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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Transit Strike Paralyzes Philadelphia

Compiled From Wire Services

A strike by transit workers brought Philadelphia subways, buses and trolleys to a halt Tuesday, forcing an estimated 350,000 commuters to find new ways to get around the nation’s fifth-largest city.

The Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority’s bus, subway and trolley service inside the city stopped at 12:01 a.m., after 5,200 drivers, operators, motormen and maintenance workers belonging to the Transport Workers Union rejected a 7 percent raise over three years. No negotiations were scheduled.

The strike knocked out more than 80 percent of the region’s public transportation, crowding the highways and filling many parking lots in the city’s business district by 8 a.m.