Page 30 - December 2021

A FINE LINE CONTINUED FROM PAGE 29
the Line Heroes Fund that has raised nearly $200,000 to support those standing up and enduring the no-pay, stripped sentence. And a big part of the tribute to these members is continuing to donate by following the path you should see on page 33.
Lodge 7 has also maintained a round-the-clock, all-watch- es presence at 35th Street to support and counsel these heroes because their actions underscore the reason beat coppers and detectives have such a formidable union. If you have seen video of Lodge 7 President John Catanzara, First Vice President Mike Mette and other field reps hollering about the importance of this fight, you know why the FOP and its members are all-in on hold- ing this line.
“If we win this, it goes to show that if you stand up, you can win against the City,” Mette stated. “We file grievances. We file unfair labor practice charges. We get the ruling that the City shouldn’t have done it. They promise not to do it again. Well, you know what, enough is enough. It’s time to keep fighting. These mem- bers who are standing up are doing a hell of a job, and everybody needs to support them.”
Drawing the line
What they are standing up for are rights that have been negoti- ated and are afforded by the Constitution in addition to the con- tract. What they are standing up to is Department coercion and bullying that has almost become an emotional waterboarding. Some members report that they have been made to wait up to four hours between the meetings with the bosses and HR.
But the Department has learned how tough members can be when sticking to their guns. Officer Rolando Godinez, who has been on for 19 years and works in 017, was subjected to manda- tory vaccination during his tours with the Marine Corps in Iraq.
“I know they loaded us up with a whole bunch of stuff that I
wasn’t in agreement with, but the government kind of owns you at that point. The one that comes off the top of my head is the anthrax vaccination they put in me,” Godinez disclosed. “But I finished my service honorably and now I have a choice.”
When Godinez joined members in the hall, he, too, evoked the slaughterhouse analogy. There was angst over how it was sup- posed to work. Did members there need to take a number? Or pick a number? Did they just have to wait for their name to be called?
Most, like Godinez, weren’t going to sit there and take it.
“I’m just like, ‘You know what. I came here to stick to my be- liefs,’” he added. “I was met by one of our FOP reps and she’s like, ‘Are you ready?’ I said, ‘Let’s go.’ So they took my credentials, and she’s asking me, ‘Well, how far are you willing to go with this?’ I said, ‘All the way.’”
Going all the way meant members putting up with such tac- tics as having to find your own ride home if you drove a beat car to 35th Street when called in. Yep, just drop the keys and call an Uber.
Some members of the mounted unit found a way to give the middle finger right back to the Department by coming down on horseback. When told about being stripped, the officers report- edly threw the reins down on a table, left the horses parked at headquarters and walked out.
In line
The 100-plus club of those who have been in no-pay has forged a bond that is making them – and the Lodge – stronger. When Catanzara called an emergency meeting of officers who had been stripped, some had not been to the FOP Hall more than once or twice. Some not at all. Most did not know each other.
But they have created a group chat that has been packed with dozens of messages back and forth each day, words of praise to stay strong.
“They’re feeding off each other. They’re keeping each other up in good spirits,” Mette confirmed. “It’s awesome what they’re do- ing, so major respect for each and every one of them.”
An amazing attitude has connected members holding the line. Ricardo Gonzalez, who has been on for nearly 23 years, sub- mitted a great line about the bonding by evoking a reference to members wearing a scarlet letter.
That has come in the form of sweatshirts Gonzalez and his wife, Evelyn, have made for all in no-pay who want one to wear. Using a Cricut Maker machine, Evelyn has taken the helm in between work and going to school online to craft blue hoodies adorned with a Chicago Police star on the left breast and a thick red band with “STRIPPED” in black letters across the star. The “Hold the Line” moniker is emblazoned on the back.
It’s really become a red badge of courage more than a scarlet letter. The production line began with about 20 hoodies being made. Since then, Gonzales has reached out to every member going into no-pay to ask for his or her shirt size. Amazon keeps dropping hoodies off, turning his living room into what Gonzalez mused is a mini sweat shop filling the orders.
He has a scrapbook-worthy photo of members walking through the hall at 35th Street wearing their hoodies and getting high fives. Another group of members wearing their sweatshirts joined Catanzara when he appeared on a local radio show to talk about the fight and praise them. That’s another photo for the books.
“We needed something to show a face for the stripped officers where people would just stop thinking about the numbers,” Gon- zalez revealed. “When you talk to the officers, they say they really love wearing it. The wear it to Home Depot. They wear it walking the dog. I don’t know if it’s unity or pride or whatever the right word is about what has come out of this. I think it says a lot about
30 CHICAGO LODGE 7 ■ DECEMBER 2021