The Chicago Transit Authority is hiring back some of its recently laid-off bus and train operators, President Richard Rodriguez told the agency’s board today, but it’s not an effort to restore February’s service cuts.
Instead, it’s a move to replace CTA workers who are retiring, and it’s required by law for a year after layoffs. New jobs aren't being created or restored —staffing will stay at the same post-service-cut levels.
A total of 29 full-time and five part-time bus and train operators have been hired back since the layoffs, Rodriguez said. Read more...
A last-minute negotiation session between the CTA's top brass and its union chiefs won't stop the service cuts that will hit Chicago transit this Sunday, leaving many transit riders, literally, out in the cold.
But the meeting, brokered by Mayor Richard M. Daley, has restarted previously-dead negotiations that could yet restore the city's transit system after the cuts take place.
A deal could not be reached Friday evening, and won't be reached until at least next week, because Amalgamated Transit Union locals 241 and 308 must ask their members to approve any concessions. 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...
A train pulls into the Brown Line "L" stop on Chicago Avenue Credit: Alex Parker
For the better part of the last decade, CTA riders have been held hostage. Over and over again, they’ve been threatened with everything from cuts in bus service to elimination of “L” lines.
After years of patchwork fixes, small fare increases and loans, in 2008 the Illinois General Assembly passed new sales and real estate transfer taxes that lawmakers thought would be a viable long-term solution for the perennially underfunded system.
Read more...
