The day after Thanksgiving has been coined "Black Friday," the day people start holiday shopping in earnest and merchants start turning a profit for the year.

In Allegheny County, it could be Black Friday for another reason: If the union representing 2,300 Port Authority bus-trolley operators, mechanics and other hourly employees doesn't see progress on a new labor agreement soon, it's talking about walking off the job on Nov. 25.

If so, buses, trolleys and the Mon Incline, which provide about 240,000 rides a day, would be idled on the busiest shopping day of the year.

The last time Local 85 walked off the job was for 28 days in March-April 1992, a labor dispute that ended only after court intervention.

The executive board of Local 85, Amalgamated Transit Union, yesterday recommended that its members authorize a walkout if negotiations continue to be unproductive and management sticks to a proposal offering a 1 percent wage hike in each of the final two years of a four-year contract.

The union has indicated it would be willing to contribute to health insurance for the first time, but not 5 percent of employees' pay, as the authority has proposed.

The strike authorization vote by the rank-and-file -- expected to pass -- is scheduled Nov. 20. It would empower Local 85's executive board to call a strike any time. The previous contract expired June 30.

Port Authority acting Chief Executive Officer Dennis Veraldi issued the following statement after learning of Local 85's plans:

"We are deeply disappointed that union officials have chosen to authorize a strike vote. Clearly, the only way these issues can be worked out amicably is through the collective bargaining process.

"A strike would be devastating to our customers and detrimental to the health, safety and welfare of our community, and it is not in the best interests of Port Authority employees."

Local 85 President-Business Manager Patrick McMahon told reporters the authority's proposed raises are too small and the health care contributions are too large. Local 85 also wants guarantees that the authority will not privatize transit routes or maintenance activities as cost-saving measures that would cut union jobs.

"When the employer is not being serious about the negotiations and they will not move off of their proposals, the only thing the union has to fight and to force them to do anything is to go on strike," Mr. McMahon said.

He said an exchange of updated contract proposals by both sides on Thursday went poorly and the union needs to protect the interests of the local and its members.

Earlier efforts to arrive at a new contract through fact-finding proved unsuccessful. Both the union and authority board rejected the neutral fact-finder's recommendations of a 4.5 percent pay increase, up to 30 cents an hour in cost-of-living adjustments, slightly higher pension contributions and paying part of health insurance premiums.

Local 85 leadership's decision to ask members to authorize a strike came as a week-long strike by 5,300 transit workers ended at the Philadelphia-based Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority.

Flanked by union and management officials, Gov. Ed Rendell announced the agreement just after 5:30 a.m. after marathon talks that resumed at his urging Sunday afternoon. He said the deal would help efforts in Harrisburg next year to get a dedicated source of increased state funding for mass transit.

Mr. Rendell also urged the Port Authority and union to return to the bargaining table, although no new talks were reported scheduled as of yesterday afternoon.

At SEPTA, members of Transport Workers Union Local 234 are to contribute 1 percent of their base salaries toward health care; SEPTA originally wanted a 5 percent contribution.

The union workers will receive salary increases of 3 percent in each year of a four-year contract.

The first transit strike in Philadelphia since 1998 inconvenienced more than 400,000 daily subway, bus and trolley riders, including 27,000 public school students.