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NEWS & LETTERS, Janurary-February 2010
Battling CTA layoffs
Chicago--Chicago Transit Authority bus drivers and maintenance workers united with CTA riders and other supporters to march against service cutbacks and layoffs on Dec. 9. Despite bitter cold and Chicago winds, spirits outside CTA headquarters were high, as a hundred or more demonstrators chanted their message to the CTA bosses and local pols: "Chop from the top!"
Teachers and other public employees supported the demo. A newly formed coalition, Public Workers United, will continue to oppose threatened cuts in public transportation, education, and the other needed services that form the minimal basis of a workable society.
Carlos Acevedo of Amalgamated Transit Union Local 241 told News & Letters, "The situation hasn't changed. The CTA is going full steam ahead, preparing to lay off 1,076 workers. They had threatened even more layoffs, but that was just a way to pressure the union. They are planning to cut service and close the Archer garage.
"We're going down to Springfield to speak to the Governor and State legislature to explain the impact of the service cuts and loss of jobs. There will also be a couple of demonstrations outside CTA headquarters--one on Jan. 18, Martin Luther King Day, sponsored by various unions and other organizations. Then another, on Jan. 20, will be at the CTA Board meeting."
--Gerry Emmett
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