Rendell blames union for talks failure
A tentative agreement to end the transit strike by SEPTA workers collapsed, Gov. Rendell said early Saturday evening. Rendell blamed union leadership for the breakdown and demanded that union members be allowed to vote directly on the proposed contact, or he vowed to take back nearly $7 million in state funds offered as a contract incentive.
There was no immediate response from from Transit Workers Local 234.
In a press conference this evening, Rendell, flanked by Mayor Nutter, SEPTA'S chairman Pat Deon and other SEPTA officials, said he will no longer act as an intermediary in the negotiations.
"I'm out, Rendell said emphatically. "I have a state to run."
Rendell called the failure to reach an agreement "nuts," and said that "he had never seen anything like it in 32 years of government."
Rendell said the unon had made new demands Saturday after a handshake agreement yesterday with U.S. Rep. Bob Brady (D, Pa.). The new demands included an independent audit of the SEPTA pension plan and a clause revisiting the health-care provision if Congress approves a better national health care plan.
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Contact staff writer Paul Nussbaum at 215-854-4587 or pnussbaum@phillynews.com.
