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.