Participants in the ILCA Convention visited ATU Local 85 to learn about transportation issues in Pittsburgh.   Mountains and rivers carve up the terrain of greater Pittsburgh, while economic forces have produced a downtown in which space is at a premium. This makes transportation key to a vital economy.   Local 85’s 2,600 members in bus, rail and on the inclines deliver more than 100,000 people to their jobs everyday. Downtown, this keeps the economy moving. In many communities, it offers the only alternative to isolation.   Unfortunately, if the leadership of the Port Authority has its way, many communities will end up without affordable public mass transit. The plan, entitled “Connect09,” would disconnect entire communities, ending public bus runs and opening the door to private contractors to charge whatever the market will bear. This would strand riders and weaken public mass transit at the same time – a lose-lose proposition.   ATU 85 aims to fight service cuts hand-in-hand with community forces.   Morale remains high, buoyed by the solid achievements of ATU 85 and its members. On the road, members continue to deliver first-rate service. In the shops, members safeguard a tradition of producing replacement parts in-house at a cheaper cost and with higher reliability than the Authority could get by farming the work out.   Public transportation plus union pride make a winning combination for Pittsburgh.   Click here for photo album of visit with ATU 85 members Click here for photo album of visit to a bus maintenance facility Click here for photo album of visit to Ross Division bus depot   Coming soon – ATU 85 members speak