SEPTA committee approves transit police pact

A SEPTA board committee on Thursday approved a new contract proposal for transit police, paving the way for approval by the full board next week.

The police union, which staged a nine-day strike last month, ratified the new contract on April 5. Under terms of the agreement, each of the 210 members of the Fraternal Order of Transit Police will receive a $1,250 bonus immediately and a 12 percent increase in pay over four years.

The agreement also includes small increases in longevity pay and clothing allowances and doubles the death benefit to $500,000 for any officer killed in the line of duty.

The contract includes no "certification" pay, which was one of the police demands during the strike.

The contract will increase the starting annual salary to $38,765 and the maximum salary to $64,233 by the end of the contract in March, 2016. SEPTA says that, including overtime pay, the typical officer now collects $62,789 a year. - Paul Nussbaum