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* Good news for commuters, and for legislators who would be totally on the spot next week…
CTA bus drivers and train operators this morning called off a one-day protest walkout that could have crippled area transit Monday.
After meeting with a group of religious leaders who expressed concerns about the impact of the proposed job action on their communities, the unions representing CTA workers called off a job action that was scheduled to begin Sunday night and run through Monday. A press conference was scheduled for 10 a.m.
“We don’t want to hurt the minorities and the school children who depend on mass transit,” said Rick Harris, president of the rail workers union, Local 308 of the Amalgamated Transit Union.
* But they aren’t ruling out a future action…
Still, Harris said, “I’m not saying there won’t be any action in the future. But we’re trying to give legislators the ample time that they claim they need to get this done.”
posted by Rich Miller
Friday, Dec 14, 07 @ 9:35 am
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Said it before, will say it again. They don’t deserve anything until they have the stones not to be swayed by pandering.
Comment by the commuter once known as So Ill Friday, Dec 14, 07 @ 9:36 am
So IL you are so not thinking globally about this issue-MILLIONS of people rely on public transit up here to fuel the economic engine that is Chicagoland–our gas tax builds your roads–get it now? Don’t make the people and transit workers pay for bureaucratic and managerial lapses–really annoying comment SI…your ignorance is on full display…
Comment by Loop Lady Friday, Dec 14, 07 @ 9:42 am
Hey, loop lady. Back off.
Go re-read some of my comments. I absolutely support a bailout of the CTA. I RIDE THE DAMN TRAINS EVERY DAY.
But I’m sick of false ultimatums. I’m sick of turning on the TV to see a ‘doomsday’ deadline. I’m sick of opening the papers to read about ‘job actions’. I’m sick of being jerked around.
So do not call me ignorant, Loop Lady, until you actually think about the issue. I can’t believe that you believe that our current situation is helping ANYONE.
I fully support a strike.
I fully support shutting the system down.
I fully support finding a solution in Springfield.
I do NOT support doing nothing, and that’s all that’s happened.
Get a clue.
Comment by the commuter once known as So Ill Friday, Dec 14, 07 @ 10:07 am
Ok, how do stones figure into your thought process, and who is pandering…what are you talkin’ about? Avoid one line driveby comments or they will be misconstrued. Chill…
Comment by Loop Lady Friday, Dec 14, 07 @ 10:19 am
You know, Loop Lady, While I’m not against supporting the transit system, I get a tad tired of hearing about how Chicago pays for all the roads in downstate–and then the rattle usually goes on about roads to nowhere, tiny village to tiny village, ect—to me that says it’s not important that we down here get to work and that our communities don’t count. Check out sometime the trucks rolling up and down this state to and from Chicago. Stand over in Indiana on 65 and watch those trucks roll in and out of the Chicago Metro area. Those trucks do a lot of damage/ wear and tear on these roads. 74 in the Peoria area seems no more than to get the trucks over to 55 to finish their trip up and down from Chicago. So while you may dismiss gas taxes as necessary to fund all these roads down here, you might also remember how Chicago benefits from the roads running up and down the state.
Comment by Princeville Friday, Dec 14, 07 @ 10:27 am
Don’t call people you’ve never met ignorant. That’s more ignorant than anything anyone could possibly say.
CTA officials call for a doomsday, then back off because of ‘negotiations’. CTA workers call for strike, then back off because of concerns from the ‘community’. Lawmakers promise a solution, then don’t deliver.
ALL of them are pandering. ALL of them are using, manipulating the public. If you can’t see that, you’re the one not ‘thinking globally’ about the issue.
And since you call yourself Loop Lady and thought it important to try and educate me on the importance of mass transit in a modern society, then you obviously care about what happens with the CTA and RTA. Are you saying that you believe the current courses of action are working?
Without going into detail about the etymology of the phrase ’stones’, I’ll try and be a little more clear. I want one of these entities to stand up and say, ‘enough is enough’. I WANT a strike, or a fare hike, or a permanent funding solution. I want someone to actually do what they say they’re going to do.
Otherwise, we’re going to be in this…well, there’s no better word, ‘loop’…for a long, long time.
Comment by the commuter once known as So Ill Friday, Dec 14, 07 @ 10:32 am
Yawn, I give up…
Comment by Loop Lady Friday, Dec 14, 07 @ 10:40 am
I remember when public transportation wasn’t used as a tool to make people feel guilty about themselves….
Comment by Johnny USA Friday, Dec 14, 07 @ 10:57 am
My reaction was exactly the same as So IL’s when I saw CapFax’s headline. Someone has to make the City Council and the State Legislature get this mess fixed. The union could have made a real statement with the job action.
Maybe on Monday, instead of a walkout, they could just drive the buses and trains REALLY slow….
Comment by Lefty Lefty Friday, Dec 14, 07 @ 11:05 am
Yeah, it would be economically devastating for the CTA to shut down for 24 hours. Hundreds of thousands couldn’t get to work, couldn’t get to school, and I can’t even imagine what the NW Tollway, Kennedy, Dan Ryan, Stevenson, and Eisenhower would look like. It would be absolute chaos.
But even so, I agree with the people above who wish the union had the nerve to go through with it. If our officials keep playing these childish games with public transit, the above is exactly what’s going to happen anyway.
The shutdown would also force several businesses to close in the loop and around Chicago and area. Those businesses have to be reminded that it’s in their best interest for the state legislature to fund public transit, and exert some pressure on our leaders. Vice-versa, our leaders, including those from downstate, need to realize that funding public transit is vital to businesses headquartering and operating in Chicago and Illinois.
Comment by Sacks Romana Friday, Dec 14, 07 @ 11:18 am
I hope the CTA brass is paying attention to how quickly the union was willing to make threats, and then not back them up.
Of course, the union will still ride roughshod over the CTA when it comes time to negotiate. They’ll talk a good game, and we’ll quiver in our boots.
Comment by Leroy Friday, Dec 14, 07 @ 11:30 am
Note to Lefty Lefty: Regarding your suggestion that “instead of a walkout, they could just drive the buses and trains REALLY slow…” who among the CTA ridership would know the difference?
Comment by fedup dem Friday, Dec 14, 07 @ 11:51 am
“…we’re trying to give legislators the ample time that they claim they need …”
Is he counting ‘ample time’ in years?
Comment by Hmmm.... Friday, Dec 14, 07 @ 12:46 pm
Hey can we have a blog to talk about the Abe Lincoln Museum’s internal problems?
Comment by ALPLM Groupie Friday, Dec 14, 07 @ 2:52 pm
You can always start your own blog for that.
Comment by Rich Miller Friday, Dec 14, 07 @ 2:56 pm
Sounds like either a headfake or a problem the political establishment won’t take very seriously sadly enough.
Comment by Levois Friday, Dec 14, 07 @ 5:00 pm