Pictured from left: Jeff Crane, BLET; Alex Beckman, Rail Conference; Tim Drea, President of Illinois AFL-CIO; Cory Martin, BLET Illinois State Legislative Board Chairman; Brandon Stewart, BLET; Todd Knight, BLET; and Chad Clayton, BLETThe BLET’s Illinois State Legislative Board took to the state capital on March 5, along with a large coalition of Illinois-based transportation labor unions, to lobby for the state’s public transportation system.
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Teamsters Rail Conference affiliate BMWED, and Teamsters Joint Council 25 are also part of the coalition of more than 30 unions, known as the Labor Alliance for Public Transportation. It was formed by the Illinois AFL-CIO and the Chicago Federation of Labor to propose solutions to address the $730 million fiscal cliff faced by the state’s transit systems.
BLET Illinois State Legislative Board Chairman Cory Martin said Chicago and its suburbs operate the second largest transportation system in the country. If left unaddressed, the fiscal cliff could lead to major layoffs, route or line eliminations, service cuts, station closures, and cancellation of capital improvement projects at CTA, Metra, and Pace. These drastic measures would put communities at risk, further damage the region’s transit systems, and cause massive disruptions to the Illinois economy and workforce.
The Labor Alliance is behind a proposal called United We Move Illinois, which is sponsored by state Sen. Ram Villivalam (D-Chicago) and Assistant House Majority Leader Marcus Evans Jr. The United We Move legislation would establish stronger safety measures at all three agencies, improve service through increased coordination, and reform the governing boards of agencies in ways that benefit workers, taxpayers, and customers.