Strike - TWU - November 1st 2016

Now that Regional Rail is getting back on its feet from the equipment shortage, it seems like the next uppercut to the service will be the possibility of a city transit strike in 31 more days.

Any word on how the 2 sides are doing in contract negotiations?

Go to 234's website and read their "On The Move" newsletter. Sounds like the typical benefits and pension fight. The "fat cat" Healthcare Companies are dong great if you look at their CEO pay, as workers of all kinds, blue and white collar, keep paying more and more. But it's the "greedy" Unions fault.

http://www.phillytrib.com/news/willie-b ... 09dbd.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

H/L - Willie Brown wins re-election for TWU Local 234 President (Date: Oct 3, 2016)

Oh, right...I forgot about this election...

But yeah, good ol' Willie Brown is at the top post for whatever the impending bargaining talks will appear to be. They kicked the can down the curb two years ago, but I think we all remember 2009's week-long strike and the one before that 2005. Yeah...I dunno...

So the TWU won't budge on their demands on increasing pension benefits, freezing their healthcare contributions, AND they want a raise.....what exactly did they "negotiate" for with SEPTA? Sounds like TWU simply laid out a list of demands.

Good luck getting sympathy for a strike in a city that has a lot of people in deep poverty that depend on SEPTA to get to work, and get their kids to school because they can't afford a car. And good luck getting sympathy from the rest of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania while we have double digit unemployment.

Either you take a wage increase, or increase benefits....but you can't demand both. Those are high operating costs that ultimately get passed down to the ridership and taxpayers......the very people that buy train tickets and bus tokens to provide the revenue that becomes the very paychecks for the people who want to shut down the city with a strike.

Honestly, if you drive a bus (and I'm not saying its a safe working environment) how much do you expect to be paid? And on top if that...you get paid TO NOT COME TO WORK when you retire and collect a pension. So they want MORE money to drive a bus, AND more money when they retire, AND not contribute any more towards health insurance costs? AND they don't want any cashiers laid off when SEPTA Key makes their jobs obsolete? Is that about the jist of the TWU's stance?

Potential start date of November 1st that could last through election day...

http://planphilly.com/articles/2016/10/ ... ection-day" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

That article says that a strike would stop everything but regional rail. Isn't Victory depot (its buses, trolleys, and the NHSL) a different union? I thought their routes kept running in 09.

Philly seems to be getting worse and worse with the traffic congestion...almost as bad as, if not worse than driving in New York City. I'm an Uber driver, and although a strike would likely be a huge benefit for those who drive for Uber and Lyft, I imagine many drivers will be avoiding the city like the plague during a strike.

The UTU Local 1594 (Victory/Red Arrpw Division) contract I think is now pretty much in lockstep with the TWU 234 one. Besides, I think more often than not, with the way things have been going on lately, I suspect UTU 1594 may just figure out a way to do a solidarity strike. We'll see...

Going on strike during a presidential election is a smart move.

The race is still close between Hillary and Donald. They need every vote they can get in the battleground states. I'm sure there will be crushing pressure on SEPTA's politically appointed board of directors to settle the strike before election day, wether SEPTA can afford to pay the TWU's demands or not. Once everyone gets elected, who cares if there is a fare hike. Nobody will remember how the riding public got played politically by the next election.

The TWU is very good at timing strikes to twist SEPTA's arm to meet their demands.

Remember the TWU strike when the Phillies won the world series, and nobody could get into or out of the city for the big parade?

Unfortunately, none of the local news channels are concened with the facts and how politics will affect a possible SEPTA strike. They are too busy reporting on how many women accused Donald Trump of groping them 40 years ago, or what Wiki Leaks is reporting about Hillary's emails or "charitable foundations".

NorthPennLimited wrote:Remember the TWU strike when the Phillies won the world series, and nobody could get into or out of the city for the big parade?

234 did NOT strike after the Phillies won the World Series. They did, however, strike after the Phillies lost the World Series to the Yankees in 2009.

Must be a slow news week just west of the Schuylkill River in Philly, but yeah, I suppose the silence from 1234 Market really is deafening...

http://www.thedp.com/article/2016/10/se ... r-deadline" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

More from the Inky too:
http://www.philly.com/philly/business/N ... nears.html

SEPTA has posted the "Service Interruption Guide."

http://www.septa.org/service/interrupti ... guide.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

... which assumes workers on either or both suburban divisions don't decide to stage, uh, "sympathy actions".

AFAIK very little's been said about that possibility. Anyone have more info?

Looks pretty imminent now. Guess I will have to get a Zone 3 weekly pass and slog it out on regional rail instead of my usual NHSL/MFL combo since only the NHSL is supposed to continue running.