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March 31, 2008
Welcome
 I hope you find this website useful. We the officers of ATU Local 308 intend to provide you the member with useful information and services that will inform you not only on activities surrounding Local 308 and the CTA, But in the community as well. Also I Would like to take this opportunity to welcome all new members to our 308 family, our Local has been a major force in Chicago labor community for well over 100 years. Let me share a bit of history with you. The Amalgamated Association of Street Railway Employees of America Division 308 as it was called in the late 1890's was created when the owners of the transportation companies (horse drawn carriages) that served the public favored better treatment of their horses than their employees, for example the employees worked 18 hours a day whereas the horses only worked four. The reason for this is the horses were expensive, men came cheap. Also employees were subjected to harsh weather and poor working conditions. Division 308 fought for and won shorter work days, closed vestibules and many other working conditions. From the 1890's to present day Local 308 has been at the fore front of the labor movement in America. Our members benefits and wages are among the best in the nation. So as you see we are a proud family that has stood the test of time and we will continue to do so for the next 100 years with the addition of members like yourselves. So I welcome you and once again feel free to e-mail me with any suggestions or questions you may have at raider@atu308.org.
A Message To My Members
Brothers and Sisters,
Another 12 months has passed and there is much to report. It has been a very troublesome yet fruitful year. We’ve dealt with some serious issues such as scheduling, discharges and contract violations which loomed large in 2007.
The Fleischli Arbitration award handed down in 2006 caused quite a bit of displeasure among operators. At times we had individuals working more than 17 hours a day. I asked for your patience and to give us the opportunity to negotiate reduction of these hours. After much discussion we were successful in getting some relief in that area. Today no one is working more than 13 ½ hours in any given day. We are currently working to reduce that number even lower. Once again I ask you to be patient. {F.Y.I. - Did you know that Airline pilots and truck drivers are regulated by the federal Government on fatigue issues and that Mass transit operators and bus operators are not!} This is why it is important that you write or call your elected Representatives on Mass Transits Issues.
We had quite a few members discharged, some for valid reasons, and some we feel were unjust. I’m pleased to announce that several have returned to work through either arbitrations or negotiations with the authority. I’m very optimistic that we’ll be as successful with others in the future.
There have been so many rumors concerning our contract talks and recent arbitration award. If you’ve attended any Mass Membership meetings in the last 6 months you’ve been kept abreast of the issues or you may have caught a newscast or newspaper article. Here are the facts. In January of 2006 we entered into contract negotiations with the CTA. Our contract committee consisted of Calvin Tillery, Bryant Alexander, Marilyn Perkins-Hooker, Luis Sanabria and I. A few weeks later the Auditor General of the State of Illinois conducted an extensive audit of the CTA. That audit determined that the CTA had done a very poor job of managing its finances. The report was laden with suggestions that the CTA should re-open Labor Agreement with the Various Unions and seek more concessions. I, along with President Darrell Jefferson of Local 241 attended several hearings at the State of Illinois building. These hearings were called by State Representative Julie Hamos Chairman of the Mass Transportation Committee. The subject was funding for area Mass Transit. The heads of the RTA, CTA, Metro, and Pace were also in attendance.
At that meeting Mr. Jefferson and I were allowed to testify and express our concerns at each hearing. The subjects of labor concessions were constant in these discussions and our views never swayed. We were adamant we could not and would not be willing to fund the CTA on the backs of our hard working members. Any major concessions from 308 and 241 were out of the question. After a few more weeks of negotiations Mr. Jefferson and I decided to invoke interest Arbitration. In March 2007 we notified the CTA by mail that we had reached an impasse concerning our contract. Arbitrator H. Benn was selected as the primary Arbitrator. Note: We want you the member to keep in mind that our pension fund was in serious trouble. The health care portion of our pension would be out of money within a few short months and the pension itself would be out of money in 2012.
We were faced with massive lay-offs! We had some very serious decisions to make. The CTA had already stated to us they could not make their monetary obligations to the pension fund. With the help of Dennis Gannon President of the Chicago Federation of Labor a series of arbitration hearings were scheduled in Chicago and Springfield. After submitting all documents and testimony, Arbitrator Benn issued an award in June of 2007. Here is a brief summary of that award.
Wages
July 1 2007 3 % wage increase
January 1 2008 3% wage increase
January 1 2009 3% wage increase
January 1 2010 3 ½% wage increase
January 1 2011 3 ½ %wage increase
Note: the 3% wage increase in 2007 would be equal a 3% hike in your pension Contribution. The 3% wage increase in January 2008 would go to establish a pension health care trust fund. The remaining 10% wages will go to your gross income. The CTA would contribute One Billion Dollars to our pension fund and Five Hundred Thousand Dollars to our Pension Healthcare Fund, giving our pension fund a much needed boost. We were also able to restore pension health benefits to all 308 members hired after 2004, benefits originally lost under a previous administration. Your current health benefits will see no cost increases or any reduced benefits for the next 5 years.
The labor coalition consisting of Local‘s 308, 241 and the Metal trades were very pleased with the award especially with the pension aspect and no increases in our medical benefits. No doubt you’ve seen TV news reports or newspapers stated this was all based on funding from the State legislature. We worked tirelessly on lobbying our elected officials for their vote.
Finally in January of 2008 after 2 doomsday scenarios, constant disagreements among legislators and with some 2,400 CTA employees facing lay-offs (700 to 800 of those coming from Local 308) house Bill 656 was passed into law. The CTA will now have long term funding thus saving our rapidly deteriorating pension fund.
There are a few individuals in our Local who want you to believe that there was never a threat to our pension and that we should have rejected the arbitrator’s award. This is nothing more than rhetoric coming from people who are campaigning for President. It also seems that all of a sudden everyone has a newsletter circulating. There nothing wrong with sharing information except many is filled with twisted truths, half truths or just plain lies. I caution you, it is an election year and the order of the day is LIES and CHARACTER ASSASINATION. So beware of wolves in sheep clothing.
Having said all of that I have just one piece of advice for you: Believe your own eyes and ears. Unless you’ve been hiding in a cave no doubt you’ve seen T.V. reports and newspaper articles about Mass Transit Funding and dooms days. Just ask any of 800 bus drivers who received pink slips just before Christmas how real was doom’s day. Ask those passengers who were threaten with 83 bus routes being cut. On several occasions I attended several town hall hearings, some with other top officers and some alone. I was invited to speak at several of these hearing and after speaking with the riding public and the Senior Citizens their anger and frustration was clear. They needed the CTA and your services. I made numerous statements to the media that I would use any and every method to protect our pension and our members from lay-offs.
These were not threats they were promises. I would like to think it had some impact on receiving the necessary funding for your future here at the Authority. Since I took office we’ve receive two Arbitration awards one resulted in over 28% wage increase and back pay the current award shores up a failing pension plan restored pension health benefit to members hired after 2004 and over 10% in wages. My first priority was saving our Pension fund and I’m proud to say that has been accomplished! Now for those of you who think otherwise you’ll eventually agree it was the right thing to do!
In Unity We Stand |
