Strike threat looms as 3 SEPTA unions seek new contracts

The largest union that represents SEPTA workers -- Transit Workers Union Local 234 -- has authorized a strike if a contract deal can't be reached by the end of October.

And, in a statement released Monday, TWU Local 234 President Brian Pollitt warned that talks -- that began this week -- are "going nowhere fast."

“The TWU bargaining team will continue to negotiate in good faith. However, the clock is ticking and if there is no agreement by midnight on October 31st our members gave us the green light to strike," Pollitt said in a statement.

Pollitt's statement included a number of issues that the union -- which says it represents 5,000 employees throughout SEPTA -- hope to have addressed.

These issues include improving recruitment and retention at the mass transit company -- the union claims that SEPTA has 800 unfilled positions -- along with claims that this shortage of staff has led to "forced overtime" for employees in the union. Currently, the union noted in a statement, that "operators can be forced to work on one of their days off every week."

"The heavy workload can leave workers fatigued, resulting in both a physical and psychological safety hazard. It also leads operators to call out sick in order to get rest, compounding the problem of filling open runs," the union claimed.

The union is also seeking wage increases along with seeking cost-of-living allowances.

“A job at SEPTA isn’t what it once was,” said Pollitt, in a statement. “Our people who have commercial drivers’ licenses can go to work driving a truck or delivery van and generally make more money without the pressures that come from dealing with unsafe conditions on the street and in the subway.”

The Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen, a union that represents about 160 train engineers at SEPTA, also authorized a strike vote.

This union claims pay for SEPTA's engineers and conductors "is about 20 percent below their nearest peers" and said that this has led to a staff shortage that has caused service disruptions.

"The compensation offered on this property is not competitive," BLET National President Eddie Hall said, in a statement. “The low wages have driven engineers away at a rapid pace, leading to severe manpower shortages.”

The BLET argued that it has been in negotiations with SEPTA since March of last year to negotiate a new contract.

Results of a strike vote for the engineers union is expected to be announced Nov. 20.

Then, there's the union that represents SEPTA's police force. This union -- the Fraternal Order of Transit Police Lodge 109 -- authorized a strike earlier this month after its contract expired in March.

In a statement to NBC10, union president Omari Bervine said that they have been negotiating with SEPTA ever since.

"We have been trying to negotiate a successor agreement for the past 6 months with very little traction; hence the strike vote," Bervine wrote.

The police union -- which represents nearly 200 members -- has not announced a date when it would strike, though Bervine told NBC10 "if talks have not progressed significantly from where they are currently by this time next month, then we will likely need to take action."

When contacted about strike threats, SEPTA spokesperson Andrew Busch said that the mass transit provider had an ongoing dialogue with union leaders and "this is a regular occurrence in the course of contract negotiations."

“Our goal is to reach an agreement on a new contract that is fair to SEPTA’s hard-working employees, while being fiscally responsible. SEPTA continues to push for additional funding from Harrisburg to avoid the upcoming fiscal cliff, but right now we cannot count on it," Busch said in a statement. "SEPTA’s management wants many of the same things the union wants – fair compensation for employees, a safe working environment, and for SEPTA to continue to be an organization that prioritizes employee wellbeing.”

Busch argued that there "has been progress" in negotiations with TWU Local 234 and that SEPTA's negotiating team will be available to work around the clock.

TWU Local 234 has said that another negotiation talk with SEPTA representatives is scheduled to he held on Friday.