Durbin, Garcia Call On CTA To Improve Transit Security And Safety For Employees And Passengers
The bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act provided significant federal funds for CTA
CHICAGO – U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) and U.S. Representative Jesús "Chuy" García (D-IL-4) sent a letter to Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) President Dorval Carter today urging him to implement a provision required by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) that will help improve the safety of transit workers and passengers. Specifically, the letter urges CTA to work with organized labor to establish the joint management-labor safety committee mandated by the IIJA as soon as possible.
“While we appreciate the efforts that both the CTA and Chicago Police Department recently have made to increase passenger and employee safety on trains and buses throughout the CTA’s network, more needs to be done to protect CTA’s frontline workers and passengers given the alarming increase in crime on the CTA system,” the lawmakers wrote.
Last month, Durbin met with leadership from the Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU), which represents thousands of CTA workers, to discuss new safety measures included in IIJA to better protect transit employees while on the job.
IIJA requires transit agencies to establish new safety committees, made up of an equal number of frontline employee representatives and management representatives, to identify safety issues and develop strategies to mitigate them; use a portion of their federal funds for safety-related projects developed by the committees; and report all assaults on transit workers to the National Transit Database, which the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) and transit agencies rely on in developing safety solutions.
They continued, “These new requirements, paired with the significant increase in transit funding the CTA will receive from the IIJA, should allow the CTA to implement policies that will protect its employees and customers while further investing in the capital projects necessary to improve the system, expand capacity, and rebuild ridership lost during the pandemic.”
Full text of the letter is available here and below:
April 19, 2022
Dear President Carter:
The historic, bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) (P.L. 117-58) provided much needed and long overdue investments in our nation’s infrastructure, including a significant increase in federal funding for the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA). We write to highlight provisions included in the IIJA requiring transit agencies to better address the safety of transit workers and passengers. We urge the CTA to work with organized labor to establish the joint management-labor safety committee mandated by the IIJA as soon as possible.
According to city officials, the CTA has seen a 17% increase in violent crime year-to-date from 2021. While we appreciate the efforts that both the CTA and Chicago Police Department recently have made to increase passenger and employee safety on trains and buses throughout the CTA’s network, more needs to be done to protect CTA’s frontline workers and passengers given the alarming increase in crime on the CTA system.
The IIJA provides new tools for the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) and transit agencies around the country to combat increased crime and protect workers and passengers. The IIJA requires all transit agencies receiving Urbanized Area Formula Grant funding to establish new safety committees by July 31, 2022. These committees are to be made up of an equal number of frontline employee and management representatives tasked with identifying safety issues and developing strategies to mitigate them. Transit agencies must set up these safety committees or risk losing federal funding. The IIJA requires transit agencies to use a portion of their federal funds for safety-related projects developed by the committees. Finally, the IIJA also requires all assaults on transit workers to be reported to National Transit Database, which the FTA and transit agencies rely on in developing safety solutions.
These new requirements, paired with the significant increase in transit funding the CTA will receive from the IIJA, should allow the CTA to implement policies that will protect its employees and customers while further investing in the capital projects necessary to improve the system, expand capacity, and rebuild ridership lost during the pandemic.
We encourage the CTA to work with Amalgamated Transit Workers Union Locals 308 and 241 to establish the mandated safety committee as soon as possible. We look forward to continuing to work with you to protect the safety of CTA customers and employees.
Sincerely,
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