Members of Transport Workers Union Local 234 — which represents thousands of SEPTA operators, mechanics and others — unanimously voted to authorize a strike on Sunday as the union seeks a new contract.
However, shortly after the vote was announced on Sunday, Will Vera, president of the union, said that while the members of his union have given him the authority to go on strike, he isn’t planning on taking his members to the picket lines just yet.
“I am not at this moment ready to call a strike,” Vera said. “We all know that that could change at any moment.”
According to Vera, the union is working to finalize a new two-year contract with SEPTA and, one major sticking point, he said, was how the mass transit providers handles sick pay for workers.
He said union members have been having issues obtaining sick pay and they are faced with “too many penalties” on sick pay unless paperwork is turned in immediately.
Vera said the union — which represents about 5,000 bus, subway and trolley operators, mechanics, and other SEPTA workers — is expected to join SEPTA officials at a negotiating table on Tuesday.
“If SEPTA starts to bargain fairly, we will make progress,” Vera said. “A strike would be the last measure.”
The union noted that its members have been working without a contract with SEPTA since Nov. 7, 2025, when the union’s previous agreement with the transit agency expired.
In response to the strike authorization vote, SEPTA spokesperson Andrew Busch said, in a statement, that talks have been productive and the vote is “a normal part of the process.”
“SEPTA and TWU Local 234 are actively engaged in negotiations on a new contract. The talks have been productive, and are scheduled to continue. SEPTA is aware of the strike authorization vote, which is a normal part of this process,” Busch said in a statement. “We are committed to continuing to engage in good-faith negotiations, with the goal of reaching an agreement on a new contract that is fair to our hard-working employees and to the taxpayers and fare-paying customers that fund the system.”
Last year, this union avoided going on strike by making a one-year deal with SEPTA.
Lyle Smith, a member of the union, who said he has been a SEPTA employee for 18-years, said the mass transit provider has “fumbled the bag” and he supports the decision to authorize a strike.
“The morale is bad. SEPTA really needs to pay,” he said.
Late last week, SEPTA completed inspections on its Silverliner IV rail cars that were mandated by federal officials.
But, SEPTA’s General Manager Scott Sauer has said it will be at least another month before the entire fleet of Silverliner trains return to service.
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