by KYW's Tony Romeo

Several dozen union members rallied at the state capitol in Harrisburg on Tuesday to protest governor Ed Rendell’s proposal to lease the Pennsylvania Turnpike to a private firm.

(Chanting: “No lease the pike!”)

Members of the Teamsters Union, which represents turnpike workers, say they want Governor Rendell to stay the course and implement Act 44, which calls for tolling Interstate 80 and increasing tolls on the turnpike to raise money for roads and mass transit.

Jock Rowe is secretary-treasurer of the Teamsters local representing workers in the eastern part of the state:

“We want to protect the turnpike. We want to keep the turnpike in the hands where it belongs -– the people of Pennsylvania. They own the turnpike -- not some foreign country, going to buy up the turnpike, going to get rid of our good paying jobs. We’ll be earning Walmart wages if they lease this turnpike.”

The Rendell administration is in the process of receiving bids for a possible longterm lease of the turnpike.