The City of Pittsburgh and its fiscal overseers are moving forward on efforts that could lead to privatization of emergency medical service and some trash collection, prompting labor leaders to threaten strikes.

The Act 47 recovery team, appointed by Gov. Ed Rendell to help right the city's financial ship, hopes to know within a month whether hospitals want to run the EMS Bureau, said team co-leader James Roberts today.

A request for proposals from parties interested in collecting trash in the city's southern neighborhoods could be issued within weeks, Roberts confirmed.

Those possibilities have darkened contract negotiations with the only two city unions without long-term contracts. The Fraternal Association of Professional Paramedics contract runs out at year's end, and Teamsters Local 249, which represents refuse workers, hasn't had a contract since 2003.

The city's latest proposal to paramedics includes two provisions apparently aimed at making the unit more attractive to a private entity, said union President Jeff Vesci.

One provision would eliminate an existing clause holding that the union and its contract remain intact should the bureau be transferred to a private entity. Another would allow the city to switch from two-paramedic teams to pairings of one paramedic and one less-trained emergency medical technician.

"Basically, they want to put us on the auction block," Vesci said. He said the union will work through year's end but would strongly consider striking early next year if such provisions were still on the table.

Mayor Tom Murphy's administration declined comment on contract talks.

The city's recovery plan under state Act 47 calls for giving private haulers the opportunity to bid against the Teamsters for approximately one-third of city trash collection routes.

More details in tomorrow's Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.