More coworkers at the CTA have tested positive for Covid-19. Nine transit workers in New York City and a 41-year-old ATU bus operator/union steward in Washington have died from the virus. Transit Workers have already gone on strike in Detroit and Birmingham for safe working conditions. The U.S. President warns, "every American be prepared for the hard days that lie ahead."
So what should transit workers in Chicago do about these “hard days” ahead?
Our coworkers have repeatedly asked the unions (241/308/trades) to hold emergency combined mass meetings through teleconference, take questions from members and allow them to put forward proposals for and vote on mass action. That is the best way to move forward. Fortunately, a group of concerned transit workers in Chicago met multiple times on their days off and drafted this plan of action with demands that could go into effect Friday morning (03:00 hours, April 3rd). However, we need our unions to hold mass meetings and democratically discuss, modify and choose a plan NOW.
Please respond to the poll affirming you plan to join with other transit workers and implore our unions to lead these actions. Please share the original link from Transit Workers Unite to your page and other groups so that we can gather the results into a central location and post them for everyone. Alternatively, you can call Local 241 at 312-341-1733 and Local 308 at (312) 782-4665 and tell them you support the #TransitWorkersDeserveBetter Plan of Action:
We are public transportation workers at the CTA and Pace. We are imploring our unions to take the following steps for action with our coworkers on Friday, April 3rd (03:00 hours), should our demands below not be met. Our unions should immediately conduct online/phone mass meetings to discuss and vote on these and other actions now.
1. If we have COVID-19 or been ordered to quarantine, we will follow the written guidelines and call off work with full pay and no discipline on our work record.
2. If we come to work, we will operate/repair a public transit vehicle only if another union worker verifies that it has been deep cleaned less than 24 hours previously.
3. If we operate/repair/clean a transit vehicle, we will use our professional judgment to cease operating/repairing/cleaning it, if doing so becomes hazardous to the passengers or ourselves. Such hazards may include overcrowding, lack of necessary personal protective equipment (PPE) or the need to have an ambulance assist a sick passenger.
We will follow these steps until the City and State government and the transit agencies put into place the following emergency measures:
1. Order all front-line transit workers to stay home with pay and no discipline for the duration of the pandemic. Ask for volunteers to come into work for assignments at double their normal hourly pay. Deep clean the entire system to minimize the spread of the virus. Hire enough new workers at full-time union pay and benefits to ensure each vehicle is deep-cleaned once a day at terminals and garages.
2. Work locations must immediately be assigned medical professionals to provide free testing and treatment, give temperature checks, properly fit workers with PPE equipment, answer questions, assist with paperwork and take other necessary medical precautions. Any transit worker found to have Covid-19 should be provided medical care without cost. Workload should be restructured as needed on bus and train runs as to circumvent overcrowding on vehicles due to workforce reductions from illnesses and quarantines.
3. Any targeting of workers must not be tolerated. All discipline should be suspended through the duration of the pandemic—this includes so called “sick book violations.” All workers should be made whole for lost time, medical expenses and damage to our health. Being sick should never be grounds for punishment.
Please see our comprehensive list of demands from March 17 and updated March 23: https://bit.ly/3bvYj6v
The actions taken by the city, state and federal government, along with the CTA and Pace management have been critically insufficient. Hard-working, professional transit workers have no choice but to take these actions in the interest of saving lives. Without taking these emergency measures, the transit agencies are making the situation worse with little to no personal protective equipment, no testing and inadequately cleaned vehicles and facilities: Passengers and transit workers can easily transmit the virus to each other.
Human life—not money—must be the priority. We have no choice but to demand the government and employers to urgently do what is right and necessary.
#TransitWorkersDeserveBetter
https://facebook.com/transitworkersunite/
https://facebook.com/308ptduespublic/
98% Agree
2% Disagree