More than 5,000 Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) transit workers represented by TWU Local 234 walked off the job at midnight, bringing Philadelphia’s system of subways, light rail, and buses to a screeching halt. Only commuter rail, the Norristown HIgh Speed Line, and the Route 101 and 102 light rail continues to operate.
“Our membership voted to go on strike if we did not reach a new agreement by midnight on October 31,” union president Willie Brown said in a midnight release from the union. “Despite months of constructive and innovative proposals from our side of the table, management has refused to budge on key issues including safety issues that would save lives and not cost SEPTA a dime. There is no new agreement, so we are on strike.”
—Passenger Train Journal
