Philadelphia’s SEPTA strike ended on Monday, just in time for Tuesday voting.
The week-long strike that sidelined subways, trolleys, and buses ended after an agreement was reached between SEPTA and the Transportation Workers Union Local 234, said Philly.com.
The agreement on a five-year contract for 4,738 transit personnel is still pending a formal approval by SEPTA’s board and union members, but workers were returning to their jobs during the day on Monday and things are expected to be fully up and running by Tuesday.
“Tentative agreement reached. We are off strike,” TWU Local 234 announced on its website, per USA Today.
“We believe this agreement is fair to our employees, and to the fare-paying customers and taxpayers who fund SEPTA,” said agency Chairman Pat Deon, per USA Today. “It provides for wage increases, pension improvements, and maintains health care coverage levels while addressing rising costs.”
Before the deal was reached, the transit agency announced it would seek a court injunction that would force its employees to go back to work, saying that if they didn’t, the lack of public transportation would prevent some of the city’s residents from voting in Tuesday’s election.
“The City has a legal responsibility to ensure that Philadelphians can exercise their constitutional right to vote,” SEPTA said, per USA Today. “Though there are extensive efforts to minimize the effect of any transit strike on Election Day, unquestionably, such an Election-Day strike will make it practically impossible for many Philadelphians to participate in this election.”
The strike was not SEPTA’s first. According to Philly.com, SEPTA has had 12 strikes dating back to 1975 with the last one being in 2009, when the TWU left work for six days.