[PRCo] Re: Pittsburgh - think tank blasts possible new transit taxes

[Herb Brannon]

Back in the mid and late 1970's it was common for Division 85, Amalgamated Transit Union (PRCo and PATransit union for operators, mechanics, supervisors, and several office job classifications) to hold "Station Strikes." One afternoon I arrived at SHJct expecting to go to work. However, all the ATU Division Officers were standing across the entrance driveway coming off Warrington Avenue and told everyone to go home, there was a work stoppage in the interest of rail system safety. The resulting traffic jams, lost people, etc. caused PAT to reconsider safety and meet most of the unions suggestions for a better, safer system. Also, there is no mystery as to why the labor agreement between PAT and Division 85 expires on December 10 every three years. In 1973 I was working out of East Liberty Station. No agreement could be reached between the union and the authority. A strike vote was called and passed. I would always do "picket line duty" from 12 midnight to 8 AM at the Fifth
 Avenue entrance to the property. Every morning the traffic was lined from Downtown Pittsburgh, through Oakland and past East Liberty Station. Needless to say, the auto drivers were mad as hornets at us and the merchants all over the area always called on PATransit to find a quick settlement inasmuch as they were beginning to loose Christmas buying dollars. But yes, at least in that era, public transit in Pittsburgh played a big part on reducing traffic congestion and solved a good portion of the parking problem by removing x number of autos from the streets and parking lots.
Joshua Dunfield <joshuad at cs.cmu.edu> wrote:  
Fred Schneider wrote:
.

That's true, but you don't have to ride (much less need to ride) to
benefit. Downtown and Oakland would waste a lot more space for 
parking (and the streets would be parking lots, too) if PAT didn't
run. 

Herb Brannon