Today's Delaware County Daily Times features an editorial on a threatened Red Arrow strike, which could happen on Thursday if an agreement between SEPTA and UTU 1594 is not reached. The odds of avoiding a strike appear slimmer and slimmer with each passing day.
According to some sources within Red Arrow, SEPTA is offering a three-year deal to the union, along with the same health-care proposal offered to (and rejected by) TWU 234. The report is that the SEPTA representative essentially said that if UTU "thinks they're getting the same deal as the city, they're dreaming, cause it ain't happening."
In addition, SEPTA is proposing eliminating the uniform allowance, which was reportedly not offered to TWU 234 during their negotiations. A lot of the veteran drivers may not be able to afford a strike, and there's some talk that a lot of current operators will ultimately quit rather than take a contract that they consider an insult.
On a related note, SEPTA hasn't even bothered to post any contingency information in the event that the Red Arrow is out of service to to a work stoppage. When TWU was threatening a strike, SEPTA posted it's survival guide to a city work stoppage five days before the deadline. Here we are, less than 36 hours from the UTU contract expiring, and SEPTA has said nothing, at least on-line.
Sounds like second class status to me...
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