setpa news post #6

"I have really been looking forward having business again. A week is long enough for me" said Chris Mitchells a t-shirt sails men that stands by the cecil b moore subway stop

septa news post #5

"I was kind of worried about getting here tonight. I am glad everything is back to normal and I don't have to worry about whether or not i'll be able to get somewhere." Tyler Burke, Temple Student, south Philadelphia resident attending the Bob Dylan Concert.

Fare Increase fuels the fire in disgruntled passengers

A report on KYW today said that SEPTA will be increasing their fares next year, but the price hike has nothing to do with the strike outcome/ new contract. The last fare increase was in 2007, and next year's numbers will be dependent on ridership and the economy. The increase is an attempt to raise fares periodically rather than instituting huge increases less often. The 2007 hike was 11%. Alternate solutions to dealing with the SEPTA budged issues included eliminating transfers, and restricting the use of TransPasses on the regional rail during peak hours. This news -- in light of the anti-TWU sentiment that has resulted from the strike -- is sure to bring increased annoyance from frequent riders. Additionally, I think it could cause less frequent riders to consider other options such as walking or carpooling before jumping on the subway or trolley. 

Final Day: Septa Strike Ends

The Septa strike ended today, but that doesn't mean everything is completely resolved. Seeing as how other workers in other unions are laboring without new contracts, the City of Brotherly Love may possibly see more labor action in the coming weeks.

Though I don't claim to know how any potential future strikes may play out, I will go out on a limb and say that the Septa strike will have some role in how future strikes are perceived. Even if future strikes are unrelated, they will, in my opinion, be linked mentally with the Septa strike, and lingering anger over this strike may influence the conclusion of any future strikes.

-Michael Gaudini

Strike Hits Home

At the beginning of this SEPTA strike, I wasn't too worried about getting caught up in it. However, now that I am a sophomore at Temple University, traveling via subway comes in handy, especially when shopping for groceries. It just so happens, that people go to South Street for their groceries. These people resort to walking all the way to South Street for their groceries. I can't imagine having to do that.

Adam can be reached at adam.mitchell@temple.edu

Back to Normal

The first sign that life in Philly might return back to normal this morning was a SEPTA bus heading from the city to King of Prussia on I-76. On Ridge Avenue, a couple of kids and adults were sitting on a bus stop waiting for a bus to come. Radio confirmed my suspicion that the strike was over. The city still experienced heavy traffic flow, but overall the usual 40-minute drive from Malvern to Temple turned out to be not so bad and took a total of one hour.

It's Over

http://www.examiner.com/x-8010-Philadelphia-Public-Transportation-Examiner~y2009m11d9-Latenight-SEPTA-strike-update-Its-over

SEPTA STRIKE 11/8

PHILADELPHIA- A student from Drexel University lost his job due to failure to show up for the first day. The student was relying on the SEPTA subway system to get him between his bartending job at Dave and Bubsters and Drexel campus.

-Marc S. Witkin can be reached at tub46563@temple.edu

septa news post #4

I am currently watching Fox 29 News at 10 and they are currently doing a segment on SEPTA. They are interviewing a criminal law student who walks over an hour to class here at temple. She also has to walk 3 miles to work in order to pay for tuition. The most recent meeting to dicuss the contract ended. Rendell presented them with an ultimatum, he wants them to vote on the contract by monday, but nothing has been decided in regards to that. If they don't vote he will take 7 million from the payroll. So now a whole new week comes, with no end in site. With so much unemployment, who could this possibly help? I guess you could say the eagle fans felt the stress tonight?

Adjusting Lives and Schedules

Many servers at the Cheesecake Factory in King of Prussia had to give up their shifts today or swap work stations with other servers in order to catch a ride back to the city after work. SEPTA strike has left many people with no means to get to work and back and has forced employees drastically change their lives, schedules, and income. Servers complained that they lose a lot of money by not being able to make it to work or by buying gas when they have already purchased bus passes.

