BLET calls for strike authorization vote at SEPTA

Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen (BLET) members who operate trains for Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority's (SEPTA) Regional Rail service will begin voting for a proposed strike authorization at the agency.

Results will be announced Nov. 20 by the BLET, the union announced yesterday.

SMART-TD, which represents SEPTA conductors on regional commuter trains, also recently announced a strike authorization vote.

SEPTA's locomotive engineers are the lowest paid engineers working in commuter-rail service in the nation and have not received a raise since 2019, BLET officials said in a news release.

If BLET members vote in favor of a strike authorization, it doesn't mean a strike will immediately occur, they said. The rules of the Railroad Labor Act, which pertain to those working in regional rail at SEPTA, are a different set of rules from those that govern operators of buses or trolleys, or other transit agency positions, BLET officials said.