Page 18 - February 2021

Starting the year with another victory
When will the City of Chicago learn? As we start 2021, the City has received another blow from the Illinois Labor Relations Board, which found the Department to be in violation of the state labor laws one more time.
On Jan. 5, an Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) issued a Recommended Decision and Order, finding that the City (once again) violated the Illinois Labor Relations Act
when it unilaterally implemented its last, best and fi-
nal offer on the effects of body-worn cameras. In addi-
tion, the ALJ found that the City violated the act when it unilaterally increased the buffering time on body-worn cam- eras from 30 seconds to 2 minutes, because it implemented the decision without first bargaining over its effects.
As a result of another ruling issued by the Labor Board, the FOP and the City have engaged in effects bargaining over the body-worn cameras, starting in the spring of 2018. The FOP presented its proposals on the effects, and in particular, the effects relating to discipline and safety. As we have explained in the past, the City’s implementation of the body-worn cam- eras alone is not a mandatory subject of bargaining; however the effects or impact of implementing the cameras must be bargained with the FOP.
In negotiations, the City had questions relating to the FOP’s
initial proposals but never offered any of its own counter- proposals. Remember, bargaining in good faith imposes an obligation on both sides of the table to meet at reasonable times and to negotiate until a new contract incorporating any
such agreement is reached, if possible. Good faith collective bargaining means that the parties exchange proposals, discuss issues, engage in dialogue and agree upon the terms. Good faith bargaining envisions a give-and- take. The City either has a hard time grasping that concept or is intentionally violating the act, thinking
it is above the law.
In the summer of 2018, the City presented a draft
Memorandum of Understanding relating to the effects of body-worn cameras. The parties met and bargained over that proposed Memorandum of Understanding until January 2019. At that point, the City proposed a last, best and final offer on the effects of the body-worn cameras. The parties continued to negotiate not just the effects of the body-worn cameras, but also other subjects related to the contract.
In May 2019, the City announced its intent to increase the buffering time of the body-worn cameras from 30 seconds to 2 minutes. At the end of May, the parties met at Department headquarters, but the City did not bargain over the change in the buffering time. The following month, on June 9, 2019, the City unilaterally implemented the increase in the buffering
PAT FIORETTO
18 CHICAGO LODGE 7 ■ FEBRUARY 2021