Train never shows

Passengers of the R3 rail line waited all morning just to have their train never show. Some passengers had been there for over 2 hours. By the 9:00 the entire platform was crowded with angry people waiting on their train.

Day Six: Still A Standoff

There was a planned protest against the strike today at 1 p.m. on Market Street that largely seems to have fallen through. Anger against the striking workers, however, seems to be persisting, even if the protest never really manifested.

My guess would be that most of the anger toward the striking workers is rooted in several factors:

• The strike directly affects the everyday lives of people since there aren't any alternative public transportation services
• The context of the strike occurring during a period of economic downturn and large levels of unemployment
• The perception of the union as 'aggressor' -- TWU initiated the strike and turned down Septa's contract offers.
• High profile figures (such as Gov. Rendell) have condemned the strike.

The Cost of SEPTA

I found this graph on philly.com. I think it helps demonstrate how much of a stake everyone has in the SEPTA strike. I think it would be interesting to see a graph of how this money is distributed among the people who work for SEPTA, that would help us understand why union workers are so upset about their pay.

I talked to a few people yesterday about how they were affected by the strike. The two sisters that I spoke to told me about how difficult it was to get to their jobs and the school classes (one was in high school, the other in college), I think their quotes will be part of my final SEPTA article.

After Negotations Gov Rendell Says "I'm out"

As of last night, negotiations fell through between the local 234 union and government officials. Rendell believes a vote she be made, and will withdrawal the $7 Million in state funding that was offered to pay for worker bonuses.Mayor Nutter agreed with Governor Ed Rendell in that there should be a vote that depicts the details on the contract. "We're not going to take it to a vote," Willie Brown, Local 234 Union President said. "For the same reason the president of the United States would not bypass Congress and go directly to the people."

In the Dark

SEPTA R5 train to Thorndale was stopped near Overbrook yesterday around 5:25 p.m. because of power outage. Passangers were left in dark until the power came back about ten minutes later. 

Not over yet....

Do not get your hopes up. Your bus or train will not be there waiting for you. The Union spokesman told the press that the news that Septa will running was premature.

Gov. Rendell just held press conference on transit strike and stated that the Septa strike will continue

Today I was walking down the street and I heard a little girl arguing with her older brother about how the only way she was going to get excused from classes because of the strike was to get a written note from her parents. She said that almost all of her classmates take a SEPTA bus to school meaning that a lot of young kids are stranded with no way of getting to school.

Day Five: Could This Be The End?

If Septa accepts the union's proposed binding arbitration (on pension and wages) tonight, the strike could end immediately. Otherwise, brace for a continued lack of public transportation in the City of Brotherly Love (sans regional rail).

-Michael Gaudini

Eagles fan's all mixed up

As the Septa strike continues, the Eagles announced their plan for Sundays game. Philly.com mention announced "The Eagles estimate that about 20 percent of their fans use mass transit to get to Lincoln Financial Field, so if last night's tentative SEPTA proposal is not ratified today or transit operations are not resumed in time, parking for tomorrow's 8:20 p.m. game against the Cowboys could be challenging. Fans are encouraged to carpool. If there is no SEPTA resolution, lots will open at 1 p.m. tomorrow."

This could be a potential area for talking to frustrated fans that would be ususally be intoxicated. Now with no public trans available, they have to be responsible DD's, or atleast we can hope.

Regional Rail

I took the R3 out of the city today and experienced the havoc that has been the SEPTA strike. Surprisingly enough, Regional rail workers seem to be handling the situation better than the past few days. No one is permitted up onto the platforms without buying a ticket at the booth first, which cuts down on congestion boarding the trains. Though they were all running late (as to be expected) they were actually carrying pretty light loads of people, and were nothing compared to the stories I heard from people riding the trains in the past few days. They seem to have the increased numbers of passengers under control now.
At the Temple station I also tried talking to some of the Regional Rail workers who were there for security reasons, but I was told SEPTA has decided they are not allowed to speak "on the record" regarding the strike, even though they are not union members.

