With driver shortages because of vaccine mandate, Port Authority offers free rides
Port Authority of Allegheny County’s covid-19 vaccine mandate went into effect Wednesday, affecting hundreds of employees and dozens of routes as authority officials offered free rides to soothe the pain of service disruptions for riders.
Spokesman Adam Brandolph said in a statement early Tuesday evening that about 480 Port Authority employees – including 180 operators – would be kept off work starting Wednesday.
Brandolph said that although “a portion” of those employees are expected to return to work in the next two weeks – presumably after having been vaccinated – service disruptions will likely continue. He has said it is difficult to determine ahead of time which routes might be affected.
Riders who have purchased and begun to use a 7-day or 31-day pass on their ConnectCard will automatically receive a complimentary 7-day pass, as will people who have purchased and activated a 7-day or 31-day pass on a mobile ticketing application.
Riders who have purchased and have begun to use a 7-day or 31-day pass on a ConnecTix should bring their ConnecTix to Port Authority’s Downtown customer service center beginning Monday to receive a free 7-day pass.
Ross Nicotero, president of Amalgamated Transit Union Local 85, which represents Port Authority employees, said earlier this week that some employees will likely call in sick as a way to stand in solidarity with colleagues placed on leave for lack of vaccination.
He said Port Authority officials have refused to negotiate the mandate.
“We still welcome them to come to the table to bargain for our members,” Nicotero said.
Consternation between Port Authority officials and the union have played out publicly over the past several days. Last Thursday, an Allegheny County judge ruled against the union, whose attorneys had sought an injunction against the vaccine mandate.
The following day, Port Authority CEO Katharine Kelleman warned of “significant delays and a large number of missed trips” if the 500 unvaccinated employees failed to get vaccinated by the Wednesday deadline.
On Saturday, as snow storms mixed with the city’s St. Patrick’s Day parade and its associated revelry, drivers and other employees called off en masse in an apparent protest against the mandate. Brandolph said around 800 sick-time hours were used Saturday. The norm, he said, is less than 50.
In a Saturday afternoon Facebook post addressing union members, Nicotero wrote that management’s “ignorance and unaccountability will face consequences.”
Speaking directly to Kelleman, Nicotero implied that the CEO had threatened to include a law enforcement presence at disciplinary hearings next week.
“If you follow our historic process, there will be no need for law enforcement presence, which will serve no purpose except to aggravate an already unpleasant situation,” he wrote. “Just because you are now fumbling to address the fallout of your wrong-headed decision does not mean we will depart from our long-standing practices and processes.”
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