SEPTA approved contracts with the transit police union and other workers
Lodge 109 and SEPTA agreed on a three-year deal that gives the officers a 12% raise over the life of the contract.
The SEPTA board on Thursday approved new labor contracts with the Fraternal Order of Transit Police Lodge 109 and three unions representing workers in the Regional Rail Division.
Transit police officers had threatened earlier this month to walk off the job while Philadelphia was hosting World Cup soccer matches, Major League Baseball’s All-Star week and events celebrating the 250th birthday of the U.S.
Lodge 109 and SEPTA agreed on a three-year deal that gives the officers a 12% raise over the life of the contract, as well as a $2,500 signing bonus, longevity bonuses, and an increase in differential pay for evening and overnight shifts.
Union members ratified the contract last week.
Omari Bervine, president of Lodge 109, said the agreement was “fair to the hardworking men and women of the transit police” and thanked SEPTA General Manager Scott A. Sauer for helping restart negotiations.
The transit police union represents 203 patrol officers who protect the regional agency’s transit and commuter rail networks, trolleys, buses and property, including stations and transportation hubs.
“Historic reductions in crime over the last two years have come amid an unprecedented effort to bolster our transit police,” Sauer said at the board meeting. “Staffing is at its highest level in more than a decade.”
Fifteen new officers joined the force this month after graduating from the police academy, and 18 cadets are scheduled to start their studies next month, SEPTA says.
Officers had been working without a contract since March 31.
The new agreement is retroactive to April 1 and runs through March 31, 2029.
Lodge 109 members will receive a 5% increase in their hourly rates Sunday, with 3½% raises in June of each of the following two years. Longevity bonuses will range from $2,901 for officers with three years of experience, up to $9,552 for those who have 25 years or more of service.
SEPTA’s board also approved new two-year contracts with the Brotherhood of Railway Carmen, International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers that together represent about 145 rail vehicle mechanics, welders, millwrights and maintenance custodians working on Regional Rail.
The board also ratified a new contract with the Transportation Communications Union, which represents 76 Regional Rail clerical staff.
Each deal with the three Regional Rail unions is for two years and gives workers raises totaling 7%, the same as the contract reached last year with the Transport Workers Union Local 234, SEPTA’s largest.
