Asshole of the Week

Photo by Flickr user lindseywb

We love to hate SEPTA. It may be one of the best public transportation systems in the country, but that's cold comfort when your bus doesn't come, or the driver curses you, or when the people on board are doing convincing renditions of the elusive hyena-werewolf-zombie monster. But, that said, we depend on it. We depend on our trolleys, buses, and subways to go to work, school, the doctor, and the World F'ing Series.

This major event, of course, has nothing to do with TWU Local 234 authorizing a strike. Nothing at all. Never mind that a strike would cripple the entire city—flooding the streets with even more traffic—making things inconvenient and dangerous for everyone. It's a coincidence. We don't care about SEPTA's workers' brass balls. We want them to do their jobs. Not delay negotiations today until 5:30 PM for no given reason, and then threaten to strike at midnight. That's crap. In this economy it's pure bull. We've got no sympathy for you today, Local 234.

In this crap economy, with so many out of work, with ridership down, and SEPTA (as always) without enough money to operate properly, the workers, even without contracts, are not seeming reasonable. They want raises and increased pension benefits. SEPTA wants to go two years with no raises and to raise the benefit contribution workers make from one to four percent. Most people pay even more than that four percent—and they do it while needing a way to get to work. Or school. Or the doctor. Or the World Series.

If Local 234 strikes, we won't be loving hating them. We'll be hating them.