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KRISTON J. BETHEL / Staff photographer

SEPTA commuters packed themselves onto the Regional Rail lines running out of Suburban Station yesterday.

READER FEEDBACK

Pension $ seen as ticket to end SEPTA picket

By KITTY CAPARELLA
Philadelphia Daily News

caparek@phillynews.com 215-854-5880

NEGOTIATIONS between SEPTA and Transport Workers Union Local 234 could resume as early as today, possibly ending a strike that left hundreds of thousands of commuters without transportation to work and school.

Workers walked off the job at 3 a.m. yesterday, halting the city's subways, buses and trolleys after intensive negotiations involving Gov. Rendell, Mayor Nutter and U.S. Rep. Bob Brady fell apart over pension and other issues.

SEPTA attorney Brian Pedrow said that both sides were still "considerably far apart," but he would not elaborate.

Yesterday, Local 234 President Willie Brown said that the wage package was acceptable but that he was worried about the underfunded pension fund, funded only 52 percent. He said he believed that SEPTA had not contributed to it for 10 to 12 years.

Pedrow said that a pension valuation is performed annually and that "SEPTA funds what is required, no more, no less."

Brown said that he was willing to withdraw union requests from the 186-page labor contract but wanted SEPTA to "crunch the numbers" to evaluate costs before he would withdraw anything.

"We could wake up and our pension could be completely gone," he said. "We don't want to end up like AIG, " referring to the international insurance giant who got $173 billion since last fall in a U.S. government bailout.

Brown said that earlier this week he had been looking at costs in the labor package to see what he could pull off the table to close what he believed was a $16 million gap between union and SEPTA management proposals.

Brown said that he scaled back the union's request for three years of pension increases, saving what he believed was $9 million. And he withdrew the demand to increase the monthly disability payment to $750 from $500, which reduced the gap by another $1 million.

In health care, the union believed it could save $2.3 million by urging members to switch from a Personal Choice health plan to a less expensive HMO.

By then, he believed the gap was about $4 million, not much when considering SEPTA's budget is $1 billion, he said.

"Now was time for the razzle-dazzle of moving things around," he said. "But the closer we got to closing the gap of $16 million, they stopped talking to us."

During a 13-to-14-hour session, Pedrow said, "Time and time again, they'd ask us to rerun the numbers again and again, and then another set of numbers.

"We've been negotiating for a year," he added.

"We costed out everything they asked," he said, but then added, "SEPTA went as far as it would go."

Brown, who wanted a four-year contract, was then given a "take-it-or-leave-it" five-year contract by SEPTA.

The offer included a $1,250 payment in the first year, a 2.5 percent wage increase in the second year and 3 percent for the next three years. Employee contributions to the health-care plan remained the same.

Rendell said that the offer would have increased pension contributions to 11 percent over five years, but Brown disputed that figure.

Earlier, the governor agreed to provide $6 million in transportation economic development to help in the package.

Rendell and Nutter both missed Game 5 of the World Series to participate in negotiations, and then urged TWU leadership to take what they considered was a "sensational" contract.

"We wanted to break down little things to close the gap, but SEPTA refused," said Brown. "I thought we might be able to get it down to a two, three million-dollar gap."

"What difference will that make?" asked Nutter, according to Brown.

Brown said he believed that Nutter was there to keep a lid on negotiations, because the TWU contract would become the "boilerplate" for contracts with city unions.

Brown was also concerned about "picking rights" - the right of workers to choose which piece of equipment to operate based on seniority - and instances, he says, in which women mechanics and heavy-equipment operators were allegedly discriminated against.

Finally, Rendell told Brown: "Either accept the contract, or go on strike."

Brown walked out with other TWU negotiators.

"I shook hands with Rendell and told him how much I appreciated his contributions," said Brown. "I'm not mad with them."

A Rendell spokesman said that the governor "is communicating with the union and he expects to get together in the near future."

Before meeting with Brady for three hours yesterday, Brown said he was willing to return to talks but wants to resolve specific problems:

* Full disclosure about where the pension money is going, including having an a pension expert give independent evaluation.

Pedrow said that the union asks for pension improvements every contract, which draws down the funding and increases the pension liabilities.

* A timetable of how to get the underfunded pension back where it should be.

Pedrow said that two union members attending pension meetings are given copies of materials, which they can evaluate.

* An end to alleged discrimination against women in the maintenance division, such as working on heavy equipment, or fixing buses.

"If they come off the pension piece and the picking [rights] piece, we'll have a contract," Brown said.

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Comments

Posted 03:26 AM, 11/04/2009

West Philly Ph.D

Here, I suspect, is where the rubber truly meets the road. The newspapers have been focusing on the difference between the union's demand of a 4% pay increase per year and the bosses' offer of 11% over five years because that makes the best and simplest copy. It's hard for me to believe, though, that the unions are truly unbudgeable on their pay demand in this economy. Pension and work rules must be their bigger issues.

