Class Action Grievance: Give Us the College You Promised!

UPDATE (6/10/2025): This grievance was trashed by the Local 308 Executive Board and at the Membership Meeting along with a slew of other grievances. I actually couldn't keep track because the vice presidents went through them so fast. What makes this so frustrating is their excuses: Members don't ask for college classes and the CTA doesn't have to do this for us. These people don't work for the members at all.  

One of the greatest "attachments" to our Collective Bargaining Agreement is known as Attachment C. It is also known as Excel. This describes a program that is focused on the Rail Car Repairers which distinguishes our training from the average "mechanic" training at other transportation companies.

Unfortunately, most of it is not respected or adhered to by our employer.

Among the many paragraphs they spit on, the portions regarding training and continuing education are quite significant. Currently, they are arranging some kind of secret "apprenticeship" or "mentoring" program with our presidents and the International ATU. I have reports that this thing they want is run by a private corporation. They are basically too cheap to pay for it and are doing some other thing to make it appear like they are abiding by the Excel Agreement.

For about two years, none of them have been willing to share anything in writing with me. 

I don't trust it—and neither do the members in rail maintenance who wanted me to file this grievance. What we have in the Excel Agreement is fine. If anything should be changed, we should improve it. However, for the past 8 years, CTA mismanagement has gotten away with not abiding by it.

Below is my grievance. This is effective as of April 2, 2025