Transit Workers Unite

In December of 2022, the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) improperly called the Chicago Police Department to have a candidate for President of the workers union removed from the workers break room while the candidate was campaigning for the election occurring the next day. He spent much of the day in jail while coworkers organized press conferences the next morning. The CTA filed "criminal trespass" charges because they had illegally fired the candidate (a three-term elected Executive Board Member of the workers' Union, Amalgamated Transit Union, Local 241) in 2020 for reading a statement of the International ATU reminding workers we have the right to work in safe working conditions and arguing that using public transit buses to bring police to demonstrations against the murder of Geroge Floyd was a "misuse of public transportation." In April 2024 we won a long court battle with the help of The People Law Office and social justice lawyers such as Jim Fennerty. Dozens of coworkers, retirees and supporters tirelessly came to the court and spoke out against this attack on workers' rights and freedom of speech. Linked below is the transcript of the court hearing where the Cook County Illinois Judge threw out the criminal trespass charges.

The Judge said, "...The Court rules as follows, that the Illinois Public Relations Act provides the following: That employees [employers] shall provide to exclusive representatives, including their agents and employees, reasonable access to employees and the bargaining units they represent. This access shall at all times be conducted in a manner so as not to impede normal operations. Access includes the following: The right to meet with one or more employees on the employer's premises during the workday to investigate and discuss grievances and workplace-related complaints without charge to pay or leave time to employees, agents, or exclusive representatives; the right to conduct worksite meetings during lunch and other -- and the fact that I heard testimony that the public was allowed access to this area. The motion to dismiss is granted." Link to whole transcript: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/qrt3tv8vm0i5ptbg3whoo/4-5-24Slater-1.pdf?rlkey=ezdf5s62wdox9314081iknxe1&st=bpttqohs&dl=0

Linked here is the written motion to dismiss which outlines the seriousness of these charges: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/h3jzipjpqtli12n8xcdfz/Erek-Slater-Supplement-in-Support-of-Motion-to-Dismiss.docx?rlkey=qdnkz4r6cihx6dz7pxhfhdhs7&st=dmrq2ur6&dl=0

CTA must fix worker safety issues with its Second Chance program Hiring tough-to-employ workers at a livable wage while keeping the L trains clean should be an easy win. But not if CTA messes it up by failing to keep workers safe.