Page 5 - SEPTEMBE 2018 Newsletter

CHICAGO LODGE 7
Official Magazine
President’s Report
FRATERNAL ORDER OF POLICE CHICAGO LODGE #7
EXECUTIVE BOARD
KEVIN GRAHAM
President
PATRICK J. MURRAY
First Vice President
Martin Preib
Second Vice President
Jay R. Ryan
Third Vice President
Greg Bella
Recording Secretary
Michael P. Garza
Financial Secretary
John Capparelli
Treasurer
Dean C. Angelo, Sr.
Immediate Past President
Sergeants-at-Arms
William Burns James Jakstavich Michael Mette
Trustees
Harold Brown Andrew Cantore Mark Donahue William Dougherty Pat Duckhorn Sergio Escobedo Fernando Flores Joseph Gentile Danny Gorman Ken Hauser Rick King Frank Quinn Carlos Salazar Ron Shogren Mark Tamlo Daniel Trevino Michael Underwood
Field Representatives
Robert Bartlett Rich Aguilar
A day for labor
On Labor Day, the Fraternal Order of Police Chicago Lodge 7 hosted a barbe- cue and rally at our headquarters on Washington Boulevard. National President Chuck Canterbury and keynote speaker Alex Acosta, the U.S. Secretary of Labor, were the guests of honor.
Secretary Acosta made a tremendous speech about what a great country this is, the importance of the rule of law and how it must be preserved. Mr. Acosta should know. He is the son of immigrants who fled Cuba under the Castro re- gime.
A central theme of the Secretary’s speech emphasized how the rule of law holds our republic together – a rule of law absent in the communist country his parents fled. Mr. Acosta, a former federal prosecutor for the Florida Southern District that includes Miami, related how important police officers are in a system governed by the rule of law. Mr. Acosta also discussed how the fabric of our society depends on law enforcement and how so many people can achieve their dreams because of it. Mr. Acosta’s remarks described the labor movement and the incredible success he and President Trump have achieved by rebuilding the American economy, treating workers fairly and bringing good jobs back home. He passed along several ideas about curtailing crime in some of our worst areas of the City and about keeping criminals from becoming repeat offenders. We had several hundred peo-
ple attend the event.
I would like to thank National FOP President Canterbury, National and State FOP represen-
tatives, along with Chicago FOP Family Auxiliary President Angie Haynes for attending. And a special thanks to the FOP staff members who came in on their holiday and stayed late to help: Maggie O’Grady, Cricket Oboikovitz, Brita Gaffney and especially Kathy Spiewak, who consis- tently works late and made sure in a short time that this would all come together.
Consent Decree
As you are probably aware, we filed a motion to intervene on the consent decree. In working for eight months with the attorney general’s office to carve out language, at no time did they tell us this was going to affect our contract.
As soon as we realized what was happening, we immediately filed the motion and went into court. Federal Judge Robert Dow stated that we waited too long to intervene. We believe his ruling was wrong, that he did not understand the magnitude of the negotiations that had occurred and the fact that we believe the Illinois Attorney General’s Office was purposely de- laying the negotiations to keep us out of court. I have already signed an affidavit stating what occurred and that the attorney general is not acting in an open and honest manner.
We have filed an appeal in federal court, and we still believe we are on solid legal ground to intervene. Judge Dow did grant us many rights, benefits and contract protections to our contract that other consent decrees obtained.
Through negotiations and concession by the federal court judge, we have achieved guaran- tees that our contract – both now and in the future – can only be changed through collective bargaining, and that we will be allowed to participate in fairness hearings.
Pension Board Trustee election
At the September Board Meeting, The Lodge 7 Board of Directors endorsed Carlos Saladino for Retiree Trustee on the Pension Board and 18th District Unit Rep Jim McGuire for Active Duty Trustee. They have assured the board that they will move our agenda forward.
Here is how to vote:
• Ballots will be mailed to all members on or about October 10.
• After receiving your ballot, please mark your selection.
• Return your ballot in the envelope provided.
• Ballots will be counted on Oct. 25. d
CHICAGO LODGE 7 ■ SEPTEMBER 2018 5
KEVIN GRAHAM