CTA Unions Dig In

By Prescott Carlson in News on Nov 16, 2009 10:40PM

Not happy with the CTA's plans for cutbacks and layoffs, one CTA Union is preparing to dig in its heels. At a news conference yesterday, Robert Kelly, head of Amalgamated Transit Union Local 308 (representing rail workers) said, "Public transit is not going away in a city this size. We need to fund it, and doing this year after year and now saying we need working people to take the cuts is not the way to do it." He also criticized the CTA for not trimming enough management fat, and for spending $654,000 on financial consultants over the last year.

Kelly was joined by Darrell Jefferson, president of Amalgamated’s Local 241 (representing bus drivers and mechanics), who added, “You don’t have to be a nuclear physicist or brain surgeon to figure out that the RTA has failed to be a good fiscal manager of public transit." Labor costs make up almost two-thirds of the CTA's budget.

What Kelly and Jefferson specifically object to are the service cuts the CTA has announced in an effort to balance their budget (the CTA, by law, cannot operate at a deficit), now that fares have been frozen for two years. The elimination of 9 expresses buses combined with reduction in service times on 110 bus routes and all 8 rail lines is going to amount to over 1,000 union workers and approximately 100 non-union administrative employee layoffs unless an influx of cash comes the CTA's way in the next few months. And that cash, says Kelly, should come from new taxes such as an Illinois gas tax and/or direct a portion of tollway revenue to public transportation.

Kelly has a good point -- taking a quick glimpse at other major metropolitan area transportation operating budgets, we're at the high end in terms of how heavily our public transportation relies on revenue from fares to operate. Fares and pass revenue make up over 50% of the CTA's operating budget, as compared to New York City, where it's only 42%. In Washington, DC, fares make up 48% of its budget, while in Boston it's only 30%. In all those cities the rest of the budget is made up from the same types of revenue that Kelly is proposing.

But of course it's not all the CTA's fault -- several of those same cities are running into budgetary problems of their own, due in part to the fact that sales and some real estate tax revenues are down nationwide. The $30 million of lost revenue forced on them by the free senior rides doesn't help things, either. One thing both sides can agree on, no matter where the fault lies -- things are broken at the CTA, and a long-term solution needs to be implemented sooner rather than later.