SEPTA Union Head Calls Out Nutter

PHILADELPHIA - It’s war between Transport Workers Union leader Willie Brown and Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter, after Brown calls out Nutter in public.

Video: Striking SEPTA Union's News Conference

Brown made a brief statement at what was billed as a union press conference on Wednesday, even though Brown was not taking questions.

Brown squarely blamed Nutter for the current SEPTA union strike and said he will not negotiate with Nutter at the bargaining table.

"As far as the strike is concerned, Mayor Nutter – even though I may not respect the man, but I respect his position – "Little Caesar," as I like to call him, stood up in front of everybody and told around the public that a strike was off the table. What he did was he hogged the microphone. You never heard me say, or even Gov. Rendell say, that a strike was off the table. We said we were negotiating to try to get a contract,” Brown said.

Brown said he "greatly appreciated (Gov. Ed Rendell's) participation in the negotiations," saying he "has brought some money to the table."

"But when it comes to Michael Nutter, who's brought nothing to the table, nothing at all, other than dissension, we are supposed to meet the governor tomorrow or this afternoon, one of the two. Who I won't meet with is Michael Nutter. I will not meet with him. He has, in my opinion, destroyed any good faith we had to try and negotiate a contract, and he's cut out."

Brown also said the key issue on the table is the union’s pension fund.

Mayor Nutter has responded to Brown's comments, telling Fox 29 that, "What I care about is this city. I was asked to participate in the contract negotiations...All of this other conversation rhetoric and the fingerpointing which I'm not gonna get in to is necessary and serves no purpose."

On Tuesday, an irate Nutter took Brown and union leaders to task for calling a strike with little notice on Election Day.

On Fox 29 News at 5, Nutter called the union action "despicable" and an "ambush" on city commuters.

"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."

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

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."

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."

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."