Page 31 - SEPTEMBE 2018 Newsletter

Officers who attended the Lodge 7 Labor Day rally gath- ered for a photo with U.S. Labor Secretary Alex Acosta.
Labor Gains
U.S. Secretary of Labor Alex Acosta comes to Lodge 7 for a Labor Day rally that unites members and gives them many reasons to keep up their hard work
■ BY MITCHELL KRUGEL
■ PHOTOS BY NICK SWEDBERG
On the last day of his 28 years of service to the Department, 20th District Officer Nenad Markovich joined a flock of uni- formed members who came to the FOP Hall on Labor Day for a rally to appreciate and revere their labor. As an appropriate, welcome and necessary tribute to the unconditional labor of Chicago Police Officers, U.S. Secretary of Labor Alex Acosta journeyed from Washington D.C. to extol their dedication and emphasize their impact.
Markovich couldn’t have been given a more serendipitous assignment for his final day, an opportunity to bequeath some wisdom emanating from this event. He has worked enough La- bor Days to know what Acosta’s presence portends, not only for Lodge 7 members but also for the people they serve.
“I think it’s important on a local level because we don’t see this type of support,” Markovich submitted. “Seeing the secre- tary of labor coming out, I think it’s important the people know that in Washington they have our backs.”
Here’s how much Washington D.C. has Chicago Police Offi- cers’ backs, how much their labor matters to one of America’s most renowned labor leaders: Acosta related the story of how at this time last year, he was at the Anheuser-Busch plant in Car- tersville, Georgia with employees who came in on Labor Day and canned water to ship to areas devastated by hurricanes.
And then by way of salute, the secretary linked that story to this ovation-eliciting statement:
“Washington recognizes your labor of service to your com- munity here in Chicago,” he proclaimed.
The rally culminated with the mass of uniformed officers gathering around Acosta, Lodge 7 President Kevin Graham and National FOP President Chuck Canterbury for a signature photo op. Then, the secretary hung out to take individual photos with each officer, listen to their concerns and offer words of encour- agement. All in, this two-hour combination of “pat on the back/ we got your back” turned another day of labor into a glorious day for labor.
“They were thanking me for being here,” Secretary Acosta re- vealed in a private, post-rally conversation about the moments he shared with members.
“Heck, I just came in for one day. They’re the ones that are out here on the line, on the street, each and every day, and the fact that I can support them a little bit is meaningful to me,” he continued. “So, I wanted to come today on Labor Day and say thank you to the men and the women of the Chicago Po- lice Department because they’ve got a tough job, and they need someone to say thank you. And Americans need to take a break and say thank you.”
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CHICAGO LODGE 7 ■ SEPTEMBER 2018 31