Page 18 - March 2022

FOP LABOR REPORT
The impact that RDO cancellations have on families
When the FOP decided to dedicate this issue to female police officers, I immediately thought of a Chicago Police Officer who described the impact on her family life of the Department’s decision to cancel RDOs department-wide. This officer ex- plained how she and her husband had created a routine that enabled them to raise three young children while still pursuing both of their careers.
The officer and her husband planned many of their children’s school and sports activities, meals and babysitting well in advance based on
his work schedule and her Day Off Group and pre-scheduled furloughs. She stated that her family supported and respected her demanding schedule as a Chicago Police Officer working in a specialized unit because they knew they would get “mom time” on her days off.
She described her days off as reserved for big breakfasts, movie nights and spending time together as a family. In 2020, however, protests in Chicago turned violent, with hundreds of people smashing windows, looting stores and confronting po- lice officers as the enemy. The officer knew that this violence required a strong response, and she and her family were will- ing and able to respond.
In 2021, however, the Department continued to require De- partment-wide overtime and canceled RDOs in the summer and then again in the months of November and December to respond to the seasonal increase in crime in Chicago, as op- posed to the unusual unrest of 2020. During the summer of 2021, the Department imposed 12-hour workdays and can- celed RDOs for all sworn personnel on short notice, which robbed this officer of a sense of control over her family life.
The officer increasingly was forced to rely on and some- times impose upon others to help take care of her family. In late 2021, the cancellations were made with only a few days’ notice, with no explanation and sometimes “until further no- tice,” leaving officers with no idea of when the cancellations would stop.
During November and December, the officer’s children had to sleep at the homes of extended family on school nights and be driven back to their neighborhood in the morning to go to school. In addition, her family was unable to anticipate her work schedule. They began to plan special occasions without her. When she was home, she was tired and could not focus on her family’s needs at the same level as before. The return to departmentwide cancellations in November and December broke her spirit, and she decided to stop doing the specialized
CATHERINE CHAPMAN
18 CHICAGO LODGE 7 ■ MARCH 2022