Page 19 - December 2021

Fourth of July holiday). During the first day of the hearing, after nearly 12 hours of negotiations, with the guidance of Arbitra- tor Roumell, the parties settled the matter and entered into an MOU. During the negotiations leading up to the settlement, the Lodge stressed how the City’s constant and abrupt cancel- lations of RDOs take an emotional, psychological and physical toll on officers. The parties discussed and the City acknowl- edged its support for “officer wellness.” Moreover, the Lodge emphasized that nothing prevents the City for foreseeable op- erational needs from scheduling officers in accordance with its contractual obligations.
These candid discussions eventually became the basis for a pilot program, which the parties memorialized in an MOU. The underlying principle of the MOU stems from the fact that the contractually protected RDOs should not be cancelled without a legitimate reason and/or in accordance with the terms of the contract. In other words, the spirit of the MOU revolved around protecting RDOs and prohibiting the City from canceling them with little notice to alleviate some of the harm, stress and frus- tration many police officers endure when RDOs are cancelled abruptly.
Well, the City did it again. With the ink barely dry on the sig- nature page of the MOU, the Department started cancelling RDOs again — without proper notice or reasonable parame- ters. On Nov. 8, 2021, the Department issued a “Weekend De- ployment Plan” initially canceling the first RDOs of all officers from the upcoming weekend (Nov. 12-14, 2021) without any explanation and later, on Nov. 13, 2021, extended the RDO cancellations indefinitely. The Lodge filed a new class action grievance and demanded that the originally selected arbitrator (George Roumell) conduct a hearing based on his familiarity with the underlying issue in an expedited manner. Begrudging-
ly, the City’s labor attorneys agreed to have Arbitrator Roumell conduct a hearing into this matter, and the parties are seek- ing to schedule the matter for hearing in early 2022. The City cannot turn its back on the spirit of the MOU and haphazardly cancel officers’ RDOs in violation of the contract.
As I raised in an earlier article, the Lodge obtained nearly 400 To/Froms submitted by police officers in various districts prior to the 2021 Memorial Day and Independence Day holi- day weekends, in which they requested (in part) to have their cancelled RDOs reinstated for a variety of reasons. The Depart- ment approved all of them. It bears repeating: in the future, if your RDOs are subject to being cancelled, immediately submit a To/From to your supervisor or commander (and keep a copy for your records). Indicate the specific reason(s) you need to keep your RDOs and explain the specific plans you made based on your contractually scheduled RDOs. Explain further the hardship you and your family will endure if the RDOs remain cancelled. The City is obligated to respond to your request in a timely fashion. If your request is denied, contact the Lodge to explore whether to file a grievance to challenge the denial. We must continue to keep the pressure on the Department to make sure it complies with its contractual obligations.
2021 has been a challenging year for many reasons, includ- ing the City’s blatant disregard for officers’ wellbeing. Yet, the Lodge members continue to serve and protect the City despite the numerous challenges imposed on their physical and men- tal health by the Department. Wishing all the men and women of the Police Department a Merry Christmas and a safe, happy and healthy New Year!
CHICAGO LODGE 7 ■ DECEMBER 2021 19