In response to the possibility of cuts in service and jobs, an organization has organized a fare strike against the Chicago Transit Authority that is slated to start Dec. 15.
The group Midwest Unrest, in a press release, stated that it is asking CTA riders to not pay fares and it has asked CTA operators to not collect them. The group declared that the strike 'is a response to the CTA's extensive service cuts, job cuts, and paratransit fare increases—attacks on poor and working class Chicagoans.'
The release goes on to say that 'CTA riders are furious that the service they depend on is being cut back and eliminated while the CTA pours money into projects which don't serve the daily needs of citizens.'
The CTA has indicated that, if it does not receive the funds it needs, it will implement service cuts starting right after the start of the new year. The cuts would eliminate 20 percent of service, including several dozen bus routes and all late-night trains.
Midwest Unrest stressed that the strike will continue until the CTA restores service and reverses job cuts and fare increases. For more information, call ( 773 ) 250-7060, e-mail midwest_unrest@riseup.net, or visit www.midwestunrest.net/farestrike.
