SEPTA Union Votes Unanimously to Authorize Strike
Here’s the scary news for travelers: TWU 234, the union that represents most of SEPTA’s workforce, has voted to authorize a strike.
The better news: It won’t happen quite yet.
The union released a news release on Sunday afternoon: “Members of TWU Local 234 turned out in large numbers for a union meeting in Philadelphia today, with at least 1,500 in attendance. Members voted unanimously to authorize union leadership to call a strike at SEPTA if necessary.” TWU president Willie Brown will hold a press conference on negotiations at 4 p.m. Monday.
The Inquirer reports the strike could come soon — or as late as 2015.
The voting took place in a Columbus Boulevard hall packed with hundreds of SEPTA union members.
“There wasn’t a nay in the room,” said Willie Brown, president of Transport Workers Union Local 234. “Members don’t want to strike, but they are willing to fight for what we need.”
SEPTA officials say they’re willing to keep negotiating. The union’s contract expired in March. TWU 4,700 bus drivers, subway and trolley operators, and maintenance workers at the transit agency.
