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Financial Secretary’s Report
How to address special employment denials
A new year has started that I hope will be fruitful and prosperous for you and your families.
In this article, I will go over some of the helpful hints I’ve mentioned over the past year. First, I will repeat to all PPOs: Do not do anything question- able, extreme or crazy while you are on proba- tion! There have been young officers caught up in bad situations while on probation that have cost them their jobs. When you accepted this job, you put yourself under strong scrutiny. Any iffy cir-
cumstances can go awry in a second; please use a conservative decision-making process and do the safest thing.
Next, when you are served a Request for Review of Discipline form, there is a two-step process involved. First, sign the form and check the box to elect to file a grievance, then get a separate grievance form from your unit and fill it out. Officers have been making the mistake of not filling out the grievance form and just signing the first form. The request forms are for discipline from a reprimand to any amount of days that the City believes you should be suspended for (1 to 365). Of course, never hesi- tate to call the union with any questions.
Working special employment: If you believe that you were improperly denied special employment, the first step is to con- tact Special Events to inquire about the reason for the denial.
The officer who usually runs things there (you know who you are) can more often than not offer a good explanation for the denial. If there is not a sufficient justification for the denial, the next step is to write a to-from to the head of Special Events.
Article 16.2, Section C of the contract states: “If an Officer be- lieves that he or she has been wrongfully declared ineligible to work special employment, the Officer shall submit a ‘To-From- Subject Report’ to the coordinator of the special employment program no later than four calendar days following his or her receipt of notification of ineligibility. If the program coordinator’s response is unsatisfactory to the Officer, then the Officer may ini- tiate a grievance at Step One of the grievance procedure set forth in Section 9.2 no later than seven of the Officer’s working days following his or her receipt of such response.” Most of the com- plaints I’ve received lately have been resolved in a short amount of time.
Finally, the loss of Officers Eduardo Marmolejo and Conrad Gary has saddened us all; please take a moment to remember these officers and give your families a hug to remind yourself that the people in your life care and love you every day. Stay safe.
MICHAEL GARZA
12 CHICAGO LODGE 7 ■ JANUARY 2019