For commuters already struggling with recession, Philly transit strike is a tough sell

Philly transit strike a tough sell in down economy

PHILADELPHIA — Even in the best of times, waking up to a surprise transit strike is like a bad dream come true. When the sudden walkout comes during an economic downturn, it becomes more like a public relations nightmare.

The Philadelphia transit system’s largest union went on strike early Tuesday over wage, pension and health care issues, stalling the city’s bus, subway and trolley operations and forcing thousands of commuters to find other ways to get to work — and to Election Day polls.

“I think they have a lot of nerve to ask for more money in this economy,” said Robert Washington, of west Philadelphia, who relied on his bicycle to get to his office job downtown. “There are people who don’t have jobs who would love to have one of their jobs. It’s arrogant.”

The sudden strike by Transport Workers Union Local 234 all but crippled the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority, which averages more than 928,000 trips each weekday. No new negotiations were scheduled Tuesday.

Labor experts agree that a walkout over wages in a down economy is a hard sell. Striking transit workers may have a tough time earning the sympathy of passengers who are losing their own jobs and taking salary cuts, said Harley Shaiken, a labor studies professor at the University of California-Berkeley.

“For public employees during a tough recession, it’s more difficult, but not impossible, to gain broader support,” Shaiken said. “The key is convincing people that your victory benefits them rather than comes at their expense.”

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.”

Several messages left with the union by The Associated Press seeking further comment on the negotiations were not returned Tuesday.

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.”

Willie Brown, the local’s president, said workers decided to strike at 3 a.m. Tuesday after both sides agreed that they had gone as far as they could in negotiations.

Generally speaking, management can afford to be tougher in an economic downturn in part because more labor is available, said Robert Trumble, director of the Virginia Labor Studies Center at Virginia Commonwealth University.

At the same time, he said, workers are more determined to hang on to what they have and tend to look more critically at things like income distribution.

Philadelphia did avoid a black eye over the weekend after the union, which represents more than 5,000 SEPTA drivers, operators and mechanics, held off on its threat to strike while the city hosted three World Series games. The subway ferries thousands of fans to the baseball stadium.

But coming as it did on Election Day, there were complaints that voters scrambling to find alternate transportation would be left with no time to cast ballots. A judge turned down a request to keep polls open an hour later.

Wednesday will be another test as the Philadelphia public schools, which were closed for Election Day, reopen. On an average weekday, about 54,000 public and parochial students take SEPTA to school.

“Our expectations are for students and employees to do their best to come to school,” district spokesman Fernando Gallard said. “We’re just hoping for the best here.”

The strike also affects buses that serve the suburbs in Bucks, Montgomery and Chester counties. Regional rail service is still operating, but trains were delayed as they experienced larger-than-normal crowds.

Around 7 p.m. Tuesday, passengers at Suburban Station, the city’s downtown commuter rail station, were still queued up in long, snaking lines that spilled beyond the concourse into the access hallways.

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.”

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.”

Associated Press writers Sam Hananel in Washington and JoAnn Loviglio and Patrick Walters in Philadelphia contributed to this report.