SEPTA union officials declared a strike at 12:01 this morning, immediately halting service on the city's bus, subway and trolley systems. The public-transit shutdown will force nearly half a million riders to alter their commutes, and force many onto the regional rail lines which remain unaffected by the strike. Despite signs of potential agreement between SEPTA and Transport Workers Union Local 234 as late as Saturday, the two sides emerged from their meetings at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Center City far from reconciliation. Since the union's contract expired in June, negotiations have stalled, for the most part, over health care. "We announced on April 1 that health care was the elephant sitting at the bargaining table, and it's still at that table," SEPTA spokesman Richard Maloney said. On Saturday, union officials expressed hope in a proposal made by City Controller Jonathan Saidel that health-care payments be determined on a sliding scale as a portion of workers' incomes instead of as a portion of premium costs. SEPTA officials "declined that offer," said Local 234 President Jeffrey Brooks. The union represents roughly 5,000 of SEPTA's 8,700 employees. "We tried to extend ourselves as far as we could," he said. "Apparently that was not good enough for them."
SEPTA officials, however, said that the sliding health-care payment plan had been discussed in previous negotiations. "That's been on the table for some time," Maloney said. City officials and local businesses have been creating contingency plans since April when union officials first threatened a work stoppage. Though the regional lines already operate near capacity, Maloney said that adjustments would be made to serve displaced riders. "We're going to do the very best we can to accommodate as many people as we can in a very safe manner," Maloney said. Moments after the strike was announced, Philadelphia residents began to feel its effects. On the corner of 40th and Walnut streets, Leone Saundis tried to hail a cab for more than 10 minutes. "My wife told me to stop and get some ice cream," he said as he stepped into the street and yelled, "Taxi!" Only after he was in the Fresh Grocer freezer aisle did his wife call and inform him of the strike. Luckily for the 45-year-old Philadelphia resident, a taxi pulled over. Inside the Fresh Grocer, 19-year-old employee Terri Sutton was distraught by the news. "I can't get to work," said the Cheltenham, Pa., resident, who recently purchased a weekly SEPTA pass for $18.75. "That's just my means of transportation," she said of SEPTA. "I don't have money like that to get a cab back to work." She stressed that SEPTA workers should have considered the needs of its riders before deciding to strike. "They should have thought about everybody it affects, and not just them."
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