After 5 years of talks, The Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen Division 71, representing 200 rail engineers at SEPTA, announced on Oct. 14 a tentative agreement for a new 5-year contract with the transit agency that will cover rail workers through July 2015.

“This agreement keeps the trains rolling in Philadelphia,” said Steve Bruno, national vice president of BLET, a division of the Teamsters union.

The tentative agreement includes a 13.32 percent pay raise, and faces a membership vote within the next 30 days.  Seeking to reach a settlement and avoid further delays, BLET members went on a one-day strike in June and then returned to work following appointment of a Presidential Emergency Board (PEB). The PEB’s intervention suspended the strike and started a 120-day clock that ended at 12:01 a.m. Tuesday.  Last week, SEPTA asked for an additional automatic one-time 120-day extension under the rules of the federal Railway Labor Act.

Bruno blamed SEPTA’s intransigence for holding up a settlement.  He said while a compromise on economic issues made the deal work, there are still critical safety concerns about the fatigue faced by engineers on the job for long hours six days a week, and inadequate training for new engineers.

“Safety has been a growing concern,” said Bruno.

He blamed SEPTA for stonewalling the union on important safety concerns and said the union will not compromise on public safety. These are matters the union will take up with the Federal Railroad Administration and in public hearings.

Many BLET engineers have left SEPTA for higher paying jobs at Amtrak and other northeast corridor commuter and freight railroads. SEPTA’s engineers hold national certification to operate locomotives, and unlike most public sector workers have pension portability.

BLET represents 53,000 locomotive engineers, conductors, brakemen, firemen, switchmen, hostlers and other train service employees at numerous railroads in the United States.

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