septa news post #3

"I have friends who live on 2nd and Snyder who have already had to walk home twice this week already!" -Gina Hoover, Temple Student

Day Four: More Misinformation

Today, waiting to check out a camera from Temple's equipment office, I heard some of the same lines I've been hearing over the last four days -- namely those about the greed of the Septa workers to be demanding more pay during this harsh economic climate. While I won't pass judgment on whether the union was right to call a strike together at this time and under these circumstances, I will say that this action is not endearing unions to a great many people in Philadelphia. Especially when viewed in conjunction with the anti-union sentiment that followed GM's collapse, the general rule of this recession seems to be anger at workers demanding more from their employers during a recession (and thus, demanding more from consumers, to whom the cost will be transferred).

Interestingly, a lot of misinformation has surrounded both the Septa strike and the GM collapse (and, too, the potential Acme lockout of this past summer). The main point of contention is not a direct raise in wages (though, that is on the table as well), but rather, the pension plan (the cost of health care and co-payments is also a rallying point, especially since medical inflation is rising at disturbing rates, which will inevitably lead to using a greater chunk of income to pay for it. Of course, it all comes down to the final contract. For comparison, the Acme/Local 1776 dispute over the summer came mainly from how drastically the union would yield, this Septa strike (from what I've seen) seems to be mainly focused upon how drastically Septa will yield -- two different positions.

Finally, an AP article seems to suggest Mayor Nutter might seek an injunction to halt the strike, using swine flu as his basis for doing so. Philadelphia has historically been a unionized town, if the Mayor ends up breaking the union or the strike in any way, prepare for some kind of backlash. One final historical precedent -- Reagan's destruction of Patco in 1981 paved the way for the current dire straits in which labor finds itself, increasingly marginalized and disemboweled while corporate power rises. What happens to TWU could, with that in mind, possibly be a foreshadowing of labor's role in Philadelphia in the coming decades. But then again, maybe not.

-Michael Gaudini

SEPTA Inspector

Kevin Sparks was 34 and was the SEPTA inspector that was hit by the R3 yesterday at 8:30 a.m.

Traffic is getting increasingly congested

Laura Macenka local resident of South Philadelphia says it has been taking her over an hour to travel down 12th street to get to her house.

Day 3: Septa Strike post #2

Asia Broadus

Temple Student

PHILADELPHIA- A breakthrough might be in the works for the SEPTA strike.Transport Workers Union Local 234 representatives met this afternoon with Gov. Edward G. Rendell, and U.S. Rep. Bob Brady They were talking about a "shuttle diplomacy" between the union and SEPTA.

Click here for the full story:

http://www.examiner.com/x-8010-Philadelphia-Public-Transportation-Examiner~y2009m11d5-Evening-wrapup-on-the-SEPTA-strike-Day-Three

Contact Asia Broadus at tua90653@temple.edu

Day Three: One Fatality, No Agreement

The TWU and Septa argument over whether the union workers' pensions are adequately funded continued today, and a Septa worker was struck by a train and killed in North Philadelphia. Septa officials denied that the strike had anything to do with the death, but it (along with yesterday's R5 fire) comes at a time in which the trains have had to take on extra passengers, due to the strike.

-Michael Gaudini

SEPTA affects students.

Tracey Cameron student of the Art Institute of Philadelphia is forced to drive and pay for parking to get to her center city campus on 17h and Chestnut streets.

Way too slow

Delilah Winder owns a soul food eatery in Philadelphia's Reading Terminal Market. Delilah is a hometown celebrity and due to the Septa stirke her tables were empty.

