Page 34 - June2020 FOP Magazine

INSTALLATION CONTINUEDFROMPAGE32 And he saw what the response has
meant to the members in the trenches of this unprecedented battle.
“They can’t always be vocal and fight the battles,” Goetz added. “So our role is to step up and fight for them. They have seen John on TV. They read the news- papers and the blogs. The membership loves having somebody who is more vo- cal.”
Trustee David DiSanti, who works in 017 and has been on for 22 years, con- firmed impact of the response.
“Members can’t speak out because of the rules against police officers making any kind of political statement,” he said. “We’re trying to speak up about the things they say in the locker room, the roll call room and the squad car. So they’re hear- ing themselves in the media.”
Has it worked? First Vice President Mike Mette reasons that Catanzara has captured the mayor’s ear and the super- intendent’s. Mette has been working with Third Vice President Fernando Flores to drive the Lodge’s legal defense, which is addressing the stripping of police powers for little or no reason and trying to check the Department’s “crazy” wave of hitting officers with discipline.
“It’s our duty to climb the hill,” Mette declared. “If we don’t stand up and get
them back on the street, they’re going to take advantage of us. And the member- ship can’t afford that right now.”
Installation destination
The response has been formulated to leave no member left unturned. For ex- ample, when forming committees, the Lodge leadership created a new one to advocate for female law enforcement officers. Newly elected trustee Monica Ortiz, who has been on for 23 years and works at O’Hare, will be co-chairing the committee and noted how it is an exam- ple of the Lodge anticipating all neces- sary responses.
She further observed that the agenda will include making sure disciplinary ac- tion does not violate the contract, the ad- ditional civilian oversight being threat- ened and educating the public about what police officers do.
“A lot of people have been trying to take us down, so we need that strong voice,” she commented. “And I think we’ve got it.”
Speaking volumes to bolster that is the presence of longtime board members Daniel Trevino, Ken Hauser and Mark Donahue, who each came to the dinner and voiced their support. Hauser is like- ly the longest sitting board member, and Donahue is in his third term as a trustee, following serving three terms as Lodge 7
president.
Donahue noted what everybody is
thinking that item one on the agenda is negotiating the contract. He echoes the thought about how difficult that might be, but detailed what the Lodge adminis- tration can do to take that on more sub- stantively.
“I think we need to reestablish our link to the community,” he said. “We’ve got to fight for people in the community and get the support of the community lead- ers. Those people have to start speaking up for us.”
What members will be able to count on, no doubt, is the continuing response. After about two hours, the installation dinner reached its apex. Board members stood for the team photo and then dis- banded, perhaps to get back to the tasks at hand.
Apparently, there is an ongoing senti- ment accompanying the response.
“It will help by letting the members know we are out there with them,” as- serted Trustee Pablo Claudio, who works in 014 and has been on for 15 years. “We will keep going to the districts and talking to the members. We’ve got to let them know we will do what we promised. And that we have their backs.”
34 CHICAGO LODGE 7 ■ JULY 2020