Could the SEPTA strike be an obstacle in winning PA?

[Rocknrule]

Without people in the Philly area being able to vote, Pennsylvania is basically West Virginia. Does anyone know if there are carpools, Uber deals, or other backup methods in place to help people there vote?

[tallahasseedem]

2. It could...

I'm extremely suspicious about this given everything that we've heard lately.

[vadermike]

3. There

Is a dem governor so I'm sure he would extend polling hours but I have a feeling the union will probably work for Election Day

[Tom Rivers]

4. thought someone earlier posted that the SEPTA strike would be halted for election day?

is that true or not? does anyone in philadelphia know what's going on?

[BumRushDaShow]

5. Most poll locations here in Philly are located within walking distance of someone's residence

(I am a block from mine).

The issue appears to be that some people were concerned about trying to get to their polling place after work when their commute is being disrupted by the strike. The polls here open at 7 am and close at 8 pm. There are almost 1,000,000 registered voters here in Philly so doing carpools or whatnot is not that feasible like one might see in small towns, however I do know that a number of organizations are looking into it. The SEPTA management is going back to court Monday to see if they can try again with getting a halt.

[Barack_America]

7. When I lived in Philly, mine was in my apartment building.

Talk about convenient!

My only concern would be people finding the time to make it to the polls with the extra hassle of getting back and forth from work.

I'm sure the aldermen have a plan.

[BumRushDaShow]

9. One of my previous residences had it in the basement of the apartment complex

All I had to do was roll downstairs. Where my mother lived, it used to be in a barbershop up the street.

No "aldermen" here (that's a Chicago-ism! ) but City Council is leaving it up to Bob Brady (head of the city's Democratic Party and also a congressman) to work both sides to hopefully come up with something. I think whatever is going to happen will happen Monday (some rumors were that the workers might work on election day and then go back out on strike afterwards). We shall see!

[Barack_America]

12. Oh how embarrassing...meant to say ward leaders.

Blackwell was mine, ward 46. I wasn't a huge fan of hers.

I did most of my political volunteering in the 3rd ward though. Williams seemed decent.

[BumRushDaShow]

13. Janie Blackwell is

(and when he was still alive, hubby Lucien, along with now-retired Marian Tasco, et al) part of the old old school Philly political machine that Tweety loves to talk about.

[meow2u3]

15. It's more a matter of people not being able to get to the polling place in time

after they get off work because of the lack of public transportation.

Hopefully, Gov. Wolf will extend voting hours to accomodate the SEPTA strike inconvenience if there's either no deal reached or no injunction granted to management.

[BumRushDaShow]

17. That's what I wrote :-)

I don't think Wolf has any unilateral authority to extend any poll hours. He has remained on the sidelines like our mayor with respect to this issue as their hands appear to be tied. And they have left it to city Dem Party leader and Congressman Bob Brady (old union guy too) to try to broker something or at least keep them talking while folks go to court.

[meow2u3]

19. Could the mayor step in?

[BumRushDaShow]

24. He already said he is on the sidelines

What can he do? It's a matter of going to the courts and the court ruled Friday that they had no case but would hear any other evidence on Monday.

SEPTA is a private entity. Neither the city nor state have any control over them (other than maybe giving them funding).

[jberryhill]

29. Only a court can order the union back to work

This will probably get sorted on Monday.

[brooklynite]

14. As a former Philadelphia Ward Committeeman...

NOBODY needs a bus or train to get to the polls; polling places are in your neighborhood, a few blocks away. The only reason transit is important is if people are late getting home from work.

[MH1]

18. It's potentially an issue for the Philly suburbs

There is no way out of Philly after work except by regional rail. It can easily add an hour to the commute, waiting in line for the train.

Common sense would say to try to vote before work, but if someone has strict rules about when they need to be in the office, that might be difficult as well.

Not a problem for me that day, as I took the day off to work the polls. But it's a potential issue for voters. OTOH, if I were betting, I'd bet on either the strike ending or the court granting an injunction or the union just working that day. This union would not want to see a President Trump.

[LisaL]

22. Then they need to go to court and get an extension of voting hours.

[MH1]

34. That sounds like a good idea, but that would be pretty rough for the election board,

who will have already been working since 6:30 am if not earlier, and will be there til 9 pm or later with the normal hours. (polls are open 7 am to 8 pm, then the board does the counting* with authorized watchers present).


* counting = sum the totals for each race from each machine, tally and sum write in votes, open, tally, and count all absentee votes for that precinct.

It's a long day already. Yeah it sounds easy "extend voting hours" but these election boards are composed largely of retired, sometimes elderly, people who probably are pushing it to be doing a 14 hour day of work as it is. Precincts could hold curbside elections for replacements - I guess - but that would mean pulling in inexperienced people to do the most critical part of the process.

Nope, they'd better solve the transit situation.

[geek tragedy]

32. It's the kind of thing that can weaken support for public unions.

If they tilt the election to Trump ...

[MH1]

33. The union has some very valid concerns, and this appears to be the only way, and the only time,

they can get those concerns addressed.

Unfortunately, most of the coverage on mainstream media ignores what the strike is actually about, and focuses on the inconvenience to commuters. The inconveniences are real, too, so I don't fully blame the media. I just wish they would include in every news piece at least a succinct reference to the issues driving the strike. (The ones I've learned about are unfair pension practices and unsafe / unhealthy work rules, including putting drivers in a position where they can't help but be driving when they're tired, which should be a concern to all of us.)

That said, I don't dispute your point at all, and I bet the union leaders are very well aware. Hell, they don't want a President Trump, I can guarantee you. This is a real union, whose very existence, or at least ability to advocate for their members, would be at risk if Trump wins.

Some resolution will be found by election day, I'm sure. I'm going to guess that management has already offered some compromises that aren't enough but are an improvement on the current situation, and that at the 11th hour, if not sooner, the union will accept what's on the table.

This is horrible timing and the union should also try to get a contract that ends on a date AFTER the election that year. Which is pretty much guaranteed at this point, I guess, but just pointing it out. They struck now because of the contract dates, I think.

[geek tragedy]

36. I think we pretty much agree, cheers nt

[whistler162]

23. If the SEPTA strikers and management are smart

they would call a one day halt to the strike and garner a lot of good will for both sides.

[brooklynite]

25. UPDATE-Uber and Lyft offering rides to the polls in Philly

Deray McKesson @deray
If you're in Philly, there are free rides via Uber and Lyft to the polls on Election Day: MyRideToVote.com.

[BumRushDaShow]

31. Good timing given Wolf just signed the bill making Uber & Lyft legal everywhere in PA

[MH1]

35. That's really good to hear.

I'll try to help get the word out.

I guess this is an easy thing for these services as they get to introduce customers to their service with a freebie. They probably consider it a good investment anyway, plus positive for their brand to help with this dilemma.

[Rocknrule]

26. Just saw this. It makes me feel a lot better.

https://myridetovote.org

If you live in the Philly area and normally depend on SEPTA, use this instead.