SEPTA Strike From the Worker's Perspective
Yesterday, several representatives from the Unified Taxi Workers Alliance, Philadelphia Student Union, Philadelphia Joint Board/Workers United, Casino-Free Philadelphia, and the Media Mobilizing Project visited SEPTA workers, who have gone on strike to demand a fair contract. To show support and solidarity, we visited several picket locations across the city, including 58th and Vine, 69th and Market, Bridge and Pratt, and 49th and Woodland, and spoke with members of TWU Local 234 to get the real story.
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Seeing the faces of SEPTA workers
I've heard lots of folks complaining about "greedy" SEPTA workers lately. It's disapointing to hear people putting the blame on TWU members, but it's hardly surprising, given the mainstream media's anti-union/anti-worker coverage. After several days of watching local tv news and reading local press
coverage of this strike, this video is the first time that I have seen
the faces of any SEPTA workers, or heard the voices of rank and file
TWU members.
I hope that people share this video with their networks of friends and family around the city. People need to understand the reality of this strike and what is at stake for working people.
Stereotypes
The SEPTA strike has again brought out the stereotype of the greedy, unreasonable, unionized worker. It is easy to blame just the media for this biased coverage but that is just the tip of the iceberg. It is time that unions stopped fooling themselves about who their friends are. A far more dangerous stereotype for unions is to believe that the Democratic Party is pro-labor while the Republicans are not. The reality is that both parties are only concerned about votes. Politics is about public opinion. Union membership needs to stay politically independent and only support those politicians who have demonstrated their support and not just made promises. Perhaps the best thing unionized workers could do in Philadelphia is to show their political strength and change the stagnant political situation by making the city a real two party town. I am reminded of the wisdom of an uncle who had a very clear and simple principle to guide his vote: "Throw the bums out!”