(The Associated Press circulated the following article on July 18.)
PHILADELPHIA — Less than a year after a weeklong transportation strike crippled the city, regional rail and union officials will meet with a federal panel this week to try to forge a contract for rail engineers.
Wages are the chief sticking point for the 193 engineers who operate commuter trains for the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority.
They make an average $83,000, but the figure includes considerable overtime, said Roland P. Wilder Jr., a lawyer for the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen. The top hourly rate is $26.68, he said.
The two sides will meet starting Wednesday with a Presidential Emergency Board – convened under federal law to try to avert public transportation strikes.
The panel has up to 120 days to try to settle the dispute, and extensions are common.
“We think a strike can certainly be averted,” SEPTA spokesman Richard Maloney said Tuesday. “There’s no need for a strike.”
A far larger union that represents about 7,000 bus drivers and others was involved in the September strike, which affected SEPTA buses, subways and trolleys. They now have a four-year contract that includes 3 percent annual raises, Maloney said.
“We are always optimistic and desirous of making an agreement,” Wilder said. “But the fact is the parties have a stubborn dispute that thus far has defied settlement efforts.”