Page 6 - November 2021

President’s Reports: Last Words
About the gag order...
When you think this world can’t get any more bizarre, this mayor literally says, “Hold my beer, my shot” of scotch or whatever else she drinks. I was very careful about how I worded what I said, but I still talked about almost everything I wanted to talk about. And if the judge or the City would have filed for a violation of that gag order, had me admonished or, worse yet, even arrested, all they would have done was guarantee me a $10 million mayoral campaign fund with people all over the country donating to it. Trying to shut me up got more attention that I’m sure they didn’t anticipate.
About the “John Catanzara for Mayor 2023” sign at the end of my report on social media...
The only way I can explain it is this: I cannot, and will not, let that topic be a distraction for our members. I don’t want them to think that this is a political stunt or something to raise my profile because that’s my end game or anything like that. That was simply a shot at the mayor. It’s been kicked around, joked around, talked about, explored. People have reached out to me in serious discussion fo- rums. But I would much rather find a qualified candidate from the aldermanic ranks or elsewhere to champion who shares our cause and our interests. My greater good is serving law enforcement on a bigger level. Right now I’m focused on this fight and our members.
CATANZARA CONTINUED FROM PAGE 5
said, “We’ll give you the personal day like everybody else. That’s our last offer.” That was their version of negotiation.
Here’s where it falls apart even further: You want to talk about following the science. They did not accept natural immunity for members who had COVID, which they can already track. They couldn’t even produce how many members were on the medical status at two separate meetings three weeks apart. How many members of our Lodge or the sergeants, lieutenants and cap- tains unions were on medical status?
The first time, maybe I caught them off guard when I asked for it. Three weeks later, they’re coming to another negotiation session and still don’t have that number. That tells me this is all bullshit to begin with. They literally just thought they had the ability to implement a policy, ram it down everybody’s throat and scare them into complying with losing a paycheck.
They may be true believers in the vaccine, but all of that is secondary to the collective bargaining issues and rights that are afforded to our members, which granting us the TRO validates. It is clear as day. If there is a stalemate and negotiations are not going anywhere, that is when you go to arbitration. The City re- fused our demand for arbitration verbally and in writing weeks before the deadline even occurred. We knew it wasn’t going any- where. We knew it was not going to be resolved. We demanded interest arbitration, and it did not happen.
The answer is right in front of their face. Just test everybody and put everybody back on the payroll and stop the insanity. I mean, you cannot even walk into headquarters right now as a uniformed officer without stopping at a checkpoint of any door, telling them who you are and signing a piece of paper about why you’re there. It literally is Checkpoint Charlie.
They’ve been controlling who comes in to get counseled, and then they’re submitted for failing to comply and put in no-pay status. They’ve definitely controlled how many officers are go- ing to stay in no-pay status after disobeying the direct order. That makes no sense. So we encouraged everybody who’s will- ing to join in that position of no-pay status to come to head- quarters and submit to the process because the City shouldn’t get to dictate the flow.
With the hostile work environment that has been created, ev- ery single exempt rank member is literally proving to be a po- litical lackey with no guts to stand up and say, “I’m not doing your dirty work. You want to demote me because I’m not going to obey your order? Great. Knock me back down to a captain or lieutenant.” Not one single exempt rank member had the guts to do that for the membership, and shame on every single one of them.
Then, the state legislature is trying to get rid of the language to allow the conscientious objection. But the City already refused
that. It’s a state statute, but they said, “No. That’s not even a pos- sibility.” If you’ve been to headquarters, you have seen all the checkpoints in that building where you have to show who you are, what your intentions are, sign the papers. It is mind-bog- gling how blind people are to history. This is the way it was in Germany in 1936, 1937. It was all about government control, and “you will comply.” That is exactly what is going on right now. I’m not saying we’re going to get there, but, damn, what are we doing? How are we allowing this to be a democratic city that is supposed to be labor friendly?
The photo you see on the cover of this issue is from a rally we had a City Hall on Oct. 24 before the City Council meeting. At the press conference, we had 500 or 600 people standing behind me in the rotunda waving signs and going nuts. That’s the fight in them. That’s the fight in us.
I hope this is not the level of the new normal in the City, but if it is for the next year and a half until that little troll is out of office, so be it. We made a pledge when we realized this date was coming. And we said if our members are going into a no-pay status, we will be the first to take the hit.
The City knows we are not just talking smack.
6 CHICAGO LODGE 7 ■ NOVEMBER 2021