Page 11 - January 2021

ThirdVice President’s Report
Don’t buy into the nonsense
On behalf of myself and my family, I would like to wish you all a happy, safe and prosper- ous new year. This coming year is expected to be an interesting one, with a mayor, a state’s attorney and groups of citizens who would like nothing better than for John, the FOP and its members fall flat on their face. We will not al- low that to happen to our members. We have been and always will be here for our members
to ensure that they get the proper and legal rep- resentation that they deserve.
We are still currently in the process of trying to negotiate a contract with the City of Chicago. The mayor has been stonewalling the process and blaming John and the FOP for the failure to come to some agreement. Please don’t buy into the nonsense about what the Lodge is not doing for its members and how John is selling us out — that’s bull- shit. There are members who like to talk out of their ass and spread lies and gossip, and those people should be to- tally disregarded and thought of as fools. If you have any questions or feel that the information you are being giv- en sounds wrong, talk to your reps or call the Lodge. This administration is, in my opinion, the most outspoken and most feared by the mayor and her underlings in my 29 years of service to this city and this department. As the old saying goes, “You hate what you fear, and you fear what you hate.” That statement pretty much sums up the way Lori feels about John and the FOP.
It is incumbent upon every member to get familiar with your contract and your rights according to the contract. Ninety percent of the information that you are looking for is in your contract book — questions about furlough, days off, days off canceled, overtime. If there are questions that aren’t answered in your contract book, please refer those questions to either your watch rep or your unit rep. These officers are very capable and are more than willing to help you with any questions that you have. If you need to file a grievance, those grievance forms should be available in your districts. If you can’t find one, ask your watch rep or your unit rep to help you acquire one. If you do not have a unit rep or watch rep, feel free to call the Lodge; we’re more than happy to help you file your grievance or help you an- swer a To/From.
If you’re contemplating retiring sometime within the next two years or so, do yourself a favor and start making some very important phone calls. You can call IAD records and ask them if you have any open CR numbers. Call the pension board and ask them if you have any bad time to make up. Call Human Resources and ask them what kind of paperwork you need to file.
promised land of retirement, you need to be proactive on your own behalf. Looking to retire within a 60-day time frame and trying to tie up loose ends is going to be damn near impossible. We will try, but we are not promising any- thing. You can retire with an open CR number, and if the complaint is not a fireable offense, you can retire with your credentials. If you are looking at taking some suspension time, we can try to expedite the process to make it happen. But again, help yourself and allow yourself some time to get your affairs in order.
Please be safe, watch your back and watch your partner’s back. God willing, this will be a better year than the previ- ous year. Remember,“No lawyer, no statement.”
FERNANDO FLORES
As much as we like helping our members make it to the
CHICAGO LODGE 7 ■ JANUARY 2021 11