SEPTA workers reached an agreement with the SEPTA transit agency on Friday morning, creating a 2-year deal that will avoid a strike, as well as a subway shutdown.
For the past several days, SEPTA workers have threatened to strike. They cited issues regarding COVID-19, higher wages, and more as their cause. By walking off the job, more than a few subways lines would have been closed down.
Had workers walked away, the buses, trolley, subway and a few elevated train lines would have been closed.
This shutdown could have had a negative impact on Philadelphia commuters, especially Temple students.
Temple University and many other institutions had policy in place in case of a strike.
Senior VP and Chief Administrative Officer at Temple, Kenneth Kaiser, sent a press release last Tuesday regarding the impending strike.
Kaiser stated, “Temple University will be open for business as usual and all in-person classes and events will be held as scheduled”, in a university-wide email.
According to the release, all students and faculty were expected on campus should any strike have occurred. Luckily, with a new deal in place, this was avoided.
The 2-year contract which is due to be ratified on November 5 includes a range of new benefits for SEPTA employees. It will reportedly include raised wages, pandemic-related bonuses, and the benefit of parental leave.
To learn more about this, details can be found on SEPTA’s website or on the Transport Worker Union’s site.
More updates can be found on Temple Update’s website, Instagram, Facebook or Twitter.
Student reactions to the potential strike can be found on Temple Update’s latest broadcast.
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