Strike causes increase in traffic levels

As the strike enters its 5th day here in our city of Philadelphia, many questions and concerns are being raised about the increase in traffic accidents. Street safety is now more important then ever with such a raised number of cars and bicycles on the streets throughout the city. This strike effects everyone, even those who do not use Septa services. I especially realized this today as I witnessed 1 car accident, a bicycle mishap, and an overall crazy increase in traffic. It took me an hour to get somewhere that usually takes 25 minutes.

septa news post #2

http://www.bicyclecoalition.org/content/bike-strike-bicycling-38-strike-day-two

well at least this is one less thing to worry about. i just hope this kind of trend sticks, for the sake of mother earth.

11/4/09 SEPTA STRIKE

PHILADELPHIA- During the time of a SEPTA strike, it would only seem logical that Temple students needing to attend classes in Center City would take the free TU shuttle. However, the shuttle is no substitute for a subway system, and it showed yesterday, as the one-way every hour shuttle arrived at the Broad and Berks stop, only to be greeted by three times the capacity of the bus. An estimated 25 students were no able to attend their classes because of a lack of transportation.

Marc S. Witkin can be reached at tub46563@temple.edu

SEPTA Union Announces New Conference at 5:30 PM Today

Governor Rendell is preparing to meet this afternoon with the SEPTA union which will hold a news conference at 5:30 PM today. As the strike continues, commuters to schools and work are learning to work around the shutdown of the subways.

Liberty Resources employee Kendra Weaver had to have her friend drive her to the regional rail in order to reach her clients across the city.

"I help people with physical disabilities that can't bathe themselves without some one else. They require my help everyday for bathing. I have to pay six dollars a day to take the regional rail to my clients. I know SEPTA workers need money in these tough times, but so do I." Weaver said.

This strike has caused many people to have to pay more money to find some other way of getting to where they need to go. My friend had to spend $18 on an Amtrak home so that she could get her car so she would have some way of getting to school from her house in Fishtown. Now she has to pay for gas and parking, an expense that she would normally not have to pay. Many of us are also wasting money by not using our SEPTA passes that we would normally use daily on the bus or the subway. The unfortunate accident that happened this morning is also effecting a lot of people. My one professor canceled class for the second time this week because he was stranded at the station. Hopefully the strike will end soon so everyone can go back to their normal lives.

Regional Rail Accident

A SEPTA was worker was hit by the West Trenton train this morning at 8:00 morning.

Below is the full story from the Philadelphia Inquirer:

Track fatality disrupts 3 regional rail lines
By Peter Mucha
Inquirer Staff Writer

A man was fatally struck by a West Trenton train this morning, causing service to be suspended on several regional rail lines.

Trains were not running north of the Fern Rock regional rail station on the Warminster (R2), West Trenton (R3) and Lansdale/Doylestown (R5) lines.

"Everything from Fern Rock into the city is operating," said SEPTA spokesman Gary Fairfax.

The victim, a male, was struck about 8:30 a.m. by a southbound R3 West Trenton train near the Philadelphia-Montgomery County border, just south of the Melrose Park station, he said.

He declined to share other details, such as the victim's age, or confirm reports that the victim was a SEPTA worker.

Police said an initial report indicated he was a track inspector.

Yesterday, a fire forced the evacuation of about 500 passengers from a train on the R5-Paoli line. No one was injured, but service on the line was suspended for two hours.

Flames broke out in the first of four cars as the train was leaving the Overbrook Station at about 7 a.m. Passengers had already been moved to other cars because of a burning smell.

Contact staff writer Peter Mucha at 215-854-4342 or pmucha@phillynews.com.

Temple's link to find a ride

http://atlas.ocis.temple.edu/needaride/default.asp

Temple Tries to Help Students During SEPTA Strike

Professor Culver of Media Management and Organization offered to give a ride to students who normally rely on SEPTA transportation. In addition, students have been sending mass emails offering to carpool to Temple University.

Many in the Philadelphia community believe that Septa workers are "overreaching" with their demands, but who is to say whether the inconvenience of the strike has had an influence on their opinions.

SEPTA strike leaves Center city workers unemployed.

