PHILADELPHIA — Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority police returned to work Saturday afternoon, Dec. 16, after reaching a tentative contract agreement with the transit agency, ending a strike that began on Wednesday, Dec. 13.
Members of the Fraternal Order of Police Lodge No. 109 and SEPTA’s board must still ratify the agreement; no information on the dates for ratification was immediately available.
Union members said Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro played a significant role in the agreement.
“With his involvement, we scored the gains we needed,” union President Omair Bervine said, according to a WCAU-TV report. “the governor made it clear to both sides that public safety was of paramount importance.”
SEPTA CEO Leslie S. Richards said in a statement the agency was “so happy to welcome back our police officers with this tentative agreement in place,” and also credited Shapiro’s role: “The Governor’s engagement enabled us to come to a deal that protects public safety on SEPTA and takes care of hard-working union members who put their lives on the line every day.”
The union represents about 170 officers. No details of the agreement have been released.
Police, who had been working without a contract since March, had said pay was the primary issue in contract negotiations [see “Philadelphia-area transit police go on strike,” Trains News Wire, Dec. 14, 2023]. SEPTA had used police supervisors, Philadelphia police, private security, and officers from university police and other agencies to fill in during the strike.
