Protocols of Suffering CTA Workers

While on union payroll, I visited Howard Shop today. President Pennie asked to do it. The first Shop Workers I meet are always at the Terminal Platform. 

They were glad that a Coordinator whose name stars with an M provided ice and water. But the shanty/ready-room had broken air conditioning. So they and the train operators had no cool place to rest that protected them from the public. They were worried about getting sick and I was worried about them too.

This was a deadly working condition and I took initiative to make personal one-on-one contact with managers. I was polite until they became belligerent and threatening. Then I had to use my "equality rights" as a union rep and turn up the volume! They didn't like it and were taken aback by meeting such a scrappy union rep (most just curl up and roll away like ants sprayed with insecticide).

I did lots of investigations and questions to find out who to talk to, but it ended up being a total attack against our union as the lazy bastards resorted to threatening me with punishment for the clothes I wear. Yes, I was a Customer Assistant, Flagman and Motorman. So I wear the uniforms and obscure the CTA logo patch. I do this because I don't want workers to confuse me with managers or managers-in-training (union officials who like to dress like managers). 

But that shouldn't matter. What I wear—and how I look—has nothing to do with anything!

I made my Workplace Complaint to the union president. She was too busy lecturing me about offending her manager friends and probably won't even read it. So I immediately filed an Unfair Labor Practice Charge with the Illinois Labor Relations Board. 

Redacted ULP charges and video updates are below: