SEPTA Unveils Contingency Plan To Keep Riders Safe During Transit Police Strike
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PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Police officers who work for SEPTA are on strike. They walked off the job Wednesday afternoon after working without a contract for a year.
Nearly 200 of the men and women hired to protect the SEPTA transit system went on strike around 4 p.m. Wednesday.
During rush hour at Suburban Station Wednesday, most commuters' minds were on getting back to a warm house, not on the fact that SEPTA's police force is not at work.
But there was plenty of evidence in front of SEPTA's Market Street headquarters, where dozens of officers picketed after calling the strike.
"The union and its members have been without a contract for almost a year now," Troy Parham, vice president of the Transit SEPTA Police union, said.
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Parham says members are demanding better pay and working conditions.
"Everything seemed to be going well and today it seemed like we couldn't come together with them on a few work rules and we're out here now," Parham said.
"For SEPTA, this is really frustrating and disappointing. There is no need for there to be a strike today," SEPTA spokesperson Andrew Busch said.
Busch says the agency is prepared and will enact a strike contingency plan.
"There are 49 Septa police supervisors who will remain on duty and they will work 12-hour shifts to patrol the system," Busch said.
Eyewitness News is told Philadelphia Police and officers from suburban towns will also patrol areas of the system normally under the eye of SEPTA cops. But with 178 SEPTA officers on strike, Busch admits there could be gaps.
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"I'm not going to say it's going to be a one-for-one situation, but we're confident in the strike contingency plan, we're going to have covered in all the key areas of the system and we'll be able to respond as they come up," Busch said.
SEPTA says they don't have an exact number for how much the contingency plan will cost, but right now, their overtime issues are not a factor.
The last SEPTA strike happened in 2012 and lasted about one week.
