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Court rules against SEPTA outsourcing of maintenance work

A Common Pleas Court judge ruled Friday that SEPTA may not outsource maintenance work on Market-Frankford El cars pending further discussions between the transit agency and a union.Transport Workers Union Local 234, representing maintenance workers, had argued SEPTA was wrongfully taking work from TWU members by paying $13 million to Bombardier Mass Transit Corp. of Plattsburgh, N.Y., to overhaul 176 wheel-assembly units for the cars. The maintenance of those subway "trucks," which include wheels, gearboxes, and motors, is normally done by SEPTA workers. SEPTA said it would save time and money by paying Bombardier to overhaul the equipment as part of a bigger repair job on the frames of all of the approximately 450 Market-Frankford units.

    by By Paul Nussbaum<br/>INQUIRER STAFF WRITER<br/>
    Published 

A Common Pleas Court judge ruled Friday that SEPTA may not outsource maintenance work on Market-Frankford El cars pending further discussions between the transit agency and a union.

Transport Workers Union Local 234, representing maintenance workers, had argued SEPTA was wrongfully taking work from TWU members by paying $13 million to Bombardier Mass Transit Corp. of Plattsburgh, N.Y., to overhaul 176 wheel-assembly units for the cars. The maintenance of those subway "trucks," which include wheels, gearboxes, and motors, is normally done by SEPTA workers.

SEPTA said it would save time and money by paying Bombardier to overhaul the equipment as part of a bigger repair job on the frames of all of the approximately 450 Market-Frankford units.

Cracks were discovered in 2009 and 2010 in several frames of the Market-Frankford subway trucks, and SEPTA requested Bombardier, owner of the manufacturer of the subway cars, to make structural repairs to all Market-Frankford units at no charge.

After lengthy negotiations, Bombardier agreed to make the repairs, and to include the maintenance overhaul of 176 of the units for $13 million. The rest of the units already had been overhauled by SEPTA workers.

On Friday, Common Pleas Court Judge Idee Fox ordered SEPTA and the union to meet at least three times between June 25 and Aug. 10 to seek agreement on the outsourcing issue. Attorneys for both sides are to return to Fox's court Aug. 10; in the meantime, the two sides agreed to keep the maintenance work where it is.