Negotiations continue as SEPTA strike looms

SEPTA leadership and Transit Workers Union Local 234 are meeting today in the second day of official contract negotiations after the union voted to authorize a strike last weekend.

“There’s no update in terms of the status,” said SEPTA spokesman Andrew Busch after talks concluded Thursday. “We look forward to resuming talks tomorrow.

After the five-hour session at the Wyndham Hotel in Old City concluded Thursday, a union source said, “It’s pretty much status quo unfortunately. We’ll be in talks tomorrow. One way or another we will be making an announcement in the late afternoon.”

SEPTA previously stated that TWU 234, Septa’s largest union with 5,000 employees, had committed to give at least 24 hours notice before a strike is called by TWU 234,

But TWU 234 president Willie Brown previously cast doubt on that guarantee, telling Metro, “I guess I could do that.”

With the strike authorization vote in his pocket, Brown and the union have a powerful bargaining chip in their pockets as negotiations continue.

“It’s still back and forth. The good things is they are talking,” said SEPTA assistant general manager Fran Kelley. “That’s tremendous. There’s been no talks for months, and now, both sides are at the table. You need that to get a deal done.”