Page 10 - November 2015

Binding Summary Opinion
FINANCIAL SECRETARY’S REPORT
KEVIN KILMER
Another month has passed, which means the Lodge had another successful Binding Summary Opinion arbitration. The Lodge represented 10 more officers that filed grievances on their suspensions. The Lodge was victorious again in reducing seven of the 10 sus- pensions that were presented to the arbitrator.
As our successes continue, we will explore eliminat- ing the need for attorneys representing the officers, and, instead, have myself and other Field Repre- sentatives represent them, which would be a monumental savings to the membership. For
those of you interested in filing a grievance through Binding Summary Opinion, please remember to file your grievance in your district/unit within seven working days of being notified of your punishment.
The wording should be as follows:
Grievant officer received notification of a (___) day suspension as a result of CR#_________________. Grievant feels this punishment is without just cause and seeks to be made whole per Binding Summary Opinion. Contract violation Section 9.6.
Once your grievance is completed and sent up the chain, the Lodge will receive your file from Management and Labor Affairs. At this point, the Lodge will contact you to come in to review your file and complete a 1-to-3-page “to/from/subject” report setting forth your position and the reasons why the punishment should be reduced or set aside. Once this is done, you will contacted in three- to-four months for a Binding Summary Opinion date when you will appear in front of the arbitrator, a Lodge representative and a mem-
ber of Management and Labor Affairs and have about 15 minutes to state your case. A binding decision is made a few weeks later.
If you have any other questions, feel free to contact me at the Lodge or email me at kkilmer@chicagofop.org.
Excessive punishments
As Grievance Committee Co-Chairman, I see most of the sus- pension grievances filed through the Lodge. Halfway through my first term, I have found a very troubling trend set forth by Super-
N intendentMcCarthy.
When I receive an officer’s file for a suspension grievance,
the first thing I look at is the Command Channel Review.
What this document shows is the recommended penalty at all levels of the Chicago Police Department for a specific pun- ishment. What I found to be problematic is that the Superintend- ent, since he has the final say on punishments, has made it a habit to double most recommended punishments from the amount
agreed to up the chain of command.
Since the Department adheres to a policy of progressive disci-
pline, it boggles the mind that our Superintendent arbitrarily rais- es most punishments without cause. The good news is that the arbitrators have noticed this as well, reducing many of these excessive punishments to the amount recommended before it hit the Superintendent’s desk. I am hopeful the Superintendent will see the error of his ways and have faith in his command staff’s decisions, instead of further burdening our hard-working officers with the unnecessary anxiety of an inflated and undeserved pun- ishment. d
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10 CHICAGO LODGE 7 ■ NOVEMBER 2015