The CTA has won the battle with its unions over the order in which employees can be laid off during Sunday's pending service cuts, the head of the "L" operators' union said today.
Amalgamated Transit Union Local 308 President Robert Kelly said he was disappointed with the "very narrow decision" issued by an arbitrator today, which will allow the CTA to lay off some full-time employees before part-time ones.
Kelly and his bus union counterpart, Darrell Jefferson, have long argued this would violate the "last hired, first fired" clause in the unions' contracts.
"The ATU locals always understood, unfortunately, that our members would be laid off and our dispute was only about using seniority with the CTA to determine who would be laid off first," Kelly said in a statement.
The arbitrator's decision resolves one of the major sticking points between the CTA and the unions as layoffs loom as soon as this Sunday, February 7.
In today's statement, Kelly began to posture for a 30-day reprieve to the cuts.
"Springfield and Washington must step up to protect the public and our members from these catastrophic service cuts and layoffs," Kelly said.
I'll update as I report back from a 4 p.m. press conference with the unions, and as I hear back from the CTA.
UPDATE 6:20 p.m.:
As ATU Presidents Jefferson and Kelly were talking to the media, a letter from CTA President Rodriguez came across the table offering to schedule a last-minute meeting.
CTA spokeswoman Catherine Hosinski confirmed the overture. However, the arbitration impeded negotiations, she said.
"We wish we could have spent the last several weeks reaching an agreement as opposed to arbitrating technical details," Hosinski said. "CTA remains open to meeting with the unions to come to an agreement."
UPDATE 11:30 p.m.:
ATU 241 spokesman A.C. McLean has just sent out a press release announcing that the bus drivers' union intends to appeal the arbitrator's ruling. This may not be over yet.
Windy Citizen 