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WHEREAS, on March 26, 2011, the Port Authority of Allegheny County voted in favor of draconian cuts in vital public transportation adversely affecting thousands of City of Pittsburgh residents, including the termination of neighborhood bus routes; and,
WHEREAS, these budget cuts also included the lay-off of 200 employees who now face economic and family hardship with loss of health care benefits and wages at a time when the national economy is still in its early stage of recovery; and,
WHEREAS, accessible and consistent public transportation is vital to our local economy and has been long recognized as contributing to a more sustainable and attractive region contributing to improvement of air quality and pollution reduction; and,
WHEREAS, thousands of Pittsburgh residents and citizens throughout a multi-county region each day rely on public transit to arrive at work places, attend cultural and sporting events, visit Pittsburgh's many institutions and first day attractions, attend church and religious services, arrive on numerous campuses in pursuit of their education and job training, and much more; and,
WHEREAS, lower wage workers and many citizens who have physical and developmental challenges either cannot afford private transportation or deserve the accessibility provided by public transit to assure the full measurement of services as taxpayers and residents of our community; and,
WHEREAS, the leadership and members of the Amalgamated Transit Workers Union, Division 85, have gone above and beyond reasonable expectations to provide a more cost effective collective bargaining agreement with significant and painful reductions to the quality of life of their members and the benefits they have earned over many years of hard work; and,
WHEREAS, Governor Ed Rendell and the State Legislature have provided significant revenue to local public transit and with the advent of a new Governor and Legislature any additional funding in all reality may not arr...
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