Any doubts that the Port Authority means business in its current contract negotiations have been dispelled.

Chief Executive Officer Steve Bland recently announced that a new, three-year contract will go into effect Dec. 1 even though no settlement has been reached with Local 85 of the Amalgamated Transit Union, which represents drivers, mechanics and other hourly workers.

The transit agency says it has that power under federal law because talks are at an impasse and it can no longer afford to keep operating under terms of the old contract, which expired July 1. It's no surprise that the union disagrees or that this dispute will be argued in court.

You might think a contract imposed by management would be unreasonable, but that's not the case here. It includes a 3 percent annual wage increases that will raise the average hourly wage for drivers to $25.70 by 2011. It does change the benefits plan, requiring higher contributions from employees and pushing retirement to age 60 -- closer to a normal retirement age -- for current workers who want post-retirement health care.

The benefits that remain still are more generous than many other employers provide, and the contract eliminates the ridiculous provision that says workers cannot receive a written warning on tardiness unless they have been late for work 13 times.

Union employees would have fared better under a proposal from a fact finder, which the Port Authority board accepted in September. But the union leadership rejected the terms and even refused to let its nearly 2,300 members have their say on the plan.

The Port Authority, with backing from Allegheny County Executive Dan Onorato in the form of his threat to withhold some transit funding, has finally drawn a line in the sand. That is a stance that should be applauded, since it is a change from past practice, in which management folded in the face of strike threats or for political expediency.

Let's hope the authority's bold decision withstands a court challenge. If it doesn't, union negotiators should be ready to come to the table with a more realistic attitude.