Allegheny County Chief Executive Dan Onorato is prepared to withhold millions of dollars in key county funds and allow Port Authority to go bankrupt -- possibly by year's end -- if the union representing bus and trolley workers does not reach a satisfactory agreement that must include significant concessions on post-retirement benefits.

Mr. Onorato and Port Authority Chief Executive Officer Steve Bland appeared before Pittsburgh Post-Gazette editors this morning to discuss Friday's rejection by the executive board of the Amalgamated Transit Union's Local 85 of a state-appointed fact-finder's recommendations. They said they would like to see the union allow its rank-and-file members to vote on the recommendations.

"I think the majority would see this as a fair deal to fix the authority," Mr. Onorato said. However, he added, "I don't think the executive board is going to listen to my plea."

Mr. Onorato said he wanted to discuss the details of the fact-finder's recommendations so the public could understand what the union opted against.

"When and if the service stops, this could have kept it going," Mr. Onorato said, noting that "fingers are going to be pointed" if service ceases.

The head of the union said later today he would not put the fact-finder's recommendations for a new contract before his rank-and-file members for a vote but added that he is willing to continue negotations.

"If the union executive board decides that it's not worth consideration for acceptance, then it's done. Period," said Patrick McMahon, president and business agent of the Amalgamated Transit Union's Local 85. "We're past that."

Mr. McMahon said the union and Port Authority must now look beyond the recommendations of state-appointed fact-finder Jane Rigler.

"Local 85 is willing to come back to the table to negotiate in good faith. When can I expect the Port Authority to say the same?" Mr. McMahon said.

Both Mr. Onorato and Mr. Bland spoke in dire terms of the future of mass transit in Allegheny County if the union does not address retiree benefits. Mr. Onorato said he would not release the roughly $27 million a year collected by the county from a newly imposed tax on alcoholic beverages and rental cars -- money which is earmarked for Port Authority and would help unlock $184.5 million in state funds.

Releasing those funds would be nothing more than a Band-Aid approach that Mr. Onoroto said does not interest him. In the big picture, he said, it did not really matter whether the Port Authority would go bankrupt sooner or later. The bottom line, he said, is that it will go bankrupt eventually without significantly overhauling provisions of the current contract. And Mr. Onorato and Mr. Bland made clear they would not be willing to restart negotiations if the union did nothing more than pick and choose from among the fact-finder's recommendations.

"This is our chance to fix this long-term," Mr. Onorato said.

The Port Authority board unanimously accepted the fact-finder's recommendations, which called for 3 percent wage increases for each of the next three years but also would boost the retirement age and scale back retiree healthcare and pension benefits.