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority and Transport Workers Union Local 234, which represents about 5,000 employees, union spokesman Bob Bedard said.
The shutdown of the mass transit system poses a major mobility issue in a city where one in three households has no car.
On a typical weekday, 920,000 trips are taken on the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority lines shut down by the strike.