Members of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen today ratified a new three-year contract with SEPTA. An impressive 87 percent of eligible voters cast ballots, with 94 percent voting in favor.
The contract provides numerous improvements for BLET members, chief among them is the compression of the wage ladder from 15 to 7 years. Prior to the agreement reached today, it would take a SEPTA engineer 15 years — three to five times longer than any other railroad in the country — to achieve their full rate of pay.
Additional improvements include:
• COVID bonus of up to $2,200 for eligible members;
• Juneteenth added as a holiday with 8 hours compensation; and
• Addition of four weeks of pregnancy/parental leave.
The tentative agreement does not change work rules or the members’ health and welfare plan.
BLET General Chairman Don Hill said annual wage increases similar to what TWU 234 recently negotiated, in addition to the wage ladder compression, will help bring the pay of SEPTA engineers closer to that of their peers at other passenger and commuter railroads in the region.
The contract governs locomotive engineers who operate regional rail trains for SEPTA. They are members of BLET Local Division 71 in Philadelphia.