Open thread -- What do you think of the SEPTA union's demands? | Philly

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Tuesday, November 3, 2009

Open thread -- What do you think of the SEPTA union's demands?

This morning, Philadelphia woke up to a transit strike. Commuters are desperately seeking alternative ways to work, while trolleys, buses, and subways sit idle. In an article in today's Daily News, Kitty Caparella explains what separates the two parties at the bargaining table:

But to [SEPTA union chief] Brown, what derailed the talks was the underfunded pension plan and the right for employees to pick the equipment they work on based on seniority.

"SEPTA has looted our pension plan and we cannot stand for that," said Brown. "They have the money."
---
Rendell said that SEPTA offered a five-year contract with no raise in the first year, a 2.5 percent hike in the second year and 3 percent raises for each remaining year of the contract.

The offer also included a first-year $1,250 signing bonus and would increase payments to the pension from 5 percent to 11 percent, he said.

Union workers also would not have higher health-insurance payments.

What do you think? Is the union being reasonable? Should SEPTA management agree to these demands?

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Posted by Ben Waxman @ 9:25 AM Permalink | 18 comments

Comments

Posted 10:16 AM, 11/03/2009

Smedd

SEPTA union needs to see what is it like in the real world. They sound greedy

Posted 10:26 AM, 11/03/2009

sherrid65

with the economy the way it is, septa workers are still eating steak for dinner and others are not even havin meat on their plate. septa workers are greedy. they pay half to nothing for benefits, pension plan offered to give them 11 percent and what job you know got a raise this year..not many.. I know 5 people including myself who did not get a raise...

Posted 10:58 AM, 11/03/2009

ysheynkin

Few years ago in NYC been the same situation, but there Mair told to Union, that first of all they have to start work, after that they will start negotiate, if they stop again, Union will be in jail, and everybody who suport the strike will be fired. After 4-5 hours public transportation start work. Unfortunately we have no Mair like this.

Posted 11:24 AM, 11/03/2009

philly57

septa drivers and mechanics make more money than TEACHERS! and they contribute NOTHING towards their health insurance. and now they want MORE money?

Posted 11:42 AM, 11/03/2009

Fascinated

The people in this union are scum. I hope SEPTA waits out this strike till the members' families begin starving to death.

Posted 01:27 PM, 11/03/2009

CleanupPhilly

The average Septa employee's salary is $52,000 a year. The contract they just turned down guaranteed an 11% wage hike over five years. Imagine the philly.com folks turning down such an offer. Then add to that management offered to hold the increase in what they pay toward their health care. Then there were signing bonuses of something $1200 per for new employees. I'd love to hear what the reporters make who have college degrees and advanced degrees in many cases, but some of these guys would do much better to drive a bus for Septa. It's time to realize that Septa management and the pols need a spine. You can fire at will once negotiations are terminated. These negotiations are done. It's time to hire non-union, and terminate the more expensive employees at will, as the law allows. The unions have no right to penalize the most vulnerable -- the working class who have no cars, who are the ones suffering the most right now.

Posted 01:45 PM, 11/03/2009

johnklevas

Way to make the union demands seem more reasonable than they actually are, Ben. The union's demands ultimately come down to wages. Perhaps you should consult your own columnist within the Philly.com: http://www.philly.com/philly/news/breaking/20091103_SEPTA_workers_going_on_strike.html?submit=Vote&oid=2&mr=1&68836487=Y&cid=8500281&pid=68836487

Posted 05:10 PM, 11/03/2009

eileenconway

Sept does not think of Senior who rely on Sept to get them back and forth to work. They can't afford to drive or by cars. I personally had a dentist appointment in center city and had to cancel no buses. But the dentist is still charging the seniors for the dentist visit because they did not get 24 hour notice. We did not get 24 hours notice either, Eileen Conway dentist Dr. Dodd 1608 Walnut Street.

Posted 08:13 PM, 11/03/2009

mjeff

Septa is not the problem...LABOR UNIONS are! Are they fighting deplorable working conditions? Low wages? Odd that a democratic mayor and democratic governor are now critizing a labor union--aren't the democrats the biggest supporters of labor unions? And then when the outrageous salaries/pensions/health insurance unions demand for their unskilled workforce force the companies to close (GM, Chrysler)the union workers are whining they can't find jobs making what they made--doesn't this indicate that they were being OVERPAID?

Posted 12:31 PM, 11/04/2009

MB6

Good info from Pensions: The Next Casualty of Wall Street by Mark Brenner, http://labornotes.org/node/2466. "Even before the financial crisis, traditional pensions were a vanishing breed. Thirty years ago more than a third of the private sector workforce had traditional pensions. Last year that number was down to 16 percent. Driving the decline were employers looking to get off cheap, eliminating pensions entirely when they could get away with it, and when they couldn’t, shifting to 401(k)s.....Even before the crash, studies showed that 401(k)s leave workers with 10 to 33 percent of what traditional pensions provide. Given the 30-year squeeze on wages, most people haven’t saved much either, which explains why more than half of all 401(k) participants have less than $75,000 when they retire.....The situation for public sector workers isn’t much better. Although 80 percent of public employees have traditional pensions, those benefits are now in the cross-hairs of conservative and liberal politicians. Two-thirds of public sector pension plans are underfunded—to the tune of $430 billion—and state and local budget crises are pitting taxpayers against public employees from California to Maine....For nearly 20 years the various financial bubbles...papered over the urgent need to address the faltering retirement system...workers are on the same path as before the economic collapse, with a temporary reprieve. Employers will still seek to drive union workers down to non-union standards and dump more risk onto individuals. We need to return to the original vision of Social Security: a program that (like in Western European nations) can actually pay for most of your old-age living expenses."

Posted 08:44 PM, 11/04/2009

bruce1234

I'd fire every lasr one of those losers!!!!

Posted 06:02 AM, 11/05/2009

Mr. Bear

Why were Septa workers given the right to strike? This is a PUBLIC transportation system, funded by US. Binding arbitration is more than these jerks deserve.

Posted 01:17 PM, 11/05/2009

Philly_Guy

Paying only 1% towards their health care.... the real world is paying much more. they are so greedy and relying on the frustrations of riders to push towards a settlement. I hope SEPTA management does not cave in. Do not pay any of their medical bills while they are on strike. They want health benefits at the cost of 1%, let SEPTA buy them the cheapest policy they can find, and if the union members want better coverage, they can pay the difference themselves.

Posted 02:28 PM, 11/05/2009

phillyluvbug

Septa needs to fire the employees that's complaining and hire people who really need jobs and want to work!

Posted 03:07 PM, 11/05/2009

expatbird

If you paid me an average of $52,000/yr. and my job was to sit in a both for 6 hours and say 'no change' and press a button when someone gives you a transfer...I would think I could make any unreasonable demand I could think of. This is pathetic. Coming soon to the 6th largest American city....no public transportation.

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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.