Chicago Current reports that the Chicago Transit Authority on Friday notified employees that it is plans layoffs at the beginning of 2010.
The agency issued notices under the federal WARN Act, which requires employers to advise workers 60 days in advance of mass layoffs. In the past, the CTA has sent notices in instances when layoffs were possible, but not definite.
Union president Robert Kelly says the CTA is planning to lay off by “job classification seniority,” which they claim violates a stipulation in the union contract that the last hired employee must be the first employee to be fired during layoffs.
The news comes after a proposed fare increase for 2010 failed, and as Amalgamated Transit Union Local 308 President Robert Kelly suggests the federal government provide a bailout to transportation riders by getting rid of fares for the month of January.
“Major cities would especially benefit from the increased ridership, the increased operating revenue from the federal government,” Kelly wrote. “[O]ur riders would not have to wait for a direct benefit from President Obama’s stimulus bill.”