Pittsburgh City Council may weigh in on the contentious confirmation process of U.S. Supreme Court nominee Judge Samuel A. Alito Jr.

Council was visited by several dozen anti-Alito protesters, who went to its meeting after rallying on the City-County Building steps yesterday morning.

"Mr. Alito's nomination is deeply troubling to me and should be deeply troubling to the residents of this city," said Councilman Doug Shields. He said a resolution on the subject could be introduced and voted on Tuesday.

The protesters urged U.S. Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa., to reverse his stated course and oppose the nomination, before heading off to the senator's Downtown office to express their views.

"The judiciary needs to be unbiased and not have any agenda, but be a fair and independent voice for the little people," said Karen Egorin, a Shadyside resident and vice president of social action for the National Council of Jewish Women. Wearing a button reading "Keep Abortion Legal," she said that if confirmed, Judge Alito's "personal, conservative views are going to be a huge influence over the coming years."

"We feel that he's got a very narrow, restrictive view of laws that affect workers' rights," said Rebecca Cooper of Friendship, an employee of the United Steelworkers of America.

She cited opinions by Judge Alito, a 15-year veteran of the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia, that she said allowed companies to loosen workplace safety rules and drop pension plans.

Mr. Specter, a Republican, is chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, which is expected to vote on the judge's nomination Tuesday. He said on Friday that he would vote to confirm.

"I'm very disappointed with Sen. Specter," said Carol McCullough, of the Squirrel Hill chapter of the National Organization for Women. Mr. Specter "claims to be pro-choice, and [Judge Alito] clearly is not pro-choice."