Port Authority, Union Head for Showdown

The demands that brought labor talks to the brink of a Port Authority bus strike three years ago might seem like child's play this year.

CEO Steve Bland said his goal is to have the 2,400 members of the Amalgamated Transit Union Local 85 receive the same benefits -- at the same cost -- as managers and other non-union workers.

We have to get to parity, Bland told the Pittsburgh Tribune- Review in discussing the upcoming labor talks.

According to authority figures, parity would require union workers to pay 13.1 percent of the price of health premiums rather than the 3.3 percent they started paying in 2005. It would mean they work more years before retiring. Workers would no longer receive health care coverage for life, among other changes.

Those are the key moves Bland envisions will be required to satisfy Allegheny County Chief Executive Dan Onorato, who vowed in November to withhold transit revenue generated by new taxes on alcoholic drinks and rental cars until the agency cut labor costs.We're really only asking to make the same sacrifices that others in the same organization have already made Bland said. It's not exactly an easy sell.

Onorato has withheld $13.5 million and Bland expects another $13.5 million check will not come in May. The authority plans to borrow $27 million to trigger about $183 million in state subsidies.

Port Authority's labor negotiations with bus drivers and mechanics are under way and will affect 220,000 riders.

Onorato doesn't plan to intervene in the negotiations as he did in 2005.

It's the responsibility of the Port Authority management and union to negotiate the contract and he expects them to get it done, Onorato spokesman Kevin Evanto said.

Port Authority officials say cutting labor costs is the final piece of its financial puzzle.

Routes were cut by 15 percent in June and base fares jumped by a quarter in January. The authority scaled back management's benefits last year and the county adopted the taxes to meet its annual $27 million transit subsidy.

The non-union workers have done their part and riders have done their part and the taxpayers are doing their part, said authority spokeswoman Judi McNeil. There's one piece that's left.

Union president Pat McMahon says he's willing to find common ground but is unwilling to give away coveted benefits the union spent decades fighting to keep.

It's unfortunate that Mr. Bland continues to go to the media, but what he's saying is no surprise, McMahon said. With one swipe of the pen, he wants to take away what this union has bargained to receive for the last 40 years.

For Bland, the bottom line is cutting costs.

We're just trying to be competitive with what other employers in the region are doing, he said.

The authority's most expensive problems relate to health care and pensions:

Health care costs increased from $39.4 million in 2004 to $58.7 million this year.

Pension costs increased from $3.3 million in 2004 to $17.9 million this year.

Providing health care for life to retirees is a problem, Bland said.

That's the thing we really have to cap," he said. "That's really a major issue.

Bland cites lower-cost benefits at Port Authority's sister agency serving Philadelphia -- the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority -- as thumbnail targets. Key figures include:

Retirement age: SEPTA's average retirement age is five years older, at about 60 years.

Retiree health care: SEPTA provides health coverage for three years after retiring.

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Source: Tribune-Review/Pittsburgh Tribune-Review