Page 5 - September 2019 FOP Newsletter

CHICAGO LODGE 7
Official Magazine
President’s Report
FRATERNAL ORDER OF POLICE CHICAGO LODGE #7
EXECUTIVE BOARD
KEVIN GRAHAM
President
PATRICK J. MURRAY
First Vice President
Martin Preib
Second Vice President
Jay R. Ryan
Third Vice President
Greg Bella
Recording Secretary
Michael P. Garza
Financial Secretary
John Capparelli
Treasurer
Dean C. Angelo, Sr.
Immediate Past President
Sergeants-at-Arms
William Burns James Jakstavich Michael Mette
Trustees
Harold Brown Andrew Cantore Mark Donahue William Dougherty Pat Duckhorn Sergio Escobedo Fernando Flores Joseph Gentile Danny Gorman Ken Hauser Rick King Frank Quinn Carlos Salazar Ron Shogren Mark Tamlo Daniel Trevino Michael Underwood
Field Representatives
Robert Bartlett Rich Aguilar
Words of encouragement about the contract
We can’t begin any report without addressing the contract. It seems like we can’t begin any conversation these days without addressing the contract. Even though we have reported just about every detail we have, members are still asking, “What’s going on?”
So here’s the latest:
I think we can safely rely on the City’s statement that as soon as the Chi- cago Public School teachers have their contract done, we are next in line to finish our collective bargaining agreement. I thought that was close. I am a bit stunned that the teachers turned down the 16 percent raise over five years and the 1 percent increase in healthcare contributions that has been reported in
the media.
I cannot confirm that we will have a deal for members to vote on or if we will end up going
to arbitration, but we can glean some positive signs from how the City is negotiating with the teachers. It’s about more than money for the teachers; they want better working condi- tions, including smaller class sizes, more specialized personnel like social workers, nurses and librarians.
The City and the mayor have indicated agreement with the need for such support. And I think the City is coming to the realization that our contract is about more than money and insurance. I know people want a contract sooner than later, but I can’t say this enough: It is important that the details are correct so that we don’t lose the gains we have already made.
I think the City is learning that we are not the problem in terms of discipline. Yes, the hate groups and people who are demanding more discipline have the ears of some of the politi- cians, but the relationships we have built in the city council are helping us.
Alderman whom we have endorsed are turning around and supporting us. I am seeing a strong caucus in the council on behalf of law enforcement. What we’re working on is getting the alderman together to explain the false narratives that have been going out for years.
If we can get through all that BS, we can get down to brass tacks. Even the people who have disliked us in the past are seeing the realities we have been trying to explain that we are not the problem.
I know some members want me to make more of a public statement on this. They keep sending me the video of the New York City police union president doing so after one his members was fired five years after an incident in which he applied a choke hold in restrain- ing a suspect that led to his death.
As a side note, I called the NYC union president and offered our support. I told him that if there was anything Chicago Lodge 7 could do, we would be more than happy to go out there. What we need are more political leaders like the outstanding mayor from New Orleans. When we attended the National FOP Biennial Conference there in August, we heard New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell pledge her support for her police force during the confer- ence’s opening ceremonies. (For more about this, read the story on page 36.) It’s disappoint-
ing that politicians from Chicago and New York still haven’t learned that lesson.
But maybe our mayor is starting to come around. When she went on a ride-along with officers on midnights in 007 on a Friday night in July, that was a start. When she was with the
KEVIN GRAHAM
CONTINUED ON PAGE 6
CHICAGO LODGE 7 ■ SEPTEMBER 2019 5