Posted 04:26 AM, 11/04/2009

dont-take-it-personal

I feel disgusted. The buses were running for the sake of the phillies. Now that's over, it won't run for the sake of working people. It's all politics. F the phillies and septa. No world series this year anyway. Go yankees.

Posted 04:47 AM, 11/04/2009

FJG JR

Good morning, I see where the Rhino made "Phildelphia" magazine's top 50 powerful people. Good thing it wasn't rated on looks. If she is so powerful, how come she needed Rendell, Brady, and Nutter to step in. Editors response wanted.

Posted 06:40 AM, 11/04/2009

union guy

FUNNY HOW IT WAS THAT THE CLOSER THEY GOT TO A SETTLEMENT THE MORE SEPTA REFUSED TO COOPERATE BY GIVING THE UNION THE INFO IT NEEDED TO COMPLETE A DEAL. AND WHY WAS NUTTER EVEN IN THE TALKS? HE DOESN'T EMPLOY ANY 234 MEMBERS. SOUNDS TO ME LIKE RENDELL AND NUTTER ARE TO BLAME FOR FORCING THIS STRIKE -- OH AND ALSO THE LAW FIRM (IN CASE NOBODY KNOWS, BRIAN PEDROW WORKS FOR BALLARD, SPAHR, THE ANTI-UNION LAW FIRM USED BY SEPTA AND THE CITY) THAT SEPTA USES AND LETS BILL THEM BY THE HOUR.

Posted 07:07 AM, 11/04/2009

pdpjp

Give me a break In this day and age they are offered a pay increase, a 1200.00 bonus just for signing, 11% increasein pension funding an an untouched medical plan... YET THE UNION TURNS THIS DOWN!?!?!? Here you have what amounts to a generous deal in a time when everyone is losing pay, benefits, jobs, etc and this Union is striking because they waant even more funding of the pension and the right for workers to pick what kind of equipment they are working on. Bravo folks, you have shown how selfish the Unions truly are and your lack of care in the reprecussions to the working person that depends on your services to suport their families. Your only concern was to not strike durin the World Series and that was because you were concerned with the image perception. You deserve no sympathy and are receiving none, I hope you wind up with less now ion the way that all the others are suffering in the loss of income and additional costs they have to incur by using other means to get to work. GET BACK TO WORK CRY-BABIES!

Posted 07:57 AM, 11/04/2009

silydia

Just think. If Septa gives the union what they want. We (the commuters) are going to see an increase in our fares. It is truly getting expensive to live in this city!

Posted 08:05 AM, 11/04/2009

DennisR

We need to have competition in the city for our transit needs other than rail lines. Maybe contract out the "el" and broad street subway to a private company.

Posted 08:16 AM, 11/04/2009

concerns25

Why aren't they all going to 401ks where the workers can control where their money is going and add to it with a match from Septa just like everyother company. Not everybody lost money in the 401ks, some of us made money because we knew when to pull back to bonds.

Posted 08:32 AM, 11/04/2009

fozziebear

I am torn. As much as I cannot stand taking the train (at least I have an option), I would like Septa management to stand firm and not give into the union. I want to see them all lose money, those greedy jerks!

Posted 08:43 AM, 11/04/2009

centercityphila

Unions aren't even needed this day and age. I say fire all the 5,500 workers and hire new ones. Its not that hard to drive a bus!!!! 10% unemployment means plenty of people need jobs. Lets give the jobs to people who appreciate them.

Posted 08:45 AM, 11/04/2009

captainranger

Who cares about SEPTA? I live in DC now! Go Metro!!!

Posted 08:49 AM, 11/04/2009

JustaGuy

UNIONS!!! What a waste in a post-industrialist, technology-driven society! Don't they understand that pensions are virtually non-existent to anyone who doesn't work for a union. Let's see how they fare when Rendell sub-contracts the Transit system to a private company. Give public transportation back to the public sector and let the Unions completely disband. See how the union members feel when they don't have a 50K job to go to every day.

Posted 08:56 AM, 11/04/2009

concerns25

Bring a class action lawsuit by the people against the Union and Septa. There must be an ACLU lawyer who will protect my rights to public transportation, my rights are being violated, they are using taxpayer dollars, I have a right to public transportation provided by these dollars.

Posted 08:57 AM, 11/04/2009

concerns25

Posted 09:21 AM, 11/04/2009

sjubrian

this hopefully is the beginning of the end of the union domination in this city, the unions have done this city more harm then good, money money money thats all the unions want. And when they are to blame in part for this city having no money what do the want? More money, I hope SEPTA treats TWU 234 like Regan treated the FAA tower controllers and fires them all. In this day and age when every working citizen is taking a cutback TWU should be no different. And just in case your wondering Mr. Brown the govt. bailed out AIG, like they would bail out septa, you should have signed the contract!