08/08/07
Following last month's layoff notification to employees, CTA's human resources department is taking measures to help employees plan and prepare for layoffs. Current plans call for nearly 700 employees to be laid off in September.
Meetings have been held with representatives from the Illinois Department of Employment Security, Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Development, Mayor's Office of Workforce Development and the AFL-CIO to develop informational workshops for affected CTA employees. Working with these agencies CTA will assist employees with information and resources for obtaining job interviews and training, health benefits and unemployment compensation.
"This is certainly not a task we relish but we feel strongly that we must do everything we can to help the employees we will be forced to let go as a result of insufficient funding," said CTA President Ron Huberman. ?While this doesn?t mean that we have given up hope for a resolution to the funding issue, we have to be realistic and prepare our employees. Layoffs will cause tremendous hardship for employees and their families."
Since his appointment to the CTA, Huberman and Chicago Transit Board Chairman Carole Brown have been working to secure a permanent solution to the CTA's structural funding deficit. The CTA has cut $18 million in administrative costs, including 75 administrative jobs, while preserving full service. In addition, it has reached an unprecedented five-year contract with the CTA's 17 labor unions that establishes pension and health care reforms. The contract is contingent upon the passage of state transit funding legislation.
?We are running out of time to avert layoffs, service cuts and fare increases," added Huberman. ?Transit is critical to the economic vitality of this region. We are working hard to preserve service for our customers but cannot do so without adequate funding. If we are forced to proceed with these plans, the negative impact will reach beyond CTA customers and employees to the entire region."
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