PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Members of the Transport Workers Union Local 234 are set to vote Sunday on whether to authorize a strike against SEPTA, over issues such as wages and safety. A walkout could wreak havoc on hundreds of thousands of riders, including school children.
Riders are keeping their fingers crossed, hoping it doesn't come to that.
The contract for Transport Workers Union Local 234 expires at the end the month. Sticking points, according to TWU Local 234 President Willie Brown, are maternity leave, safety and pay.
SEPTA rider Brian Kearns of Bristol, Pa. is hoping that employees are able to hammer out a new deal with management and avoid any potential strike.
Otherwise, he said, "It's going to make life really difficult ... I rely on SEPTA for pretty much everything."
Barbara Singleton of Philadelphia pointed out one of the most pressing issues in the city amid the current school bus shortage. "How else are you going to get to school?"
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And Sabrina Jones of Chester said not being able to get kids to school will have a domino effect on the economy.
"That means they're going to have to do virtual and their parents are going to be in the background," she worried. "How are the parents going to go to work?"
In a letter, Philadelphia Schools Superintendent William Hite confirmed in the event of a SEPTA strike, schools will have to go virtual. He added that in the midst of the pandemic and the gun violence crisis, schools are a safe haven for students.
Nearly 60,000 students rely on SEPTA to get to and from school, in addition to faculty and staff. A national bus driver shortage has made SEPTA even more essential for student transportation.
Meanwhile, others, like Patricia Butler, said public transportation is a lifeline to the world.
"I won't have no transportation," said Butler. "That's the only transportation I get. I use SEPTA to go to my doctor's visits, everything."
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Jones said she experienced previous SEPTA strikes.
"I hate when they go on strike, because if SEPTA goes on strike, it's hard for people that don’t have a car," she shared. "If Septa were to go on strike, then how am I supposed to go see my daughter or go to work? What is I’m supposed to do?
However, just because a strike would make people's lives more difficult doesn't necessarily mean everybody would be against it.
"A strike would impact me personally," said Stacy Raphael of Bryn Mawr, "but I would support the reasons why they're doing it."
KYW Newsradio's Ross Weisman contributed to this story.