Opinion ID: 2997132
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Manager Rail Customer Facilities Projects

Text: Plaintiff claims he was denied eight different promotions for four different positions in 1997 and 1998: Manager Rail Customer Facilities Projects; Manager Rail Customer No. 01-2014 3 Facilities Maintenance; General Maintenance Manager; and Senior Coordinator. Three of the promotions that the Plaintiff complains of went to Caucasian males for the position of Manager Rails Customer Facilities Projects or simply called Project Manager. One of these positions was not posted, but was filled directly by Jack Hartman, Senior Vice President of Facilities Management and Engineering. The other two positions were posted and the Plaintiff applied for just one of those.
Hartman promoted Mike Kelly to the position of Project Manager directly. The CTA does not require postings be made for all job vacancies in management positions. For this particular position, a posting was not required by the CTA’s Human Resources Department. At the time of his promotion, Kelly had been an electrician at the CTA for 23 years. According to Hartman, Kelly proved he was worthy of a promotion by his hard work and initiative. Hartman became familiar with Kelly’s work during the months prior to Kelly’s promotion because Kelly worked with a team of employees who were assigned to improve the appearance and state of repair of the CTA’s facilities as part of the Neighborhood Station Improvement Program, (“NSIP”). Hartman was particularly impressed that Kelly put in long hours and worked on weekends. For instance, Kelly created a user’s manual for the CTA’s power washers to address problems with washers that often broke down because of frequent misuse. Kelly had also previously acted as Senior Coordinator of the CTA’s emergency response crews that responded to emergencies involving CTA buses, trains, and other equipment and facilities. 4 No. 01-2014
The second Project Manager position was posted in April 1997. Forty-seven employees applied for the position. Eleven applicants were chosen for interviews, including the Plaintiff. Hartman conducted the interviews and all interviewees were asked the same questions that had been approved in advance by the Human Resources Department. Hartman chose Tom Drozd for this Project Manager position. Drozd spent two years at Washburn Trade school in the 1970s and had been a sheet metal worker since the mid-1980s. Like Kelly, Hartman had the chance to observe Drozd on other occasions. He believed he was a self-starter who had proved his good work ethic on previous assignments. Hartman was also impressed that Drozd had rehabilitated a building with over 60 apartment units as a side job and refinished a boat. Based on the interview, Hartman concluded that while Hudson was suitable, he was not recommended for the position. Hartman thought that Drozd had a drive that was not exhibited by the other applicants, including Hudson.
In 1998, Kelly retired and the CTA posted the Project Manager position again. Hudson chose not to apply. The salary set for the position by Human Resources was less than the amount Hudson was earning at the time. The promotion went to Mike Harjung. Harjung, before his promotion, worked as a Coordinator over bricklayers, carpenters, maintenance repairmen and flagmen doing special projects. One of the first projects Harjung worked on at the CTA was cleaning the subway rights-of-way, including the subway sewers. Harjung had a background in plumbing and worked previously for the City of Chicago Water Department. No. 01-2014 5 In the spring of 1998, Harjung demonstrated his problemsolving skills by repairing a sewer in front of the CTA’s West Shops facility in just two days, even though others had been trying to fix it for a month. Based on his experience and good reputation for being a hard worker, plus an unsolicited recommendation from the Deputy Commissioner of the City of Chicago Water Department, the interviewers believed Harjung to be more than qualified for the position. II. Manager Rail Customer Facilities Maintenance: George Grecco’s Promotion Hudson also complains about the promotion of George Grecco, a Caucasian male, to the position of Manager Rail Customer Facilities Maintenance (“Manager Rail Facilities”). Hudson did not apply for the position although it was posted in the spring of 1997. The posting summarized the responsibilities for the position as follows: “assists the General Manager in development and administration of department’s programs, policies and goals, administers discipline to janitors and responds to grievances.” Hudson did not apply for this position because he did not want to supervise janitors even though the posting listed references to responsibilities beyond the supervision of janitors. Hudson also admits that he did not have the special training required for electricians who repaired elevators and escalators. III. General Maintenance Manager: John Johnson’s Promotion John Johnson was promoted to the position of General Maintenance Manager. This position was not posted and from the briefs it is unclear who conducted the interviews. CTA believes that the recommendations and interviews were handled by an African-American, Randy Simmons, 6 No. 01-2014 who is now deceased. The promotion was approved by George Haenisch, who was Vice President at West Shops. Johnson had over twenty years of experience at the CTA and had previously worked as a machinist in the fabricated parts group and as Senior Coordinator in the Utility Repair Section, where he supervised tradesmen in utilities. Haenisch believed that Johnson’s responsibilities as Senior Coordinator involved a lot of supervision of tradesmen and that Johnson did that job well. Haenisch testified that the tradesmen at West Shops and at the Utility Repair Section may have different work but are capable of transferring between the two areas.