By Jared Shelly

– Commuters expressed a collective sigh of relief Monday morning, as SEPTA’s Regional Rail trains were running on schedule.

A weekend strike by 400 workers was short-lived after President Barack Obama forced the creation of a presidential emergency board to mediate the contract dispute between SEPTA and its engineers and electricians unions. Obama called for “a swift and smooth resolution” and his actions mean that the unions will not be able to strike until the PEB expires in another 240 days.

But does that just mean the unions will strike in February? The two sides have 30 days to submit a report to Obama’s board their plans for resolving the dispute. Then the mediation will continue.

SEPTA spokesperson Jerri Williams still used some strong rhetoric in a statement released Monday morning. After detailing how it has offered the unions increased pay ($3 per hour to IBEW and $2.60 per hour to BLET), Williams said union leadership “made it abundantly clear that they wanted to go on strike.” That was after SEPTA asked the union for a two-week extension.

But Terry Gallagher, president of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, touted the president’s intervention, saying it was “what we were waiting for.”

Does that mean both sides will negotiate in good faith? We’ll have to wait and see.

Source: http://www.bizjournals.com/philadelphia/morning_roundup/2014/06/septas-trains-rolling-againbut-labor-dispute-far.html