Let Allegheny County Council debate the 200 layoffs and two new taxes sought by Dan Onorato in his $727.5 million budget. What's beyond argument is the county chief executive's plan to use the budget as pressure on the Port Authority to get its financial house in order.

Whether carrot or stick, the extra millions that are leveraged from the state by the county's larger transit allocation of $30 million next year should be an incentive for system employees and managers to strike a real-world bargain for the contract that begins in July.

The transit union feels victimized and scandalized by Mr. Onorato's pressure tactic, but that pales compared to what the public has been suffering at the bus stop: reduced service, higher fares, shaky funding. Port Authority managers lost their generous compensation packages in the last belt-tightening; it's time the system's union employees settled for something down to earth, too. That would mean an end to bloated health-care packages, retirements taken way before retirement age and other benefits the system can no longer afford.

There was a time when public sentiment might have sided with the transit workers on maintaining their compensation levels. But these perks reflect another era and those days are over. Dan Onorato is right to turn up the heat for a reality-driven agreement -- one that union, management and public can all live with.