Some of the more than 1,000 CTA employees scheduled to be laid off in February 2010 may get a temporary reprieve from economic hardship. They’ll be driving busses at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics. The effort is part of the CTA’s attempt to help prepare affected employees weather their unemployment. The CTA will be working with the transit company Game Day to hire around 400 workers. In an interview with WBEZ , CEO Tony Vitrano said, “When we start to transport the athletes and the media and the spectators and the sponsors, we obviously need qualified professional drivers…certainly the folks who operate with the CTA on a daily basis know their business.” According to WBEZ the drivers will also receive housing for two months in Vancouver. CTA employees affected by the layoffs will also be able to attend a series of workshops that will provide job hunting tips and information on unemployment benefits. CTA President Richard L. Rodriguez said via press release , “We greatly regret the hardship these layoffs will cause for employees and their families, and we want to do everything we can to help them prepare.” In addition to the layoffs, the CTA has service reduction plans and has non-union workers giving up pay raises and taking up to 18 unpaid days off in 2010.

Read the original:
Laid Off CTA Workers Get Olympic Reprieve