The blatant abuse of Second Chance "Apprentice" workers continues to curdle my blood as reports come in over the years that I have been a union steward. Now that I have been nominated and elected to Executive Board for Vehicle Maintenance of Local 308, I receive even more reports.
The latest slew of reports are hideous:
- Second Chancers were told by mismanagement that they cannot take lunch breaks in the operations breakroom section, even though that is where vending machines with what they want to eat are located.
- A Second Chancer was humiliated by CTA mismanagement in front of of coworkers regarding a female sanitary product.
- A Second Chancer was written up for being caught reading a paperback book after finishing their work.
- A Second Chancer was written up for grumbling silently after a mismanager scolded them about not being able to take breaks in a certain non-working area.
None of these human beings deserve to be harassed, picked on and punished. These men and women have absolutely no recourse when discriminated against for promotion to Full-Time Permanent.
They already served time locked up in cages and being dehumanized. Why must it continue when employed in the CTA's "Second Chance" program?
Sign the petition please. We need to change the Second Chance Program from a program of exploitation and slavery to a program that builds careers and promotes dignity for those who clean CTA trains and buses.