Page 16 - April 2017 Newsletter

And so it begins
On Feb. 14, 2017, President Angelo hand-de- livered a letter to the Mayor’s office stating
the following:
gaining table. Good faith bargaining envisions a “give and take.”
PAT
PAT
FIORETTO
FIORETTO
As you are aware, the current Collec-
tive Bargaining Agreement between the Fraternal Order of Police, Chicago Lodge
No. 7 (“Lodge 7”) and the City of Chicago
is set to expire on June 30, 2017. Please be advised that pursuant to Section 28.1, this
FOP
Lab Rep t
With the issuance of the Department of Justice (DOJ) report and all the rhetoric coming from the City Council floor on the need for “police reform,” the upcoming negotiations will be anything but
letter constitutes written notice of Lodge 7’s intent to terminate the existing Agreement and engage in bar- gaining over a successor Agreement. Please confirm receipt of this notice.
On Feb. 16, the City confirmed receipt and its obliga- tion to bargain. Bargaining over a successor agreement is how the City and the Lodge negotiate over mandatory subjects of bargaining. The law imposes the added duty to engage in “good faith bargaining” — an obligation on both sides of the table to meet at reasonable times, to ne- gotiate in good faith with respect to wages, hours and oth- er terms and conditions of employment, and to execute a written contract incorporating any agreement reached. Good faith collective bargaining means that the parties exchange proposals, discuss issues, engage in dialogue and agree upon the terms of the new contract at the bar-
typical. Although bargaining with the City in the past has been contentious, the current political cli- mate that exists in the City (and nation) is unprecedented. For the time being, while the parties are engaged in nego- tiations, all the terms of the current agreement will remain in place — even after July 1, 2017. It would be illegal for the City to make any changes while the parties are engaged in
bargaining over a successor agreement.
So what can the Lodge expect? How long will this pro-
cess take? No time limits exist for formal negotiations at the bargaining table; it can take months, or even years. The odds, however, are in favor of a protracted ordeal. During this process, the Lodge is not required to agree to any City proposal. Similarly, the City does not have to acquiesce to any of the Lodge’s proposals. Needless to say, the Lodge will fight to maintain the protections that exist and further attempt to strengthen the rights for its membership.
The DOJ cannot force the Lodge to change any current provision of the existing contract — nor can the City. All
16 CHICAGO LODGE 7 ■ APRIL 2017