Page 37 - FOP Magazine August 2020

class-action grievance to get members their compensation. Jakstavich thought the Department might offer a settle- ment. Instead, it asked for a list of names of members affected.
“I would have had to compile a list of 10,000 names,” he discloses.
So while the class action proceeds, members are left with the wear and tear of the barrage.
“City Hall isn’t doing its best to make sure we’re protected,” Fitzpatrick con- tends. “Luckily, we’ve got people like our president, John Catanzara, who’s actually going out with the rest of the team at the FOP. And they’re the only ones who really have taken a strong step to do anything to protect the officers. But you shouldn’t have to fight to get common-sense ap- proaches to keeping officers safe.”
And the Lodge response hasn’t gone unnoticed. Fitzpatrick recalled a mem- ber coming up to him at the last meeting who had not been to the FOP in years, and relating how his wife had seen the Lodge commenting so much on the news. “She said, ‘It’s about time some- body has a voice for these officers,’” Fitz- patrick adds.
Jakstavich noted how members who have been without a contract are calling the Lodge, not to ask about what’s up with their retro pay, but to express their
appreciation for finally feeling like they are being represented. He added that sergeants – sergeants who are not even members – are stopping by the office to recognize the benefits of the Lodge re- sponse.
If only somebody else would notice what the attacks are doing and why there
is so much pushback back and forth. “We’re still chasing the bad guys, we’re still getting the guns because it’s our city and we’re going to protect it until the end,” Fitzpatrick declares. “We just want a little bit of help. Just a little help would help us get up in the morning and keep
going.”
Making a stand at the Columbus statue protest required a mass of Chicago Police Officers, 52 of whom, were hurt in the process.
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