Will the force be with us?

By Ben Waxman

June 12, 2008 - SEPTA Police could go on strike as early as 2 p.m. this afternoon if they don’t reach settlement with management. Members of the Fraternal Order of Transit Police have been working without a contract for nearly three years. The Philadelphia Police Department and SEPTA are drawing up contingency plans if a strike occurs. Transit police are responsible for patrolling more than 100 stations along the Broad Street, Market-Frankford and Regional Rail lines.

Economic issues are the main sticking point between management and the union. Wages and benefits for transit police have been frozen since 2005. FOTP wants pay parity with the starting and maximum salaries of officers in Philadelphia Police Department, which would amount to pay increase of 25% and 13%. SEPTA management has offered a 3% increase, and has proposed requiring union members to contribute 1% of their salary toward health-care coverage. The chart at right compares the pay of SEPTA transit police with other law-enforcement officials in Philadelphia.

Another issue has been exactly how the contract is negotiated. Unlike Philadelphia police officers, transit cops are allowed to strike. The union has offered to give up that right and submit to a process called binding arbitration, where a neutral party hears both sides and issue a ruling that SEPTA and the union would have to follow. SEPTA has rejected this proposal, citing the fact they already submitted to fact-finding by a state labor negotiator.

Tell us what you think about contract negotiations. Does the possibility of a strike make you less likely to ride SEPTA? Visit "It's Our Money" (www.ourmoneyphilly.com) and tell us what you think.

Compare the wages and benefits of Phildelphia's various law enforcement officers. 

Click on the photo for a full-sized version.

Ben Waxman reports on budget issues for "It's Our Money", a joint project between the Philadelphia Daily News and the WHYY, funded by the William Penn Foundation. To contact Ben with your thoughts on SEPTA, Transit Police, or any other taxpayer funded issues, email him at waxmanb (at) phillynews.com.

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