Nutter Calls Strike 'Ambush' On City

PHILADELPHIA - Mayor Michael Nutter is not pulling any punches over the sudden, crippling strike by SEPTA's largest transit union, calling it "despicable" and an "ambush" on city commuters.

Transport Workers Union Local 234 went on strike early Tuesday morning over wage, pension and health care issues, stalling the city's bus, subway and trolley operations and forcing thousands of commuters to find other ways to get to work -- and to Election Day polls.

"It was quite a despicable act, quite frankly. This was an ambush on the citizens of this city and the riding public," Mayor Nutter told Fox 29 News. "To call a strike at 3 o' clock in the morning, many Philadelphians, of course, whether they watched the great Phillies win or not, went to bed [Monday] night, anticipating that they'd wake up and be able to use mass transit. Others went to work on the late shift using SEPTA and, literally, were stranded later on during the course of their work night."

"And so, it's been disruptive, it is inappropriate," continued Nutter. "There was a fair, good, reasonable offer on the table last night as Governor Rendell and I were negotiating between the parties, SEPTA management and the TWU leadership. Congressman Brady was in touch, State Rep. Dwight Evans was in touch. All of us working toward one goal which was to reach a fair, reasonable contract. That offer was rejected. None of us, quite frankly, can figure out why. But we now see the end result which is disruption to the election today, to the working public...This is a big loser all the way around for the citizens and the riding public."

SEPTA averages more than 928,000 trips each weekday. No new negotiations were scheduled Tuesday.

TWU has announced a press conference will be held at 11 a.m. Wednesday.

Union workers, who earn an average of $52,000 a year, are seeking an annual 4 percent wage hike and want to keep the current 1 percent contribution they make toward the cost of their health care coverage. They have been without a contract since March.

SEPTA was offering an 11.5 percent wage increase over five years, with a $1,250 signing bonus in the first year, and increases in workers' pensions, SEPTA spokesman Richard Maloney said.

"We're very anxious to get back to the bargaining table, ASAP," Maloney said. "We haven't heard back from them."

Gov. Ed Rendell, who helped mediate negotiations for the past four days, was stunned when the union walked out on a proposed deal that included an 11.5 percent wage increase over five years.

Given the recession, layoffs and salary freezes in other sectors, Rendell said SEPTA's offer was "sensational."

"It's just an excellent contract in the context of the times," he said. "It was, in my judgment, nuts to walk out. I think the SEPTA workers would have jumped at this."

Nutter called the union's rejection of the deal "unreasonable."

"People have lost their jobs, they've lost their pensions, they've lost their health care, and most are just happy to have a job," believes Nutter. "And no one is really thinking about trying to get an increase in salary at a time when Philadelphia’s unemployment rate has now topped 11 percent unemployment. And so, this is totally unreasonable. The TWU workers, I'm encouraging the leaders, get back to the negotiating table, get this done. The critical decision here that the TWU has to make is, you're either gonna continue to inconvenience the riding public or you're gonna go back to negotiations and get a contract. And I'm strongly encouraging, get back to the negotiating table and get this wrapped up."

As recently as Monday evening, union officials had given no walkout deadline as talks continued. So early morning commuters on Tuesday were bewildered and frustrated by locked subway stations and vacant bus stops.

"Everybody hates SEPTA, and this is why," said Ranisha Allen, who said she had no option but to count on the kindness of car-owning neighbors to get her to work from her north Philadelphia home. "These people go on strike and they don't think about people they hurt, people who can't get to work, kids who can't get to school."

Willie Brown, the TWU Local 234 president, said workers decided to strike at 3 a.m. Tuesday after both sides agreed that they had gone as far as they could in negotiations.

Philadelphia did avoid a black eye over the weekend after the union, which represents more than 5,000 SEPTA drivers, operators and mechanics, held off on its threat to strike while the city hosted three World Series games. The subway ferries thousands of fans to the baseball stadium.

But coming as it did on Election Day, there were complaints that voters scrambling to find alternate transportation would be left with no time to cast ballots. A judge turned down a request to keep polls open an hour later.

Wednesday will be another test as the Philadelphia public schools, which were closed for Election Day, reopen. On an average weekday, about 54,000 public and parochial students take SEPTA to school.

"Our expectations are for students and employees to do their best to come to school," district spokesman Fernando Gallard said. "We're just hoping for the best here."

The strike also affects buses that serve the suburbs in Bucks, Montgomery and Chester counties. Regional rail service is still operating, but trains were delayed as they experienced larger-than-normal crowds.

Around 7 p.m. Tuesday, passengers at Suburban Station, the city's downtown commuter rail station, were still queued up in long, snaking lines that spilled beyond the concourse into the access hallways.

A 2005 SEPTA strike lasted seven days, while a 1998 transit strike lasted for 40 days.

Frank Brinkman, a union member who does electronic work on an elevated SEPTA train, was out on the picket line early Tuesday. He said he was concerned about pension issues and changes to work rules.

He said that the union didn't want to strike, but that SEPTA gave it no choice.

"We don't want to see anybody suffer," he said. "We have to stand up for our rights."