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Wednesday, November 4, 2009
Want to know what caused SEPTA workers to go on strike? What kind of contract the union wants from management? Check out the video below. It's a short interview that I did with Willie Brown, who is the president of Transportation Workers Union Local 234. We discuss a number of topics, including the union perspective on the pension issue and how Brown gets to work in the morning.

Big thanks to Michele Tranquilli of the Daily News, who shot and edited the video.

More SEPTA strike coverage:


SEPTA: We didn't mess up the pension fund

How to prevent the next SEPTA strike

Union: Nutter 'cut out' of future talks

Nutter talks tough on SEPTA strike

How far we haven't come: looking back at the 2005 SEPTA strike

Does SEPTA really have the money?

Share your tips for surviving the strike

Review city services on our sister site, City Howl.
Posted by Dave Merrell @ 9:22 PM  Permalink | 36 comments
Comments   
Posted 09:55 PM, 11/04/2009
Gorras
Union thug. Bottom line.
Posted 09:55 PM, 11/04/2009
Taxpaying Voter
Could the reporter atleast dress professionally next time and ask some tough questions instead of spoon feeding rhetoric? He should have asked what if SEPTA fired all striking workers?
Posted 10:41 PM, 11/04/2009
wrf21769
Pension contributions? Most people are lucky to have a 401(k) with any kind of match. Pure greed and the members are a bunch of sheep.
Posted 10:53 PM, 11/04/2009
jnyfive
Everyone is looking for job security... too bad we all don't have a large city to throw under the bus... that isn't even running anymore.
Comment removed.
Posted 10:59 PM, 11/04/2009
TheMasu
I am VERY pro-labor. I support unions, I support Fair Trade merchandise. This guy is a jerk and he is extorting the Philadelphia people.
Posted 11:05 PM, 11/04/2009
Obama Gonna Git You Sucka
Jerk
Posted 11:05 PM, 11/04/2009
ResponsibleAmerican
This guy gives unions bad names...and he's not alone. Now wonder this country is crumbling because every business could be unionized if Liberals get their way.
Posted 11:17 PM, 11/04/2009
SAK10
A TWU union member pays 1% of their salary for health care. That's about $300 a year. I have to pay twice that a month for my health care. A TWU union member has a guaranteed pension. I have a 401k that I have to contribute money to. A TWU union member gets paid overtime when they have to work more than 40 hours. I wish I could cut down to 40 hours a week. FIRE THE STRIKERS. BREAK THE UNION. Wake up. It is the 21st century.
Posted 11:43 PM, 11/04/2009
phillyinATL
SO SAK, because you have it worse than the TWU worker, you want to knock them down to your level, instead of making your work situation live up to theirs... Nice.
Posted 11:45 PM, 11/04/2009
msvndy
There are plenty of people who need jobs. Fire these bums and hire them. Ungrateful jerks.
Posted 11:57 PM, 11/04/2009
arvcondor
Waxman's World Series shirt is hilarious.
Posted 12:12 AM, 11/05/2009
philly57
SAK is living in the real world PhillyinATL; that means, contributing 5-10, even 15% of your wages towards healthcare and 401k. and that's for the people lucky enough to have jobs. others are seeing pay freezes, increased contributions, and cuts in hours. and SETPA wants more. It's not SAK that has it worse than the TWU worker - it's 99% of the world. And these people didn't even go to college, they're not doctors, or teachers, or even cops or firefighters - they are bus drivers so why should they be above reality?
Posted 12:19 AM, 11/05/2009
ed28
YO SAK10. Federal law mandates overtime after 40 hours for non-exempt employees. If you know what you were talking about you wouldn't sound like an idiot. Bums? Ignorant SEPTA employees? Fire the strikers... for what? Hey, why not drive the routes that some SEPTA buses drive in some areas of the city at 2 in the morning. Then call them ignorant. Do you enjoy weekends off? Do you enjoy paid holidays? Vacation time? Thank the unions because the companies didn't do that out of the goodness of their hearts.
Posted 12:22 AM, 11/05/2009
delcoro
It's hilarious that you morons don't know you can't actually fire striking union members. But hey, keep ranting your idiocy on a newspaper story, whatever helps your feeble little minds get to sleep at night.
About It's Our Money
Every year, city government spends slightly more than $4 billion. Where does all that money come from? More importantly, where does it go? Are we getting the most bang for our tax buck? “It's Our Money” is a joint project between Philadelphia Daily News and WHYY, funded by the William Penn Foundation, designed to answer these questions.




EXCLUSIVE: UNION PRESIDENT SPEAKS OUT

STRIKE

It's Our Money's Ben Waxman interviews TWU Local 234 president Willie Brown on why he called the strike when he did, what it's like to be more hated than A-Rod, and what it will take the union to go back on the job. Click here to see the exclusive interview.




FOLLOW THE (LACK OF) MONEY

Our experts

Philadelphia’s five-year plan includes $300 million in service cuts. Which departments are seeing their budgets slashed, and what are the consequences? Our Follow the (lack of) Money series takes stock of the effects of the budget crisis. This week: Housing Trust Fund.



State and local budget news:


National budget news:



Ben Waxman reports and blogs for “It's Our Money.” Before joining “It's Our Money,” he was a regular contributor to the Philadelphia Daily News op-ed page and former contributor to the blog Young Philly Politics. He studied political science at Juniata College in Huntingdon, PA.




Doron Taussig is the Project Manager for “It's Our Money.” He is also a graduate student in communications at Temple University. Previously he worked as a Staff Writer and News Editor for the Philadelphia City Paper.





Dave Merrell is the Web Editor for "It's Our Money." He comes to the project from Philly.com, where he is a web producer. Originally from upstate New York, he moved to Philadelphia after graduating from Haverford College with a degree in math and economics.




Anthony Campisi reports and blogs for "It's Our Money." Originally hailing from Central Jersey, he came to Philadelphia while a student at the University of Pennsylvania, where he studied intellectual history. He also writes about transportation for PlanPhilly, an innovative urban planning website started by PennPraxis, the consulting arm of the Penn School of Design.



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