How the CTA can create city jobs
Chicago has a huge opportunity, right now, to tackle the problem of unemployment, especially among African Americans.
Chicago has a huge opportunity, right now, to tackle the problem of unemployment, especially among African Americans.
Chicago's fleet of elevated trains will be joined by 846 new railcars. But who will make them?
Chicago labor groups are pissed. And they have a right to be. The Montreal-based company Bombardier Transportation was awarded a $1.14 billion contract to build more than 700 train cars for the Chicago Transit Authority, and the local workforce has been left out.
The Chicago Federation of Labor and Chicago Jobs with Justice, among seven other groups, want new manufacturers of Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) rail cars to lay out specific details about how many local jobs will be created before any contract is awarded.
Chicago labor and community groups on Monday called on the Chicago Transit Authority to require bidders on future rail car manufacturing contracts to submit detailed plans for creating local jobs.
This strategy for directly linking job creation to transportation procurement comes at an opportune time given all the recent attention on infrastructure investment and bringing manufacturing jobs to U.S. soil after decades of outsourcing.
Public officials charged with expending precious tax dollars on equipment need to select companies that manufacture their products in the United States.