Strike Averted! SEPTA & Workers Union Reach Agreement in Philadelphia

A strike has been averted that would have caused gridlock and chaos in the Philadelphia region.

The Transport Workers Union Local 234 and SEPTA reached a tentative agreement for a new two-year contract on Monday. The news was confirmed early Monday afternoon by multiple outlets including NBC 10 Philadelphia.

SEPTA'S Largest Union Working Without a Contract

The union had been working without a contract since November, but negotiations had continued on since then.

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We were told that negotiations were stalled late last week. That's when representatives for TWU 234 revealed that negotiations weren't moving forward. At the time they said that workers could walk off the job at any time. A strike seemed imminent heading to the weekend.

The union represents the largest group of SEPTA employees — including 5,000 bus, subway, trolley operators, mechanics, cashiers, maintenance people, and more.

Governor Josh Shapiro Helps SEPTA & Union Reach Agreement

Pennsylvania's Governor Josh Shapiro helped break the impasse, reports say.

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In fact, they say that Shapiro's team with both sides and enabled them to make progress. At the time it seemed like they were stalled on agreements over workers' pensions and healthcare contributions from SEPTA.

Inside the New SEPTA Union Agreement

The agreement reached today is a tentative two-year contract. It includes a 3.5% wage increase each year and increases in pension benefits. Plus, they'll receive night differential pay. Some of the changes will include increased health benefits for new employees. They will now see their vision and dental benefits start after 90 days instead of after 15 months of employment under the agreement.

"I am very pleased that we were able to settle without a strike. Our members had worked without a contract for the past month. Patience was growing thin and management seemed unhurried," TWU Local 234 President Will Vera said in a statement.

Vera credited the governor with assisting to mediate a conversation in Philadelphia last night.

"The governor and his people got key people from both sides in the same room last night, stopped the run-around, got promises from both sides and we reached a deal. Without the Governor's intervention, we would have been on strike this morning."