Downtown Business Leaders Prep For Possible Port Authority Strike

Transit Employees Could Vote To Walk Off Job In September

POSTED: 7:18 am EDT August 6, 2008
UPDATED: 9:00 pm EDT August 6, 2008

PITTSBURGH -- If Port Authority workers vote to strike in September, downtown business leaders want to be prepared for their employees' commuting and transportation issues.

"Companies, even those whose employees don't take transit, those companies need to be prepared and know what to do and know what to expect," said Ken Zapinski, a vice president with the Allegheny Conference on Community Development.

What do you think about a possible strike? Share your feedback on our Port Authority message board.

On Wednesday, representatives from the Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership and local business leaders discussed the impact of a potential strike. Their meeting at the Omni William Penn Hotel was intended to help employers develop contingency plans.
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According to the Web site KeepPittsburghMoving.com, more than 40 percent of downtown workers use the Port Authority to get to work every day.

"Seventy-five percent of our employees across four different sites around the city use public transportation to get to work, so it would have a huge impact on us," said Odell Richardson, of the YMCA of Greater Pittsburgh.

"We have 600 students that take public transportation," said Robert Hamed, of the Western School of Health and Business Careers.

Some ideas that came out of the meeting included changing employees' shifts to help them avoid rush hours; telecommuting; working from home; and working in a suburban satellite office, if your company has one.

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