PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — There will be no SEPTA strike Monday, despite threats from the agency’s largest union to walk out if negotiations stalled.
Transport Workers Union Local 234, which represents 5,000 trolley, bus, and subway workers, confirmed talks with the embattled transit agency will continue.
The union said representatives met with SEPTA officials at Gov. Josh Shapiro’s Philadelphia office, where Shapiro and his team helped make significant progress toward a contract.
The union’s contract expired Nov. 7, and members had voted to authorize a strike if leaders call for one.
A stoppage could bring parts of the city to a halt, including significant disruptions to public schools. Philadelphia Superintendent Tony Watlington said many of the district’s staff and 51,000 students rely on SEPTA to get to school, and a strike could force some classes to be offered virtually.
It would be the first strike for SEPTA workers since a six-day strike in 2016.