Nov 5, 2009 10:40 pm US/Central
CTA Trains May Get Filthier, Just As Fares Go Up
CHICAGO (CBS) ―
Just as your fares for the CTA are about to go up, your commute on the 'L' could get messy. Budget cuts mean a good number of the workers who clean up the gross stuff you don't even want to think about could be on their way out. CBS 2's Kristyn Hartman reports with the latest bad news about the CTA.
Union leaders say train cars used to get deep cleans every 45 to 60 days. But when people complained about grit and grime, the CTA bolstered the cleaning crew and got it down to every 15 days.
That could go soon away. Cuts coming on down the line could affect what you see, feel and smell on your train ride. So if you're not happy now with dirty trains, get ready for atmospheric conditions to maybe get worse.
"Well, yeah that would bother me, especially if you have to pay more," said CTA passenger Jessica Rojas, who describes the current trains as "very dirty."
In tough budget times, the CTA says it has to increase fares and axe employees.
Local 308 President Robert Kelly says layoffs are slated to affect a range of positions. He's not having it.
"They have a right to lay off people, but they're gonna do it by seniority," Kelly said.
He says that's what the contract calls for. If seniority rules, the folks with the least will lose their jobs.
If you look at it, it creates a problem. The vast majority are car service in the apprentice program. They came on to help in deep cleaning.
Demond Boddie was one of them.
"Sometimes we get a lot of garbage and debris, half-eaten food just thrown on the floor, fecal matter, all that type of stuff," Boddie said.
And now there could be fewer people picking up after the messy masses.
"Those trains are not gonna get as clean as well as they should," Kelly said. "I would guess they're gonna be dirty."
When asked why lay off all those people by seniority if it's going to compromise cleaning cars, Kelly said, "I don't want to lay them off."
He wants the powers who be to fix funding problems, and not on the backs of his most senior union members.
"I would call it war," Kelly said.
You, the train rider, could be caught in the middle, and dirty cars might just be the good scenario.
Kelly says if the union doesn't get seniority layoffs, he could move for a strike vote as early as Tuesday, which somewhere down the line could mean no ride. He calls it all horrible, but says the CTA is forcing it.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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