Port Authority drivers, mechanics and first-line supervisors delivered good news to transit riders yesterday when they voted in favor of a four-year contract that starts chipping away at long-term pension and health-care costs.
In a meeting with Post-Gazette editors today, County Executive Dan Onorato and the authority's chief executive officer, Steve Bland, provided more details on the numbers.
Over the life the contract, the agency expects to save $92.7 million in post-retirement costs. That estimate is even higher than what the Port Authority expected to save under its last-best-final offer made during negotiations. That figure, $86.1 million, was the same as the authority projected it would have saved if a fact-finder's recommendation had gone into effect.
The savings comes because the new contract pushes retirement age to 60 for employees with 30 years of continuous service. Pension savings alone as a result of that change amount to $13.1 million over the four-year period. Anyone who wants to retire earlier, or with less time on the job, will have to assume part of the cost of health care. That saves the authority another $4 million.
Current employees also will pick up a larger share of their medical coverage, including deductibles and co-pays for the first time, a $6.7 million subtraction for the transit agency. Other adjustments to the coverage plan save another $4.3 million.
Savings on the operations side of the budget come to $101,181, which may not sound like much. However, that takes into account the fact that workers will get modest pay raises each year.
We said in an editorial Friday that the terms sounded like a good deal for employees and the Port Authority, and the details we saw today support that view. The agency's board will vote on the plan at a meeting next Monday.
Posted
Dec 08 2008, 03:33 PM
by
Susan Mannella