Page 31 - 2018 July Newsletter

tice Elena Kagan, she writes, “It does so even though the gov- ernment services affected — policing, firefighting, teaching, transportation, sanitation (and more) — affect the quality of life of tens of millions of Americans.”
And there is more apparent shortsightedness underneath the ruling. The decision renders thousands of union contracts throughout the country null and void that have to be re-nego- tiated with the potential of dealing with individual members.
“Can you imagine if there were no unions, and the favor- itism that would take place negotiating deals individually?” Fioretto conjectures. “The favoritism that would take place: Somebody likes this officer better than that officer so he gets a quarter more in his raise, or he gets to pick his work shift first. That’s why you get labor stability with the unions.”
The case for the value of unions can easily be found within Lodge 7. The Department has tried to roll out policy changes without complying with the FOP contract and bargaining re- cently. The Lodge has filed grievances over these actions and won several of them, like the issue involving the Discipline Matrix.
“Nobody wants to be subjected to the whims of the bosses,” Fioretto adds. “Wouldn’t you rather have a unified process to address your concerns rather than be subjected to a rogue su- pervisor? There is a reason why people belong to unions. They want protection.”
Consequently, concerns about any Lodge 7 members abdi- cating are about as strong as the chance the White Sox have of winning the World Series this year. Members are well aware of the services and benefits they get from Lodge 7, especial- ly with collective bargaining and access to the Legal Defense Plan. No other union in the state – perhaps even the country – puts the emphasis on legal defense the way the Chicago FOP
does, and for as much security as it provides, the cost of the plan is pretty reasonable.
“It’s a heck of a bargain,” Donahue emphasizes. “Police do possess a greater deal of common sense than most people. There’s a common sense to not going out on the street without having access to legal defense. So that’s a reason Janus will not have much of an impact on Chicago Lodge 7.”
Donahue also dispels the notion about the FOP putting funding into political campaigns. While this might be a prac- tice for other public-sector unions, police officers have a more substantive asset to generate political support, either Repub- lican or Democrat.
“We use the profession itself,” he explains. “When we have an issue, we speak to politicians on both sides of the aisle, and in general, both sides of the aisle support law enforcement. We have entered into a period in which we have to prove ourselves to certain segments of the legislative lobby, but our members do that on a daily basis.”
So Lodge 7 members have every reason to focus on the great services they have been getting and will continue to get, re- alizing that membership dues are a small price to pay for all the benefits they receive. And if there is a lesson to be learned from Janus, it’s that now more than ever it’s important for la- bor unions to stick together, for members to educate them- selves when they go to the polls to vote for those who support their right to earn fair wages and benefits for their families.
“When you live in a capitalistic society, employers want to make as much money as they can to pay the shareholders and employees be damned,” Fioretto states. “Unions are counter to that philosophy. They help keep people where they need to be financially, not having the haves and have nots – as Rauner would prefer.” d
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