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Port Authority, Union Talks Remain At Stalemate

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Sep 26, 2008 4:17 pm US/Eastern

Port Authority, Union Talks Remain At Stalemate

Reporting
Jim Lokay
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) ― Labor talks between the Port Authority of Allegheny County and the union representing thousands of bus and trolley operators remain at a stalemate.

Following this morning's regular board meeting, Port Authority CEO Steve Bland reported no progress in negotiations with Local 85 of the Amalgamated Transit Union.

The previous labor pact expired in June.

A state-mandated fact-finder report crafted a contract proposal calling for a modest pay increase for the 2,300 members of ATU, as well as abolishing lifetime health care benefits for retirees. While the Port Authority board approved the deal, the union did not.

Without a deal, nearly 250,000 riders face the prospect of a strike, the first since 1992.

The failure to come to an agreement led Allegheny County Executive Dan Onorato to freeze nearly $30 million in revenue generated by the controversial 10 percent drink tax.

The tax was to cover the county's share of mass transit funding. Onorato had said he would release the money if both sides approved the factfinder's proposal.

Bland is now predicting the Port Authority could go broke by mid-December without a labor deal that secures "substantial" cost-saving measures for the agency. He says further route cuts and fare increases are on the table, should the stalemate continue.

Stay with KDKA for the latest on this developing story.




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