Facing the pressure of a sixth week without a paycheck, leaders of the Transport Workers Union met with their top national leader yesterday to figure out a way to raise money to help striking SEPTA workers make it through the long haul.
The meeting with Sonny Hall, TWU International president, coincided with the establishment of a TWU food bank yesterday at the union hall and followed a union letter sent last week urging its 5,500 strikers to ``stay strong during tough times.''
Both actions signaled that the transit strike, which has shut down city buses, trolleys and subway-surface lines since June 1, may be far from over. There have been no negotiations since Thursday, when the two sides communicated through state mediators, and no new talks were scheduled.
In an effort to shore up support among the rank-and-file, who earn an average of $36,000 annually, Steve Brookens, president of Local 234, instructed members in a letter mailed Thursday to ``immediately file for unemployment compensation.'' He also offered advice about mortgage payments and credit problems and urged attendance at a demonstration scheduled for noon today outside City Hall.
``Because of bad faith on SEPTA's part, the strike is entering its second month and our members are beginning to experience the many hardships that come with a long work stoppage,'' Brookens said.
Brookens said SEPTA and its chief labor strategist, David L. Cohen, ``are hoping that the hardships and suffering will cause us to cave in to their union busting demands.''
``That's why it's more important than ever that we maintain our unity, our resolve and our determination to see this through to the end,'' the letter said.
Brookens' meeting with Hall yesterday in Philadelphia ended with a commitment from Hall to solicit contributions from TWU locals nationwide, the union said.
That and any other money collected from the labor movement would be used, in part, to buy food and possibly establish stipends for striking workers, said TWU business agent Bruce Bodner.
Regarding unemployment benefits, the TWU has filed paperwork with the state Labor Department saying its members are eligible because they are willing to return to work but are the victims of a lockout by SEPTA, Bodner said.
Bodner cited the union's offer several weeks ago to return to work immediately if SEPTA agreed to settle the labor dispute through binding arbitration. SEPTA's refusal, Bodner said, effectively blocked workers from ending the strike.
