Miscommunication leads to Englewood job fair debacle

CHICAGO (WLS) -- Miscommunication led to a debacle at a job fair on Chicago's South Side Thursday.

Hundreds of people waited in line - some overnight- for a chance to apply for a $25/hour job with Norfolk Southern Railroad after a flyer was blasted on social media, advertising a "hiring event" in Englewood.

Shaun Dotson was one of the job seekers who lined up overnight at Goodwill Workforce Connections Center for the advertised job fair.

"They're paying $25 an hour. That could change your life," Dotson said.

Hundreds of others joined Dotson in line before the doors opened Thursday morning.

"I came here this morning. There had to be, like, a thousand people just on this street alone, going around the building, going around the block," Bryant Walker said.

However, Norfolk Southern said no jobs were currently open... yet.

The crowd became so big and boisterous a woman at the recruiting center called off the event, which set off some of the people who had been waiting in line for hours.

"They say 60 people. We all honored that. And I'm upset," Kenneth Alexander said.

"I stayed out here all night with my husband and my daughter. And it's very unfair that they didn't get the fair chance they deserve," an unidentified woman said.

Norfolk Southern said there was a "miscommunication," and that they approved Goodwill to hold an education session about how to apply for jobs that could be available. A railroad representative attended.

The attorney general's office said they looked into the concern, and determined that the event was not fake after talking to representatives from Northfolk Southern.

The crowd eventually dispersed. Goodwill said they took 120 job applications and resumes for future openings.