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The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) has set a Feb. 10 public hearing on a dispute between the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) and its rail employees regarding a safety rule designed to limit fatigue on the job.

SEPTA wants the FRA to renew the authority’s waiver of the rule for two years. But Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen (BLET) officials object and want SEPTA to follow the work rule, which involves the time workers spend traveling from home to start work somewhere other than their usual assigned location. SEPTA officials say the the rule, which requires that time to be counted as paid work time, is necessary to limit labor expenses, according to a report on Philly.com.

Read more from Progressive Railroading.

The SMART Transportation Division’s comments on SEPTA’s waiver request can be found here.

IT SAYS something about Kelly Morris that his funeral was attended by nearly 1,000 people, that SEPTA, his employer, had to use two buses to bring co-workers to the services.

What it says is that Kelly James Morris was an exceptional human being, a man who captured the hearts and esteem of just about everybody he came in contact with.

Read the complete story at the Philadelphia Inquirer.

(Morris was a member of SMART Transportation Division Local 1594 at Upper Darby, Pa.)

PHILADELPHIA – Passengers expressed relief Sunday that Philadelphia-area commuter trains were back on track after a one-day strike threatened to disrupt work schedules for tens of thousands of commuters in the coming week.

Employees ended their walkout after President Barack Obama appointed an emergency board to mediate the contract dispute between the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority and two of its unions.

Read the complete story at the Associated Press.

SEPTA_logo_150pxSEPTA moved Monday to impose management’s terms in a long-running labor dispute with Regional Rail workers, which union leaders said could prompt a strike that would halt all commuter rail service at 12:01 a.m. Saturday.

SEPTA’s goal apparently is to risk a strike now, when ridership is lower, than next winter, when more commuters and students rely on the system. Regional Rail trains carry about 126,000 riders a day.

“We need to get an agreement now,” SEPTA general manager Joseph Casey said Monday. “Seven thousand other SEPTA employees have already accepted this wage package, but these 400 are holding out.”

SEPTA chief labor relations officer Stephanie K. Deiger on Monday alerted union leaders that SEPTA had sent letters on Friday to Regional Rail engineers and electrical workers, describing its intent to give them raises proposed by SEPTA effective next Sunday.

Read the whole story at Philly.com.

SEPTA_logo_150pxNearly 99 percent of Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen (BLET) members working for the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) have voted to authorize a strike when a mandatory 30-day cooling off period under the Railway Labor Act ends in less than two weeks, BLET officials announced this morning.

Locomotive engineers could walk off the job or be locked out by SEPTA at 12:01 a.m. on June 14 unless President Barack Obama intervenes and appoints a Presidential Emergency Board (PEB), according to a BLET press release. A PEB would delay a strike or lockout, and would investigate and issue a report and recommendations concerning a dispute in negotiations, union officials said.

Read the complete story at Progressive Railroading.

PHILADELPHIA – A CBS 3 I-Team investigation reveals the dangers when cars and people wind up in the path of trains along SEPTA’s Regional Rail Lines.

Eyewitness News Reporter Walt Hunter spoke exclusively with a veteran engineer and conductor who tell of the horrifying moments when wrecks happen.

Read the complete story at CBS News Philadelphia.

Conductor Ed Lyons is a member of SMART Transportation Division Local 61 at Philadelphia, Pa.

SEPTA_logo_150pxTWENTY-TWO PEOPLE were hospitalized yesterday after a violent crash sent a SEPTA bus careening into a building in Chinatown, authorities said.

 The collision happened just before 5 p.m. yesterday at the intersection of 11th and Vine streets, SEPTA spokesman Andrew Busch said.

A Mazda sedan blew through a red light on Vine Street and slammed into the side of a Route 23 bus, forcing the bus onto the sidewalk, where it smashed into a traffic light, three parked cars and the side of the Chinese Christian Church & Center before coming to a stop, SEPTA Transit Police Chief Thomas J. Nestel said at the scene.

Read more at Philly.com.

pa_outlineSMART Transportation Division Pennsylvania State Legislative Director Paul Pokrowka is calling on all members to help stop legislation introduced here that bans Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority employees from striking.

H.B. 2109, introduced by State Rep. Kate Harper (R), would add SEPTA workers to the list of public employees prohibited from striking in the state, including “employees directly involved with and necessary to the functioning of the courts of this Commonwealth,” her website reads.

The bill would amend Section 1001 of P.L.563, No.195, stating that “strikes by employees of the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA), guards at prisons or mental hospitals, or employees directly involved with and necessary to the functioning of the courts of this Commonwealth are prohibited at any time. If a strike occurs the public employer shall forthwith initiate in the court of common pleas of the jurisdiction where the strike occurs, an action for appropriate equitable relief including but not limited to injunctions.”

Pokrowka is requesting all members and their family members to contact their representatives in the Pennsylvania General Assembly and ask them to vote “no” on H.B. 2109.

“This legislation tramples on the rights of workers. If this bill is passed, what group of workers will be targeted next?” Pokrowka asked.

To find information regarding your state representative, click here.

Harper originally introduced this legislation in 2009 following a six-day strike by various SEPTA employees, including members of the SMART Transportation Division (UTU). The legislation did not get out of committee at that time.

SEPTA_logo_150pxSMART Transportation Division Local 61 members working at Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority recently ratified a new agreement governing the rates of pay and working conditions of conductors and assistant conductors on the regional commuter railroad.

With nearly 79 percent of eligible members casting ballots, a vast majority of those voting – 87 percent – approved the agreement.

The five-year pact includes a signing bonus, general wage increases, conductor certification pay, enhanced bereavement allowance, increased uniform allowance and enriched continuation of health and welfare benefits among its provisions.

Transportation Division Vice President John E. Lesniewski, who assisted with negotiations, expressed his gratitude to GO STA General Chairperson Freddie Williams and his negotiating committee consisting of Vice General Chairpersons Francis McDermott, Martin Strom, Michelle Duncan and General Committee Secretary Nelson Pagan for their enduring commitment to finding an equitable agreement for the benefit of Local 61 members.

SEPTA is a metropolitan transportation authority that operates various forms of public transit – bus, subway and elevated rail, commuter rail, light rail and electric trolley bus – that serves 3.9 million people in and around Philadelphia, Pa.

SEPTA_logo_150pxPhiladelphia police are investigating three separate accidents involving SEPTA buses in Philadelphia.

The first happened around 8 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 15 on Vine St. near 8th.

Read the complete story at television station WPVI.