Page 32 - December 2021

A FINE LINE CONTINUED FROM PAGE 31
from such bad acid reflux that he couldn’t tolerate pizza, pasta or even drinking one beer. The Department refused to consider his condition for not wanting to be vaccinated. And even though Murray was told there would be no discipline, even though he is forgoing the paycheck and even though he lost his health insur- ance by being out for more than 30 days, he won’t get vaccinated if it won’t result in losing his job.
Murray was also one of the members called into the Bureau of Internal Affairs to be asked if he was given a direct order to fill out the portal and if he did not follow it. When he responded that he did not comply, it was the first direct order he has ever refused in 18 years on.
“I’m a rule follower, and the conflict here is that the rules are arbitrary,” he reasoned. “Illinois has a flu shot mandate, but the police are not part of that mandate. So I think they should have to bargain this at the very least. And that’s why the union is fighting so hard and why a lot of officers are standing up to it.”
Line of duty
The fighting is working. In early November, Judge Mitchell is- sued the ruling that the City must negotiate terms of the order, and that paved the way for some officers who were stripped to go back to work.
That’s a win for the Lodge, which has staffed 35th Street around the clock to make sure the bosses don’t coerce members into compliance. Mette also noted the FOP is winning what he is call- ing the “Hunger Games” because the City changed its approach to invoking the direct order, which has given more members the motivation to go into no-pay. So on one night in late November, 24 more decided to make the stand.
They are the heroes because they know their efforts make a very forceful statement about not letting the City fuss with their
collective bargaining rights.
“We felt if we give into this, it’s another thing [the Department]
has done like the canceled days off that was already negotiated but they still implemented that,” Alaniz asserted. “If we give in and we just go ahead and do what they want us to do, then they’re just going to keep going and going and keep taking, taking, taking our rights from us.”
Alaniz also shared that the future of the union and the Depart- ment is at stake here. She feels that close to home because her son, Joshua Blas, is also on the job. Josh has inspired so many officers and people in the City with his heroics on Aug. 7 that led to capturing the murderers who killed his partner, Ella French, and catastrophically wounded Carlos Yanez Jr.
And Josh inspired his mom to take this stand.
“This fight is for him because he wants to be a Chicago Po- lice Officer,” Alaniz proclaimed. “I could have pulled my papers, walked away and just said, ‘Good luck. I hope it works out for ev- erybody.’ But I couldn’t leave this mess to my son. I spoke with him about it and told him my plans to stand up to it. He said, ‘Mom, I’m behind you 100 percent of the way.’”
The line has been fortified with members who know how con- sequential and critical their stand is to every Lodge 7 member. Their decision to hold the line certainly merits the $100 donation from every member to support their cause the Lodge is asking for – again, see page 33 – for the statement they are making is probably top of mind for all Chicago Police Officers.
“The higher-ups don’t understand just how fed up the officers are with the way they are treated on a daily basis,” Mette stated. “The last year and a half has been absolutely brutal. This is just a culmination of all that has been put into place, and they’re just not having it anymore.”
And that’s the bottom line.
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32 CHICAGO LODGE 7 ■ DECEMBER 2021