Transit workers to picket at CTA headquarters, strike possible

5   <div class="column span-15 small quiet"><img src="http://s3.amazonaws.com/cdnassets/assets/7772/transit_col15.jpg" alt="" style="width: 590px;" /> A Brown Line "L" train pulls into a station Credit: Alex Parker</div> Unions representing Chicago Transit Authority workers say they could consider a strike if the CTA breaks its contract by choosing which workers to layoff, rather than laying workers off by seniority. Robert Kelly, president if the Amalgamated Transit Union Local 308, which represents “L” workers, told the Current there have been internal talks of a strike.  Union members are expected to picket outside CTA headquarters Wednesday. “If they violate my contract, if they’re going to choose who they’re going to lay off, then I’m going to take into consideration that I don’t have a contract,” he said. “At that point, I’m going to talk to my international and ask them for the options, and I will bring this to the membership, and if everyone’s in agreement, I don’t have a problem with it. “I’ll be the first one out the door.” Last week, the CTA announced it would lay off about 1,000 union workers and 100 non-union employees as it grapples with a $300 million budget gap. It also is hoping unions will agree to wage reduction measures similar to the 3.5 percent drop requested of non-union workers. The CTA decided not to raise fares for riders, but a strike would cripple the transit system, inconveniencing the more than 1.5 million riders that use trains and buses each day. The union’s contract states layoffs must be made on seniority – last hired, first hired – but the CTA has issued notices to hand-picked employees. We’ve not been able to reach Darrell Jackson Jefferson, president of ATU Local 241, which represents bus workers. But he <a href="http://www.suntimes.com/news/transportation/1866642,CST-NWS-ctastrike05.article">told media outlets</a> earlier this month that all options would be explored, though a strike is a “last option.” <blockquote> "We continue to talk to the unions and hope that we will be able to reach agreement on ways to reduce costs so that we can avoid service reductions that would impact our customers and our employees," CTA spokeswoman Noelle Gaffney said. </blockquote> CTA spokeswoman Katelyn Thrall says the agency is complying with contract terms. "The CTA has fully complied with the seniority terms of the current contracts in place with each union in issuing the layoff notices," she says. The CTA continues to meet with the unions to discuss concessions, she says. CTA contracts stipulate essential service employees cannot strike, and contract negotiations that hit a wall must go to arbitration. But Jackson told the Sun-Times bus drivers don’t fall under that umbrella, and Kelly says the CTA would be breaking its agreement with “L” workers if it chooses who to lay off. Even if a strike is averted, Kelly said the workers that are service workers and repairmen. That means more trains that are inoperable or dirty, he said.

2009-11-16T15:42:00-06:00

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TransitworkerstopicketatCTAheadquartersstrikepossible

1 Frustrated by the CTA's stance toward labor, transit unions are discussing the possibility of going on strike.

Transit workers to picket at CTA headquarters, strike possible

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