SEPTA, unions meet at Rendell's urging

PHILADELPHIA (AP) -- Representatives of the region's transit agency and its workers met Sunday after Gov. Ed Rendell urged them to settle their contract dispute and end the strike that has crippled public transportation in Philadelphia for a week.
Neither side would say if any progress was made during the face-to-face negotiations between the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority and the two striking unions.
The two sides met for about two hours, said Bob Bedard, spokesman for Transport Workers Union Local 234, which represents the bulk of the 5,300 striking workers of the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Administration.
Rendell, who met with each side separately earlier in the day, had said the two sides were "moderately close" to resolving issues such as wages and health-care premiums.
"We think the governor's participation is a positive; it's a hopeful involvement," Bedard said.
SEPTA spokesman Richard Maloney declined to discuss the day's negotiations or the governor's meeting.
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