The wheels on Port Authority buses might not be going round and round for very much longer,… The wheels on Port Authority buses might not be going round and round for very much longer, leaving many city and county residents scrambling to find alternate means of transportation to work, school and their various daily destinations.

The Port Authority of Allegheny County – the organization in charge of the county’s bus, trolley and incline services as well as the T – and the Amalgamated Transit Union’s Local 85, recently hit a pothole on the road to a new labor agreement.

A strike at any time by Port Authority employees could leave countless riders around Allegheny County stranded.

The contract for Port Authority employees ended June 30, said the Port Authority’s “Pittsburgh Transit Info” Web site, which was established to inform the public of labor agreement developments.

Increasing gas prices are making the Port Authority squirm and consider cutting back on funds allocated for employees, causing friction with the Port Authority and the ATU Local 85.

The Port Authority’s 2009 budget undertakes “a minimum of $10 million in cost reductions [that] will be achieved through the collective bargaining process with ATU Local 85” according to a Port Authority press release.

Much of this reduction would come directly from health care pensions and post-retirement benefits.

Patrick McMahon, president-business agent for Local 85, views the expectation for such cuts as “absolutely not fair.”

“I’m going to tell you something right now, it’s not going to happen,” he said.

McMahon said that it is not reasonable to expect workers, many of whom “take the job for the benefits [pension and post-retirement package]” to be cut off after years of service.

“We’ve negotiated for these things for a long time,” he said. “They [Port Authority] want to take it all away, to gut everything, we’re not ready to do that.”

The Port Authority cited in the press release the rising cost of health care – a 75 percent increase from $38.8 million in the 2002 fiscal year to $67.9 million in 2009 – as well as the rocketing cost of diesel fuel – from $2.28 a gallon in 2008 to about $4.15 in 2009 – as reasons for stalled labor negotiations.

The Port Authority reported that its budget for next year is $350.3 million, an increase of $14.3 million from the past fiscal year, said the Port Authority’s operating budget for 2008-2009.

“Every penny increase in the cost of diesel fuel adds $80,000 in expense to Port Authority’s budget,” a press release said.

Another increasing cost to the Port Authority is what they call “lifetime health care,” which is provided to many retired drivers.

This cost is in addition to a pension of 2.5 percent times the number of years served for retired drivers, according to the Pittsburgh Transit Info Web site.

Port Authority board member Joan Ellenbogen said that the increasing costs are becoming a burden.

“Taxpayers and transit riders cannot be expected to continue to fund a health care and post-retirement benefits package that is far more generous than the national average and is far more than county employees and regional taxpayers receive,” said Ellenbogen in the press release.

With negotiations at a standstill, Port Authority and ATU Local 85 have been forced to adopt an independent fact-finder, a non-binding arbitrator, whose job it is to lay out a compromise between the two feuding entities.

For the compromise to take effect, it must be agreed upon by both sides with no changes.

The last instance of a fact-finding expedition was in 2005, but nothing was accepted.

McMahon does not see this process as a fruitful one, calling it a “waste of time.”

“I’d be surprised if anything was accepted,” he said.

“The first time we went to fact-finding, in 1991-1992, there was a strike. The best [outcome] to expect is to get somewhere where we [ATA Local 85 and Port Authority] can negotiate.”

McMahon pointed out the catch-22 in the negotiating process.

“What is a shame is the money spent on the process,” said McMahon. “We’re talking about an agency that is concerned about cutting expenses.”

The last Port Authority strike was in 1992 and lasted 28 days before a Pittsburgh judge ordered for the strike to end.