With a strike looming, the president of the union representing more than 5,000 SEPTA employees told reporters on Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024, that he is willing to work around the clock to prevent a strike.

“I will roll up my sleeves, bang on the table and do everything I can do to prevent a strike,” Brian Pollitt, president of Transportation Workers Union Local 234, told reporters.

Beginning at 10:00 PM on Thursday, November 7, SEPTA employees will no longer go on strike at midnight.

Brian Pollitt, president of TWU Local 234, said the union and SEPTA are making progress.

“I can report to you this evening that we have made some progress in our 24-hour negotiations with the US
SEPTA. We have not yet reached an agreement, but there is enough movement to continue discussions and we are not calling a strike at this time. “We are not taking the possibility of a strike off the table under any circumstances as we continue to fight for the best possible agreement that addresses our security and economic concerns,” he said in a statement to union members on Thursday evening.

“After months of negotiations, we have finally started to make some progress in recent days, but we simply ran out of time. We are willing to go a step further and allow additional time to reach a fair agreement,” Pollitt said.

“SEPTA and TWU Local 234 will continue negotiations on a new contract tomorrow, Friday, November 8. In the meantime, there will be no strike by City Transit Division employees when their current contract expires at midnight, so all SEPTA service will continue to operate on normal schedules,” SEPTA spokesman Andrew Busch said.

“SEPTA is committed to engaging in good faith negotiations at the bargaining table with the goal of reaching an agreement that is fair to our hardworking employees and to the customers and taxpayers who fund SEPTA. Updates on these negotiations will continue to follow. provided as soon as new information becomes available,” Busch said.

Pollitt’s union authorized a strike — which was unanimously approved by members — that would close SEPTA’s Broad Street line, the Market-Frankford line, trolley buses and at least 104 bus routes.

Union members are seeking wage increases and improvements in safety and security for workers.

“You need money to get through life and that’s what we want, we need a raise,” Pollitt said.

When Pollitt was asked Thursday about SEPTA’s financial troubles, he said the transit agency is sitting on a $600 million “rainy day fund” and needs to loosen its purse strings.

“We’re not asking for $600 million dollars. But we do ask for a little bit,” he said.

Pollitt also said the union has been trying to win a contract for months and that unless management changes its position, he fears a strike will occur.

“If they continue to take the same position they have taken since June, trust that the line will be drawn in the sand and we will be gone,” he said.

In an interview Thursday, Busch said the mass transit provider does not have a rainy day fund and that the fund Pollitt referred to does not contain $600 million.

“That is absolutely not the case,” Busch said when asked about the fund.

Instead, Busch called it a service stabilization fund that the mass transit provider uses to pay bills.

But, he said, the balance of that fund varies widely; he believed it was currently around $300 million, and with SEPTA facing a financial crisis, he believes the funds are “disappearing much faster.”

“This has allowed us to continue operating without service disruptions,” Busch said.

He also noted that SEPTA cannot draw on that account for employee salaries.

“It’s not a resource we can use for wage increases,” he said. “That has to come from our regular budget.”

Otherwise, Busch said SEPTA is committed to continuing negotiations and is also prepared to work around the clock until a deal is reached.

The Philadelphia school district is already gearing up for a SEPTA strike that could affect as many as 55,000 students.