Raises in next checks for some SEPTA workers

SEPTA Regional Rail electrical workers, who approved a new contract with the transit agency late last month, will begin receiving their new, higher pay in checks that will be issued Friday.

The 215 workers, members of IBEW Local 744, each received a $1,250 "signing bonus" on Aug. 29, following union ratification on Aug. 25 and approval by SEPTA board Chairman Pasquale "Pat" Deon Sr. on Aug. 26.

The electrical workers, who had been without a new contract since 2009, will get an 11.5 percent raise, or about $3 an hour to $29.50 an hour, on average.

Despite the pact, the possibility of a SEPTA strike remains, as long-running negotiations with locomotive engineers and bus drivers, subway operators and mechanics continue.

- Paul Nussbaum