The Partisan Defense Committee sent the following protest letter to Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) president Dorval R. Carter, Jr. on February 29.

The Partisan Defense Committee joins the many voices calling for the immediate reinstatement of bus driver Erek Slater. Mr. Slater is an elected Executive Board member of Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) Local 241 and union steward for the North Park Garage. The CTA fired Mr. Slater for “insubordination” for defending the rights of a union member whom he represents. The CTA had previously targeted Mr. Slater for protected union activity including speaking as a union representative at a company safety meeting and informing co-workers of a rally on behalf of the Chicago Teachers Union. His firing is an outrageous attack on ATU 241 and an attempt to bully the transit workers and their union in the midst of contract negotiations.

We call for the immediate reinstatement of Erek Slater with full back pay.

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We urge others in the labor movement to take up the defense of Erek Slater. Protest letters should be sent to Dorval R. Carter, Jr., President, Chicago Transit Authority, 567 W. Lake Street, Chicago, IL 60661 and copied to Amalgamated Transit Union Local 241.

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(reprinted from Workers Vanguard No. 1085, 11 March 2016)

Workers Vanguard is the newspaper of the Spartacist League with which the Partisan Defense Committee is affiliated.