Transit union endorses Garcia

The leader of a major CTA workers union on Sunday blasted Mayor Rahm Emanuel, saying his tenure has been filled with murders, school closings and not much else.

“I’m a citizen of the city of Chicago. I’m tired of reading the papers and hearing about murders and school closings and transit issues,” said Robert Kelly, president of the Amalgamated Transit Union Local 308, which represents CTA train operators. “It just makes me sick to my stomach. I’m tired of it, and so is everybody else.”

Kelly’s remarks came as the local he presides over endorsed Jesus “Chuy” Garcia, one of Emanuel’s most prominent challengers in the upcoming February election.

“We’re just a little bit upset with him to say the least,” Kelly said of Emanuel. “The fish stinks from head to tail.”

The union, which remained neutral during the last mayoral election, started interviewing “viable” candidates about month ago, Kelly said.

Emanuel was a no-show, refusing to meet with the union’s endorsement committee despite being offered his choice of dates. Last election, Emanuel met with the union, Kelly said.

In a statement, Emanuel campaign spokesman Steve Mayberry didn’t directly respond to Kelly’s remarks. But Mayberry did point to CTA infrastructure improvements that have been made during Emanuel’s tenure.

“The CTA has seen four of its most stable financial years in recent memory and has seen a construction and renovation boom that has created thousands of jobs and is unmatched since the inception of elevated trains, including the complete reconstruction of the Red Line South in only five months,” Mayberry said. “We think Chicago is better off for the mayor’s efforts on transit and look forward to continuing the effort of building a new Chicago for another four years.”

When asked why he was willing to pick a fight with City Hall despite having only one year left in the union’s contract, Kelly said the union “can’t worry about whether [Emanuel] is going to retaliate in a contract dispute.”

Kelly said the CTA operators are still bitter over a contract dispute several years ago. He also said the CTA has used “accelerated discipline” against unionized workers, leading to the wrongful firing of workers. Last spring, an operator was fired after crashing a Blue Line train at the O’Hare Airport station.

But he said one of his biggest gripes with the CTA under Emanuel is that “every single time someone gets appointed to run the CTA, they have absolutely no transit background.”

“They’ve had four years now to learn about it,” he said. “Put someone in charge of transit that knows all about transit.”

Garcia said he was humbled to receive the union endorsement. If elected mayor, he said he would work Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle to expand access to transit throughout the metro region.

“I understand the importance and the role of transit in the building and of creating a great city,” Garcia said. “In order for Chicago to become an even greater city in the 21st Century, access to transit … is critical.”