Hundreds of people marched through downtown Chicago on Jan. 18 to stop job, school, transit and budget cuts. Transit workers, teachers, students and community organizations joined together in a militant protest to fight against these attacks on working-class people.
 Chicago residents take to the streets to fight back against the severe budget cuts targeting public transit, schools and other services. |
The march started at the Chicago Transit Authority headquarters and made stops at Boeing, the Chicago Board of Education and Chase Bank. The most popular chant was, “Money for Jobs, not for the Banks!”
The CTA is threatening to layoff over 1,067 union bus drivers and mechanics and slash bus and train service in poor and working-class neighborhoods around the city.
The Chicago Public School District has announced the closure of 14 schools—yet another round in the city’s ongoing drive to privatize education and attack the teachers’ union.
On Jan. 20, approximately 150 bus drivers and community supporters protested and rallied outside the headquarters of the CTA to oppose the planned service cuts and layoffs.
Despite the cold weather, protesters carried placards demanding “No service cuts!” and “No job cuts!” while chanting for over two hours. Protesters chanted “They say cut back, we say fight back!” and “No cuts! No layoffs!”
The proposed CTA cuts and layoffs are scheduled to take effect on Feb. 7. Approximately 1 million people ride CTA busses daily and the cuts would leave almost 190,000 people without bus service.
CTA board members, all appointees of Mayor Daley and Governor Quinn, have launched a public attack on the transit unions. They are arrogantly trying to paint the transit unions as the problem. CTA president Richard Rodriguez has gone as far as announcing that service cuts can be rolled back if the unions “grant concessions.” The CTA also sent out layoff notices to many workers in direct violation of the contract agreement.
City officials are planning to balance the transit budget on the backs of workers and riders while banks and Wall Street corporations that operate in Chicago are swimming in trillions of dollars of federal and local government aid.
This is a simple matter of justice during the worst economic crisis in generations: Not one single CTA, school or any workers should lose their jobs. Money can and must be immediately used to fund transit and create jobs. Funds should come from the big banks and corporations who fill their treasuries up every day with profits made directly from the labor of the city’s workers.
