Philadelphia transit workers' strike leaves commuters on stand-by

Commuters in Philadelphia were left hanging as members of the Transit Workers Union Local 234 branch were on strike over contract negotiations regarding pay increases. As an effect, the city's buses, subway system and trolleys all came to a halt, effective at 3 a.m. early Tuesday morning. This drastic action by the union is expected to leave a dire deficit in Philadelphia's well-traveled public transportation system. When combining all methods of travel, the system processes over 928,000 individual trips per weekday. Willie Brown, the president of Local 234, said that the strike came as a result of both sides coming to an agreement that further negotiations would prove stagnant. The union had previously threatened to go on strike during earlier games of the World Series, but Gov. Ed Rendell ordered the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) and Local 234 to keep negotiations going or risk "significant consequences." According to Associated Press, union workers are requesting a 4 percent wage increase and want to keep the current 1 percent contribution they make toward the cost of their health care coverage. SEPTA had previously offered an 11.5 percent wage increase over a span of 5 years, with no raise in the first year, and an increase in workers' pensions. Local 234, the largest transit union in the Philadelphia metro under SEPTA, represents over 5,000 people including drivers, operators and mechanics. Union workers have been without a contract since March of this year.