Center city worker, Donte Degree, is currently unemployed due to the fact that SEPTA is striking. He resides in North Philadelphia, and has absolutely no means of traveling to work on 17th and Chestnut streets. He will have to wait until the strike is over to return to work.

Temple Students Let Off Steam At SEPTA On Social Networking Sites

By Andrew Small

PHILADELPHIA-While Temple uses the internet to provide students with a place to organize rides to class during the SEPTA strike, students used social networking sites to vent about their inconveniences.

Though talks between SEPTA's Willie Brown and Mayor Michael Nutter have met a standstill with Brown asking for Nutter to be "cut out" of the conversation, students continued to discuss the situation in a civil, but unrestrained discourse.

Temple linguistics major Elizabeth Brophy posted "It's ridiculous that this is under debate: SEPTA stations and vehicles are in terrible condition, customer service is nonexistent, and the labor is semi-skilled at best. That union leaders would take advantage of every paying rider in the city, just to ensure their own well-being, is disgusting on an ethical level. I say fire them all and just start over, this is pathetic," and sparked a debate with other students about."

Brophy continued "the whole point of being a for-profit company was to not piss off your customer base. I'm really disgusted by this whole thing, I think it really shows the downsides of union labor - they promote the exact same greed and corruption as any other economic industry except there's no competition. Ridiculous, since we pay a percentage of their wages through taxes."

Temple political science student Zack Groff corrected Brophy, "SEPTA isn't for-profit. The whole reason that it never gets the right funding is because it's appropriation by legislature. Also, it would be a mistake to condemn the union for the mismanagement of negotiations, in my opinion anyways. It sounds like you guys haven't been able to talk to a human being that's being effected on the other side of the exchange. Think about it: it's not like the union wants to go on strike in a pseudo-masturbatory exhibition of power over the denizens of Philadelphia. Of course, our politicians (even the "pro-union" liberal ones, of whom I am really not a fan) and media (that penultimate failure of American society) would have us believe that the union is constituted of greedy bums and morons."

SEPTA received $182,874,099 in government grants in 2009 according to recovery.gov.

Andrew Small can be contacted at turboverbal@hotmail.com

I had the pleasure of experiencing the SEPTA stike today. This morning I was waiting for my train to take me to Temple so I could attend this journalism class. I figured it might be a bit late since they have to pick up more people than normal because of the strike. Unfortunatly for me and about 20 other people, I was stuck waiting for over an hour which caused me to miss class. While I was waiting I got to listen to what other people were missing during their wait. One guy was late for court which is never good, one student had a project to turn and and a couple people acutally left to find another way to get where they were going. I am just glad that the train is still running during the strike or I would be missing a lot more classes than just one so far.

shuttle buses to aid students

Large numbers of people were missing from both of my classes today, as the SEPTA strike has left many students "stranded" in parts of south philly and beyond. Temple is attempting to handle the situation by running shuttles continuously from 5 a.m. to 1 a.m. starting Friday. Buses will run from North Philadelphia at Broad and Cheltenham to Broad and Pattison. To get on the bus students need a TUId. The buses will be clearly marked with "T" on the front.

Strike misfortunes

My friend had to walk from his house at 7th and Ellsworth, with a painting, to his art class up at Temple. My other friend has to take cabs to school and work because of the strike. I bet cabs are making a killing during all of this.

septa news post #1

http://a.getweb.info/business/2009/11/04/union-president-says-underfunded-pensions-key-to-septa-strike/

Union Local 234 President Willie Brown claims they will stay as long as they need to to solve this today (Wednesday). They just want a fair contract. I wonder how this is going to turn out!!

Now that SEPTA has gone on strike, many people at Temple University fear that it will only be drawn out over the next few days. The first day of the strike did not seem take its toll on the number of students in my classes, but we shall see what happens over the next couple of days.

