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Should SEPTA workers be allowed to strike?

SEPTA strike riles Harrisburg lawmakers

By Jennifer Lin

Inquirer Staff Writer

The day after SEPTA employees returned to work, a morning meeting of House Republicans in Harrisburg was dominated by one issue: how to prevent another strike.

Rep. Kate Harper, (R., Montgomery) called the strike "outrageous" and told her colleagues in the Republican caucus that she would push for legislation to outlaw transit strikes in Philadelphia.

"This is a perfect example of why we need to take away the right to strike," Harper said in a phone interview after the Tuesday meeting.

"They shouldn't be able to call a strike at 3 in the morning and leave stranded all those nurses working on the overnight shift who couldn't get home," she said.

Forty states do not permit public employees to strike. Pennsylvania is among the 10 that allow certain groups, among them transit workers, said Marick Masters, a labor expert at Wayne State University in Detroit.

Pennsylvania outlaws strikes for some essential public employees, including police, firefighters, court employees, and guards at prisons and mental hospitals. But overall, the state has one of the most lenient collective-bargaining laws for allowing strikes in the public sector, Masters said.

And that, he added, won't be easily changed, given the state's strong union presence.

After the SEPTA strike, "there's going to be the usual public stir and outcry," Masters said. But for the law to be rewritten, "the political dynamics in Pennsylvania would have to change an awful lot."

In 1970, Pennsylvania legislators gave all public-sector employees - from teachers to city clerks - the right to organize and bargain over wages, hours, and other conditions of employment.

Municipal workers in Philadelphia have been unionized since the 1930s, but collective bargaining did not take hold nationally in the public sector until the 1960s and 1970s. Only 14 states have no bargaining rights for public employees, according to AFL-CIO statistics.

Pennsylvania's law "gave us the right to withhold our labor," said Bill George, president of the AFL-CIO in Pennsylvania. "No way do I give that up."

But the six-day SEPTA strike has left a sour taste for many in Harrisburg.

Though some lawmakers are calling for a ban on transit strikes, others are angry that Gov. Rendell committed economic-development money to cover signing bonuses for SEPTA workers. They question how the governor found millions tucked in the cushions of the state budget to pay off strikers while he was laying off state employees for lack of money.

"There's more anger about the governor walking down there with $7 million in economic-development money," said Rep. Michael Vereb (R., Montgomery). "People are frustrated that $7 million was handed over to resolve a strike."

Some states have broad bans on strikes by public workers. New York punishes public-sector workers who walk off the job with the threat of fines and jail time. For an illegal 2005 strike in New York City, the head of the Transport Workers Union local served four days in jail and the union was fined $1 million a day.

Harper, who chairs the House subcommittee on public transportation, would put Pennsylvania's transit workers in the same category as police and firefighters. She said the services they provide are "absolutely essential" and should not be interrupted.

Harper said she would dust off one of the bills from previous attempts to curb the rights of public transit workers to strike.

But Sen. Larry Farnese (D., Phila.) said the legislature would be going down a slippery slope if it started paring back workers' rights.

"The right to strike is sacred," Farnese said. "To talk about taking away that is a very, very dangerous proposition. What will then happen is we'll start moving right down the line. Who's next? Teachers?"

Matthew J. Brouillette, president of the conservative Commonwealth Foundation in Harrisburg, proposes just that.

"We need an all-encompassing law for all public employees that applies across the board," Brouillette said. "There should be punishment when public employees go on strike when serving in the capacity of a monopoly service and people don't have alternatives."

As disruptive as the SEPTA strike was, there is no groundswell for change, said Rep. Joseph Markosek, a Democrat from the Pittsburgh area who heads the House Transportation Committee.

"It hasn't been on the radar screen with our committee," he said.

"The right to strike goes back many years and is part of labor-management procedure," Markosek added. "Whether that should be changed - or could be changed - would be subject to a huge and great debate."

Contact staff writer Jennifer Lin at 215-854-5659 or jlin@phillynews.com.

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Comments

Posted 06:05 AM, 11/12/2009

FrankMar

Read - "in the pockets of organized labor". So, what else is new?

Posted 06:17 AM, 11/12/2009

cboath

Possible to do, but not against Philadelphia only. Any law would have to all transit workers throughout the state. Otherwise it'll violate the 14th amendment.

Posted 06:23 AM, 11/12/2009

tom-104

When are they going to hold hearings for sanctions against state legislatures that don't pass budgets on time!

Posted 06:29 AM, 11/12/2009

jacksplat

Wonder how all of the laid off employees feel, now that Fast Eddie gave away $7 million to Philly? I can tell you that a large number of citizens of the state are very upset.

Posted 06:29 AM, 11/12/2009

jacksplat

Wonder how all of the laid off employees feel, now that Fast Eddie gave away $7 million to Philly? I can tell you that a large number of citizens of the state are very upset.

Posted 06:35 AM, 11/12/2009

jzgirl

It would be nice if the legislature did it's job for a change. Can we say BUDGET???

Posted 07:07 AM, 11/12/2009

union guy

Those Republicans really hate it when a union stands up for its members and wins, don't they?

Comment removed.

Posted 07:58 AM, 11/12/2009

SilverCTS

Unions are bad for America.

Posted 08:02 AM, 11/12/2009

concerns25

Pennsylvania Democrats expecially in Philadelphia are too corrupt to allow this to pass. It would be the right thing to do so the Governors cannot pillage other funds to give to Philadelphia's unions. Maybe we should vote the Democrats out of office especially in Phila and we could get things done. To hold a whole city hostage and pillage the State funds is wrong. If New York and other cities can make it illegal for transit to strike like police and fire then a State/City owned agency should be allowed to stop the strikes as well. Corruption and vote getting is the problem not the taxpayers will.

Posted 08:04 AM, 11/12/2009

concerns25

$7 million from economic development that would have provided jobs throughout the State, Rendell was wrong, fortunately he cannot run again. As for Farnese he just wants to get re-elected and be a Fumo.

Posted 08:19 AM, 11/12/2009

psyrus

Now is the time to act. Public employees should not be permitted to strike state-wide. The SEPTA union's latest strike is a perfect example as to the reason why. Its not just Republicans who hate the unions. I think this latest act of greed has turned lots of people against them.

Posted 08:21 AM, 11/12/2009

pal

Republican ideology = Billionaire Gas Drillers in PA Must Not Be Taxed!! but a Septa worker getting a 2.5% raise = outrageous???? Huh?

Posted 08:26 AM, 11/12/2009

bag853

Psyrus - you're absolutely correct, it's not just republican who dislike unions, everyone who was affected by the strike in this city hates them now. But these people will continue to vote in the democrats who are absolutely CONTROLLED by the unions. If they try to take power away from the unions then they will not be re-elected and that's why the cycle continues and will continue throughout all of our lifetimes'. People of this city and state - try some change for once...just try it. I vited democrat in the latest presidential election because I wanted some serious change. I now regret that vote but at least I gave change a chance.

Posted 08:30 AM, 11/12/2009

bag853

pal - choose your poison: gas drillers not being taxed = potential lower prices at the pump, or Union Power = everyone loses except the small number of thieves in the unions. Bottom line is, the state panders to the most powerful groups in the state and the rest of us lose. Try some change in this city and state for once...it's all getting pretty old.