SEPTA, Striking Union Have No Talks Set

PHILADELPHIA - It was a surprise for commuters Tuesday as SEPTA hit the picket lines in the wee hours of the morning.

Workers walked off the job overnight, leaving thousands of regular riders scrambling to get to work.

Talks broke down at midnight, the strike began at 3 a.m., and at this point, no new negotiations are scheduled.

The union leadership, Transport Workers Union Local 234, has announced that a press conference will be held at 11 a.m. Wednesday.

Most SEPTA bus, trolley and subway services have been shut down. Regional Rail service is in operation, but SEPTA says some trains are overcrowded and experiencing up to 30-minute delays due to the city transit work stoppage. (See full list of affected services at the bottom of this report.)

Links: SEPTA.com | Train Delays | Traffic: Latest Conditions

Reactions: Mayor Nutter | Congressman Brady | Governor Rendell | SEPTA Riders

Strike Plans: SEPTA | Philly Schools | Philly Parking

Transport Workers Union Local 234 represents more than 5,000 bus drivers, subway and trolley operators and mechanics who have been working without a contract since March.

TWU negotiators agreed not to strike over the weekend, when the World Series was in town.

Union and SEPTA officials along with Gov. Ed Rendell -- who was trying to broker a deal -- all expressed optimism that they'd soon have a contract.

Sunday night talks were postponed. Then both sides returned to the table Monday for a marathon negotiating session that began around 10 a.m.

When those talks broke down, however, the union launched its pre-dawn strike.

Rendell and Mayor Michael Nutter called that decision irresponsible and outrageous.

Here's what was on the table: SEPTA was offering an 11.5-percent increase over five years. That included no raise in the first year, although workers would have received a $1,250 signing bonus.

Union members were not being asked to pay more for health care premiums, and they were going to get an increase in what's contributed to their pension.

General Manager Joseph Casey said, "For SEPTA management's purposes, we put a very competitive package on the table that includes very competitive wage increases over the period of the contract, for five years, maintains their health care benefits, and also improves their pension. For the life of me I can't believe that TWU walked away from that offer."

Those terms apparently weren't good enough for the union.

TWU President Willie Brown said, "We did the best we could. We tried our best to get a contract. We worked through the World Series. We've been working since March without a contract. And at some point in time we had to take a stand. … We can't allow SEPTA to hide behind the economy for not giving us a fair contract."

Rendell said this was a good contract and there was no reason for a strike. He said he offered $6 million in state economic development money to get the deal through.

The governor also said SEPTA was willing to put more on the table to prevent a strike.

"The union wanted more and they're not very realistic," Rendell said. "We're in the worst recession since the Great Depression. Nobody is getting good contracts. This is as good a contract as anyone is getting, and they basically turned it down and wouldn't even take it to their members for a vote, and now they're on a strike. That is going to make people just furious."

Tuesday morning on "Good Day Philadelphia," Nutter said SEPTA's offer was fair, considering the today's economic climate, and there was no good reason for the strike.

“Their salaries were proposed to go up. Their pension was to be increased. They have a pension fund that is 50 percent funded, similar to ours. So no reasonable, rationale person right now is thinking about a raise, is thinking about an increase in their pension when other members of the general public and other Americans are losing their jobs. Unemployment in Philadelphia just went over 11 percent. There is no reason for this. None."

Now, it looks like the two sides are farther apart than ever.

But Brown defended his union's work action, saying "I always worry about public opinion, but I'm elected by my members to stand up for them, and who I have to be first and foremost concerned about are my members. I have to get a fair deal. I hope the public understands this is a fight for working-class people."

Affected SEPTA Services

Shut down by the strike were the Broad Street and Broad-Ridge Spur subway lines as well as the Market-Frankford subways. All city transit buses, trolley and trackless trolley routes are not running. And all Frontier Division bus routes are also not operating.

Here are services not affected by the strike:

Regional Rail service is not affected by the strike. Victory buses are operating with modified routes into Philadelphia.

Also, the 101 and 102 trolleys and the Norristown High-Speed line are in service.

LUCY buses and ParaTransit CCT Connect buses are running.

Taxi companies have also added additional service throughout the city.

A notice on the transit agency's Web site early Tuesday morning read, "SEPTA is prepared with an alternate service plan for our customers, but asks for patience and understanding as some of our services become unavailable and others that are running may experience heavier than usual customer use."

Stay with Fox 29 News and MyFoxPhilly.com for more on this breaking news story.