-Adam Mitchell

R5 Septa Train Catches Fire

By Asia Broadus

Temple Student

PHILADELPHIA- Just when we thought the SEPTA strike was inconveniencing everyone, there is more that tops the cake for transportation. The Philadelphia Commuter, R5 SEPTA train caught fire today wednesday morning. The cause of the fire is unknown, but it was possibly an electrical fire said Richard Maloney from the Philadelphia Transportation Authority. The flames were seen sparking from the first car of the train at 7a.m this morning. The train was heading east from the Overbrook station toward the Amtrak Station in Center City. No injuries were reported. "Great. now i can't go home. There is nothing worse than wanting to go home but can't" said 20 year old Temple Student Danyielle Lambert from Coatesville P.a. "Now what am i going to do?!"

Septa Strike in Suburbs Too!

Apparently, the Septa strike spread beyond the city limits this morning. The Inky is reporting that the TWU was picketing buses that run through places like Upper Darby and Drexel. Governor Rendell said he's meeting with Union leaders.

I've heard a lot of people recently describing demands for a raise as the core of the issue. However, having been involved in a union/employer dispute over the summer in which the employer framed the union as greedy, when in reality the union was only seeking to temper some of the steeper cuts to benefits, I realize how misleading word-of-mouth can be. This article from the Philadelphia Business Journal describes the main Septa complaint as relating to the pension plan, and Septa's misfunding of the plan (though Septa obviously disagrees with the union's assessment). Take from it what you will, it seems to me to be the more likely rationale for the strike than simply higher wages.

-Michael Gaudini

Purpose of Strike

On Tuesday the union went on strike. The pension is the key reason why Septa workers decided not to return to work. They wanted 11 percent increase for their pension.

Supreme Court Session Starts Monday with Sotomayor's First Seating

By Andrew Small

Temple student

PHILADELPHIA–As the Supreme Court starts its new session Monday, many will look to the court's newest justice, Sonia Sotomayor, for how her appointment will affect the court's decisions.

The first Hispanic justice and the third female justice to join the bench is expected to bring a new perspective to bench. Philadelphia residents at Constitution Center weighed in on how they believe her life experience will affect their lives.

Some like Susan Sich, who was visiting the Constitution Center with her sister Barbara, believe Sotomayor's appointment to the bench represents a positive change from the court's prior appointments.

“The court will be more balanced when more women are on the bench, things will be better with her,” Sich said.

When Barack Obama nominated Sotomayor in May, he noted her life experience being tested by obstacles and barriers growing up in the Bronx would bring a much needed empathy to the court's decisions.

Robert Cammacho, a tourist trolley driver, says he can relate to her unique upbringing.

“I say it's about time we got another minority in the court," said Cammacho, "It's a good thing, we've got a woman, a Latina. I'm half-Latino myself and now there's someone who understands my experiences.”

Sotomayor's experience extends beyond her difficulties growing up in the Bronx. She graduated summa cum laude at Princeton University and graduated from Yale Law School. After being appointed by President George H.W. Bush, she spent six years as a judge on the District Court for the Southern District of New York and she sat almost 11 years on the Second Circuit Court of Appeals after President Bill Clinton appointed her to the position.

However, some people like New York lawyer Toby Feldman, believe Sotomayor still lacks the knowledge necessary to interpret the Constitution.

“I don't think she has enough experience to make informed decisions compared to the other members of the court,” Feldman said. “I don't trust her understanding of the Constitution.”

Others trust Sotomayor's judgment more than Feldman, they believe her understanding of the Constitution is just as easily as biased as any of the other justices.

“Everyone is going to bring their biases to their decisions. No one is entirely objective,” Patricia Rizzo, a lawyer and graduate from Temple Law School, said. “I think her background is amazing, she has a lot of experiences that others in the court haven't had so I think that makes her perspective valuable. She's actually an excellent choice.”

Contact Andrew Small at tub57268@temple.edu.

Welcome!

As student journalists, you will be asked to go out and report on various topics in the Temple University area. In addition to turning in your assignments, you will be able to post your articles and any accompanying photos here. At the end of the semester, this blog will be made public so you'll have a permanent display of your work.