{"id":234,"date":"2026-07-25T06:58:46","date_gmt":"2026-07-25T06:58:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/saveourpension.org\/?p=234"},"modified":"2026-07-25T06:58:46","modified_gmt":"2026-07-25T06:58:46","slug":"ten-years-later-chicagos-paid-sick-leave-ordinance-was-a-victory-but-cta-workers-were-left-behind","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/saveourpension.org\/?p=234","title":{"rendered":"Ten Years Later: Chicago\u2019s Paid Sick Leave Ordinance Was a Victory\u2014But CTA Workers Were Left Behind"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This month marks the 10th anniversary of one of Chicago\u2019s most meaningful workplace reforms: the city\u2019s paid sick leave ordinance taking effect. Championed during Mayor Rahm Emanuel\u2019s administration, the ordinance recognized a simple but important principle: employees should not have to choose between protecting their health and earning a paycheck.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For hundreds of thousands of Chicago workers, that principle became reality. Paid sick leave improved workplace health, reduced the spread of illness, and gave employees the ability to recover from injuries or care for sick family members without sacrificing their financial security. It remains one of the defining labor accomplishments of that era.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Yet one group of employees was notably absent from this victory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Chicago Transit Authority bus and rail operators\u2014the very workers who interact with thousands of members of the public every day\u2014did not receive the same paid sick leave protections.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Overview of Chicago&amp;apos;s Paid Leave and Paid Sick and Safe Leave Ordinance\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/KI4MdyFtlBo?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The irony is difficult to ignore.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Few occupations involve more daily contact with the public than operating buses and trains. Every shift places transit employees in close proximity to hundreds, and often thousands, of passengers from every neighborhood in Chicago. If preventing the spread of communicable illness is the goal, public transportation should be at the center of that conversation\u2014not on the sidelines.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Transit operators are the people who keep Chicago moving. They transport nurses, teachers, police officers, firefighters, office workers, tourists, and schoolchildren. They report to work during snowstorms, extreme heat, public emergencies, and major city events. During the COVID-19 pandemic, they continued providing an essential public service despite significant personal risk.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Despite their critical role, CTA employees remain outside the protections many other Chicago workers take for granted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This isn\u2019t simply about employee benefits. It is about public health.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">When workers who have constant interaction with the public feel pressure to report to work while ill, everyone shares the risk. Every passenger boarding a crowded bus or train becomes part of that equation. A single operator may interact with hundreds of people in one shift, creating opportunities for illnesses to spread throughout the city.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"WZRD Interview - Eric Basir, Union Steward at Amalgamated Transit Union Local 308\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/vkTqTJqhmRQ?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Paid sick leave was designed to prevent exactly this scenario.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The ordinance acknowledged that healthy employees create healthier workplaces and healthier communities. That same logic applies\u2014perhaps even more strongly\u2014to public transportation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Ten years after Chicago embraced paid sick leave as a public policy, it is worth asking whether every essential worker has truly benefited from that progress.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Chicago has long recognized transit employees as essential. They are asked to maintain schedules, navigate difficult traffic conditions, respond to emergencies, and safely transport millions of passengers every year. Their work is indispensable to the city\u2019s economy and quality of life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As Chicago celebrates a decade of paid sick leave, it should also reflect on the workers who were left out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Public transportation is one of the city\u2019s greatest assets, and the employees who operate it deserve workplace policies that recognize both the value of their service and the realities of their jobs. Ensuring that transit workers have access to meaningful sick leave is not only an investment in employees\u2014it is an investment in every passenger who relies on Chicago\u2019s transit system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The tenth anniversary of Chicago\u2019s paid sick leave ordinance is certainly worth celebrating. But anniversaries are also an opportunity to examine unfinished work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Perhaps the next milestone will be remembered not only for celebrating what was accomplished in 2016, but for finally extending the same public health principles to the frontline transit workers who have been helping Chicago move every day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" src=\"https:\/\/saveourpension.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/ChatGPT-Image-Jul-25-2026-01_57_48-AM-1024x683.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-236\" srcset=\"https:\/\/saveourpension.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/ChatGPT-Image-Jul-25-2026-01_57_48-AM-1024x683.png 1024w, https:\/\/saveourpension.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/ChatGPT-Image-Jul-25-2026-01_57_48-AM-300x200.png 300w, https:\/\/saveourpension.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/ChatGPT-Image-Jul-25-2026-01_57_48-AM-768x512.png 768w, https:\/\/saveourpension.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/ChatGPT-Image-Jul-25-2026-01_57_48-AM.png 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>1 Sick Bus Operator=1900 Possible Infections<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Using a conservative mathematical model, a single bus operator who works while contagious could expose hundreds of passengers each day. Assuming 500 passenger interactions per shift, a 5% transmission rate, and three days worked during the most infectious period, that operator could directly infect approximately 75 people. When secondary and tertiary transmission are considered, the total impact could grow to nearly 1,900 infections. This illustrates how encouraging sick employees to work doesn&#8217;t just affect one individual\u2014it has the potential to amplify disease transmission throughout the community, making adequate sick leave an important public health and workplace safety measure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-post-featured-image\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1536\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/saveourpension.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/ChatGPT-Image-Jul-25-2026-01_42_06-AM.png\" class=\"attachment-post-thumbnail size-post-thumbnail wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" style=\"object-fit:cover;\" srcset=\"https:\/\/saveourpension.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/ChatGPT-Image-Jul-25-2026-01_42_06-AM.png 1536w, https:\/\/saveourpension.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/ChatGPT-Image-Jul-25-2026-01_42_06-AM-300x200.png 300w, https:\/\/saveourpension.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/ChatGPT-Image-Jul-25-2026-01_42_06-AM-1024x683.png 1024w, https:\/\/saveourpension.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/ChatGPT-Image-Jul-25-2026-01_42_06-AM-768x512.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1536px) 100vw, 1536px\" \/><\/figure>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>This month marks the 10th anniversary of one of Chicago\u2019s most meaningful workplace reforms: the city\u2019s paid sick leave ordinance taking effect. Championed during Mayor Rahm Emanuel\u2019s administration, the ordinance recognized a simple but important principle: employees should not have to choose between protecting their health and earning a paycheck. For hundreds of thousands of [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":235,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-234","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/saveourpension.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/234","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/saveourpension.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/saveourpension.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/saveourpension.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/saveourpension.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=234"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/saveourpension.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/234\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":237,"href":"https:\/\/saveourpension.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/234\/revisions\/237"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/saveourpension.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/235"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/saveourpension.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=234"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/saveourpension.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=234"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/saveourpension.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=234"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}