Two months after same-sex marriage became legal in Pennsylvania, SEPTA’s unionized workers still cannot access workplace benefits for their same-sex spouses.
SEPTA is the region’s public-transit system, with about 9,300 workers.
The agency doesn’t offer domestic-partnership benefits. But now that Pennsylvania sanctioned marriage equality, some of SEPTA’s workers want their same-sex marriages recognized for the purpose of workplace benefits.
SEPTA’s workplace benefits include health-care coverage, pension and death benefits and family-leave privileges.
Jerri Williams, a SEPTA spokesperson, said the transit authority will recognize the same-sex marriages among its 2,000 nonunion employees.
But she said an agreement must be formalized with SEPTA’s largest union, Transport Workers Union Local 234, before SEPTA can begin recognizing same-sex marriages of unionized workers.
She said SEPTA has 17 labor unions, and TWU Local 234 typically sets the pattern for other labor contracts.
TWU Local 234’s labor contract expired in March. Its 5,000 members are working under the old contract as talks continue.
To expedite recognition of same-sex marriages, SEPTA hopes to enter into an interim agreement with TWU Local 234, Williams said.
“We will do this [marriage recognition] for the union workers as soon as we can,” she said. “We do believe it’s a benefit that all employees should have.”
Williams emphasized that “SEPTA has always had the belief and goal of treating all of our employees equally.”
She said SEPTA’s legal advisers haven’t cleared the way for management to begin recognizing the unionized workers’ same-sex marriages and providing the workplace benefits, without something in writing from TWU Local 234.
“We’re looking at our options, to see how we can implement this without upsetting the status quo or appearing to unilaterally set new terms and conditions of employment,” she added.
Willie Brown, president of TWU Local 234, expressed concern that SEPTA officials aren’t recognizing the same-sex marriages of unionized workers.
“I don’t know what’s going on,” Brown told PGN. “I thought management would give out the benefits when Gov. Corbett said he wouldn’t fight the [marriage-equality] ruling.”
Last week, Brown said, an attorney acting on behalf of SEPTA conveyed to him that he would have to sign some type of letter to expedite the process.
“I haven’t gotten the letter yet,” he added. “I’m willing to sign a letter, if that’s what needs to be done — as long as it doesn’t have any unfair restrictions. The law is the law. We want this done yesterday.”
Brown also questioned why SEPTA officials believe revised language in labor contracts is necessary. He noted that current labor contracts don’t rule out the possibility of same-sex-marriage recognition.
Williams said the agency is committed to honoring the marriages of all its workers.
“This is an issue that [SEPTA General Manager] Joe Casey feels very strongly about. So we’re going to try to figure out how to make this happen,” she said.
