The head of the CTA bus drivers' union is meeting with U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood today in Washington, the union says.
Amalgamated Transit Union Local 241 President Darrell Jefferson will lobby LaHood, a former Illinois congressman, in support of a House bill to let transit systems use as much as 50 percent of federal funding to pay for day-to-day operations.
Jefferson will also meet with members of Illinois' congressional delegation to tell the unions' side of the story in the recent CTA service cuts. Read more...
With negotiations between the CTA and its largest union at a standstill, the union is lobbing a molotov cocktail at the transit agency with a pair of lawsuits, as well as a formal labor grievance.
Amalgamated Transit Union Local 241 said one of the lawsuits expected to be filed in federal court today seeks “millions of dollars” in unpaid training hours for bus drivers learning their routes.
A second lawsuit, which union officials say they're filing in state court, seeks to enforce 10 agreements that would each allow individual employees to come back to work. The union said the CTA originally said they would uphold the agreements, but last week reneged. Read more...
A CTA display informs "L" riders of impending service cuts. Credit: Ben Meyerson
As the Chicago Transit Authority’s doomsday approaches and negotiations with its unions remain gridlocked, the agency has started notifying riders of impending service cuts.
“The days of preparing for the storm have passed — we are now in its midst,” CTA President Richard Rodriguez said at the agency’s monthly board meeting today. “We want customers to have information as early as possible so that they can plan their travels based on the new schedules.” Read more...
