City Services Slashed Following Union Layoffs

Chicago residents face significant service cuts to essential resources following layoffs by Mayor Richard M. Daley of more than 400 city workers.

On Wednesday, Daley laid off 141 members of Teamsters Local 726 after they voted not accept his demands, which included unpaid holidays, furlough days, comp time instead of overtime and a 38-hour workweek. The mayor also terminated 290 workers represented by the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees.

“Our hardworking men and women filled potholes, fixed water pipes, replaced lights, salted the streets, serviced airport runways and picked up the garbage,” said Tom Clair, Secretary-Treasurer of Local 726. “Every Chicago resident is going to suffer the loss of these services because the mayor just told hundreds of men and women who perform them not to come to work tomorrow.”

The terminated Teamsters drove trucks in eight city departments, including Water Management, Aviation, and Streets and Sanitation. Fired AFSCME employees worked primarily for the city’s libraries and filled administrative jobs across 28 departments.

“With these layoffs, the Daley administration is denying jobs to Chicago families and single parents during one of the worst economic climates in our history,” said John T. Coli, President of Teamsters Joint Council 25. “Actions such as these require every Chicago resident to stand up for the vital services they require and fight for the sound economic solutions they deserve.”

Teamsters Local 726 represents approximately 5,000 men and women in Illinois.