CHICAGO, IL January 13 — “We have changed the climate of oppression!” These were the words uttered by a member of Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) Local 308, a Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) train worker, as more than 300 workers showed up to stop the sellout leadership from stealing another election.
It was our biggest union meeting in over 30 years, as we made phone calls, struggled with our co-workers, used social media and organized car pools to pack the union hall. It was the work of a very loose coalition of CTA workers that includes both train and bus workers that began meeting in 2011, fighting for one local union and one contract.
It could also be a sign that months of mass marches and rallies over the racist murders of Mike Brown and Eric Garner have had an effect on the mood of the workers.
Sellout President Robert Kelly was trying to call a new election after having been soundly defeated. In 2012, he conspired with CTA bosses and Chicago bankers to negotiate the worst contract we have ever had. It created 700 new low-paid Customer Service Assistant (CSA) positions, who do the same work as the Customer Service Representatives (CSR). CSAs make $12.40/hr with no guarantee of a 40-hour/week while the 300 CSR’s make $30.00/hr. It also included Accelerated Discipline, which has been responsible for 300 workers being fired.
During the campaign, there was a lot of discussion and debate about whether the mostly Black and Latin workers and riders were facing racist attacks. Inspired by the mass anti-racist demonstrations, some of us wanted to make this an anti-racist campaign, linked to the issue of police terror, the rise of fascism and the threat of war. Others felt that being “too political” would hurt our chances of “winning,” even though they agreed that these are racist attacks! This raises the question: “What is winning?”
We did make progress. More workers were introduced to CHALLENGE, and a small network helped to distribute anti-racist material. That is winning. We were able to address racist police terror, as one worker was fired from the CTA based on the racist lies of the Chicago Police Department (CPD), and another’s father was killed by CPD (see past issues of CHALLENGE). That kind of struggle, too, is winning.
Ken Franklin was elected President, and while a good guy, he wanted to keep politics out of the campaign in order to “win.” He will be receiving “Congratulations” from his International President, the Mayor, and the head of the CTA, all the people he will have to oppose if he is to make a difference. His Executive Board and International are already telling him that you have to know how to “play ball.”
For us, we have to consolidate our base of CHALLENGE readers and anti-racist fighters to eventually be able to lead strikes against mass racist firings due to Accelerated Discipline. The next time CPD murders a Black youth, to shut down the transit system and lead tens of thousands of workers and youth to police headquarters or City Hall. And most of all, we want to develop a mass base for communist revolution. Winning CTA workers to build and participate on May Day will be a test of our success.