SEPTA Union Asks For Binding Arbitration

If SEPTA declines the offer then, according to Transport Workers Union Local 234 president Willie Brown, "we're in for a long strike." the strike currently affects buses, subways and trolleys, though not Regional Rail trains, whose operators have their own contract.

Worse for SEPTA, during the week of overcrowded regional rail trains, one of them caught fire.

The suggestion on binding arbitration was made by city council members Bill Green and Curtis Jones. If SEPTA agrees to the proposal, the union will end its walk-out. Right now the contentious issues still at stake are wages and pensions. SEPTA did not have an immediate response to the proposal.

The SEPTA strike has proven unpopular among citizens, some of whom see the strike as affecting lower income people more than those who can afford regional rail. SEPTA has also stated that in this time of recession, the union must make more concessions.

Hopes for a quick resolution to the strike dwindled further on Saturday, as neither Rendell nor U.S. Rep. Bob Brady were able to broker a settlement. The only bright spot is that people seem to have made adjustments, and the chaos that began on Tuesday morning at 3AM when the union suddenly struck, seems to have dissipated.