WHEREAS, On November 3rd at 3 a.m., SEPTA caught the region off guard by going on strike and halting the services of all buses, subways, and trolleys; and
WHEREAS, The strike lasted six days leaving around 450,000 riders, including students, to find other methods of transportation and causing widespread delays, especially for commuters who either drove or crowed onto the congested Regional Rail lines; and
WHEREAS, The Transport Workers Union Local 234, which represents over 5,000 workers, first threatened to strike during the World Series games in Philadelphia, which would have paralyzed the City during one of its most public moments; and
WHEREAS, Governor Rendell was both instrumental in preventing the strike from happening during the World Series games and in brokering a deal to end the strike on November 9th ; and
WHEREAS, Local president Willie Brown said the major reasons for the strike were disagreements over increased pension contributions from workers, job picking rights, and the length of the contract. He said that the union wanted 3 percent wage increases for each year of a four-year contract; and
WHEREAS, Governor Rendell responded saying that SEPTA was rejecting a contract that was much better than terms being received by workers in the private sector and those at the transit agency in Pittsburg; and
WHEREAS, While Governor Rendell had agreed to give SEPTA over $6 million from an economic development fund to pay for certain provisions in the contract, he pressured the union by threatening to withhold the state money if the strike continued for too long; and
WHEREAS, Governor Rendell worked tirelessly to negotiate an agreement and prevent a strike; and
WHEREAS, When SEPTA surprised the City by going on strike, Governor Rendell, despite frustrations, never gave up and continued talks until an agreement was reached. His involvement accelerated the conversations and helped bring the two sides together to end the strike; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA, That Council does hereby recognize and thank Governor Edward Rendell for his crucial involvement in mediating the 2009 SEPTA strike and for helping to broker a deal between SEPTA officials and the Transport Workers Union Local 234.
End