Community Corner

Transit Workers To Vote on Last-Ditch Concessions

A vote is not taken on an offer from a private bus company to service the Cranberry area.

More than 150 layoffs and a 15 percent service reduction to Allegheny County public transit might be delayed -- if only for one week. 

The Allegheny County Port Authority Board of Directors today adjourned a contentious meeting to allow members of the Amalgamated Transit Local 85 union, which represents Port Authority workers, to vote on last-minute concession proposals aimed at preventing the cuts. The board will reconvene the meeting at 3 p.m. Saturday.

The meeting ended before the board had a chance to vote on a proposal from Lenzner Coach Line to provide private service from the park-n-ride lot in Marshall Township and two other stops in Franklin Park.

Find out what's happening in Cranberrywith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The move would restore some options for Cranberry residents who rode the 13K Marshall Express, which is one of the

Union President Patrick McMahon said the union offered County Executive Dan Onorato a proposal under which members would take a 10 percent wage cut and forgo a 3 percent wage increase. He said that offer, if accepted, would save $18.6 million for the transit agency.

Find out what's happening in Cranberrywith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The union also is considering two other cost-cutting proposals it received from Onorato, but McMahon did not release details of those proposals.

Port Authority CEO Steve Bland said if the union and board can come an agreement the cuts and layoffs could be delayed for at least one week. McMahon, meanwhile, said ratifying the union's proposal would allow for Port Authority service levels to remain the same through June 2012. 

McMahon, who pleaded with the board to reschedule its meeting for Sunday to allow time to organize the vote, said he did not know  when the union vote would take place. Members must vote on the new proposal before the Port Authority board reconvenes.

"What's happening is we may be able to stop these [service] cuts," McMahon said. "This union agreed to take a significant cut out of its pay because that's the right thing to do for our riders." 

The board, meanwhile, will notify McMahon later today if it finds the union's proposal to be acceptable. If the Port Authority rejects that proposal, union members may still vote on the two alternative proposals from Onorato's office. 

McMahon said he was doubtful that Onorato's remaining proposals for the union would pass. He said the union's proposal would allow for Port Authority service levels to remain the same through June 2012. 

"For us to consider that, I would have to take this to my [union] executive board to decide if we'll bring it to the members," McMahon said of Onorato's proposals. 

Bland said the union's new proposal included "very, very significant concessions -- unprecedented and historic." 

"I'm happy to know that all of us in this room are united in trying to save this service for one week," Bland said. 

Members of the transit union filled the meeting room, often jeering and heckling members of the board as they spoke. Outside, protesters lined Sixth Avenue, demonstrating their opposition to the widespread public transit cuts.

The transit agency's board in January to eliminate 29 bus routes and lay off 180 employees in an effort to stretch $45 million in highway funding provided by former Gov. Ed Rendell.  The Port Authority estimated that those cuts would affect  5 percent of drivers throughout the county. 

The $45 million in funding was expected to stretch Port Authority service to June 2012, when more cuts would be necessary if a new revenue source from the state is not found.


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here