Chicago Transit Board approves financial incentives to attract and retain employees

The Chicago Transit Board approved plans for the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) to offer financial incentives to attract and retain employees.

“These new incentives are a much-needed boost that will further propel the efforts the CTA has already put forth to address the biggest issue facing the agency – recruiting enough workers to help fulfill the services Chicagoans need and deserve,” said Chicago Transit Board Chairman Lester L. Barclay. “Today’s measure is yet another step in the right direction CTA is taking address the most pressing concerns of our riders.”

“Competition for drivers have never been fiercer, with CTA competing with likes of retailers, delivery services, ride-hailing companies and other transportation businesses all vying for the same workers,” said CTA President Dorval R. Carter, Jr. “With these new incentives, coupled with our existing offerings of paid training, strong healthcare benefits, plus a free preparatory course to assist candidates in meeting the hiring requirement of obtaining a Commercial Learner’s Permit (CLP) – CTA certainly stands out among the competition.

“Every industry has faced the challenges of attracting new employees and retaining current ones, and it’s an issue that has especially impacted the transit industry. In order for CTA to hire and retain the best employees, we have to do everything we can to make CTA an even more attractive employer.”

Effective immediately, the CTA is offering the following incentives for newly hired union employees in certain job titles:

• Hiring bonus—All new bus operators, bus mechanics and rail car repairers hired in 2022 and 2023 will receive a $1,000 hiring bonus. The bonus will appear on the new hire’s first paycheck, and employees must remain with CTA for one year, or they will be required to pay back the bonus.
• Retention incentive—Eligible employees represented by the ATU Locals will receive a retention incentive payment after every six-month period worked, starting July 1, 2022 through December 2023. The incentive is equal to three percent of their hourly rate for actual hours worked, up to a maximum of 1,250 hours per six-month period. The retention incentive will be paid to all eligible ATU-represented employees (except employees newly hired as bus mechanics and railcar repairers in 2022 and 2023) on the payroll at the time the payments are issued. Payments will be approximately $1,500 for operators and about $1,200 for other employees.
•  Increased starting rate for bus and rail operators, mechanics and car repairers —Under the current system, bus mechanics and railcar repairers begin at 80 percent of the hourly rate and move up to 100 percent after two years. Starting in 2023 through 2024, salaries will begin at 100 percent—between $39 and $40 per hour. Bus and rail operators will also see a jump, with starting hourly rates increasing to more than $28, up from $24. In January 2023, as part of contractual wage increases, the starting rate will increase to just under $30. Through 2024, their time to reach 100 percent of the top rate will be shortened by 12 months, from 45 months to 33 months. The new employee incentives carry a budget of around $80 million for two years.

The incentives are the latest in a series of initiatives introduced in support of the Meeting the Moment: Transforming CTA’s Post-Pandemic Future Action Plan—a multifaceted investment plan to strengthen the rider experience through more consistent and reliable service, safe rides, clean facilities, modern amenities, dynamic customer engagement tools and a strong CTA workforce.

Like transit agencies throughout the country, the CTA is seeing the effects of not having enough employees to provide full service, including long gaps between buses and trains and trips that have to be canceled at the last moment because not enough operators are available to drive trains and buses.

The impacts of the pandemic, including time off because of illness or taking care of a family member, has led to historically high absenteeism. Additionally, CTA has seen the effects of the “Great Resignation,” in which workers opt for different career paths.

CTA’s new employee incentives are in line with recommendations made in a recent report by the American Public Transportation Association. The Transit Workforce Shortage Study notes financial incentives are among many strategies U.S. transit agencies can address unprecedented worker shortages.