Talks in Philadelphia Transit Strike Break Off

Bumper to bumper traffic entering Pennsylvania from New Jersey packs the Benjamin Franklin Bridge in...

Bumper to bumper traffic entering Pennsylvania from New Jersey packs the Benjamin Franklin Bridge in Philadelphia, Thursday, Nov. 5, 2009. The Philadelphia transit system's largest union went on strike early Tuesday, bringing the city's bus, subway and trolley operations to a halt. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

(AP)

Negotiations aimed at ending a transit strike in Philadelphia broke off Saturday night over disagreement on pensions and the impact of possible national health care overhaul, and Pennsylvania's governor walked away from the negotiations.

"In my 32 years in government, I have never been more disappointed by a negotiation than I am right now tonight," Gov. Ed Rendell told reporters Saturday evening, flanked by Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter and negotiators for the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority.

Rendell and U.S. Rep. Robert Brady, D-Pa., who brokered negotiations, had announced Friday night that the two sides had a tentative agreement, but the governor said the union raised as many as nine new issues Saturday that would have cost the transit authority an additional $7 million.

Transport Workers Union Local 234 president Willie Brown said the union had agreed only to proposed wage increases and union pension contributions, but not on other contract issues. The union represents about 5,000 bus drivers, subway and trolley operators and mechanics who walked off the job early Tuesday over pension benefits.

Brown said the union wants an independent audit to assure the security of its pension funds, which he has called severely underfunded.

"If we're going to pay more into the pension ... we need to be comfortable about where this money is going," Brown said. "What are they afraid of?"

The union also rejected the SEPTA's call to reopen talks if the company's costs increase due to universal coverage in a possible health care reform plan being debated in Congress.

"We will not be going back to work until these issues are resolved," Brown said.

Both sides have said no new talks are scheduled, and the governor said he has withdrawn from the negotiations.

"I have a state to run," he said. "I have 66 other counties, and I can no longer give all of my attention to one county and this problem."