Page 12 - November2018

Financial Secretary’s Report
The importance of having forensic investigators
Happy Thanksgiving to you all! Hope you get some time to spend with family and friends.
A grievance committee meeting was held on Oct. 15, with the following results: the commit- tee decided to withdraw 15 grievances and defer three. A majority of the grievances concerned in-district overtime, and the committee will need more details on how the districts are ignoring se- niority when assigning overtime.
One of the Evidence Techs (ET) came into the office to state that the unit is down to only a few forensic investigators. There has always been a distinction between a regular ET and a Fo- rensic Investigator (FI): the FIs are used for major cases like police shootings and homicides. Over the years, the unit has tried to use ETs for these cases, but the forensic investigators have more experience and training than ETs. Their additional training and knowledge has assisted detectives in getting con- victions on dangerous offenders in court.
In that same sense, FIs are given time to process scenes that a regular ET might not have because he or she also has three burglary scenes to process. In the view of many, it is a danger- ous decision to leave a vital department position depleted. We have contacted the department to express the concerns of the unit and are waiting for a response.
As Catharine and I have been going through old open griev- ances, we discovered many that were left in limbo — a griev- ance was submitted for mediation but never resolved. Some that fall into this category would be absolute losses based on previous arbitrations. I then review it, with the help of the at- torneys, and see what the best result could be. The difficult part is that a decision must be made to resolve the grievance to the best benefit of everyone. In one case, the grievance was determined to be a loss if we went forward to arbitration; in that case, a settlement can be mediated. It’s not the best solution and it’s not the worst solution, but it results in thou- sands of dollars being saved on each arbitration when the re- sult would be a loss for the officer. I believe these grievances were being put off because past administrations were afraid to make common-sense decisions for viable solutions. Since I was put in this position by officers who believe I am knowl- edgeable in these matters, I will try to make the best decision I can for resolution. No one wants to wait years for a response, good or bad.
Now I want to bring up something that was pointed out to me: If you are called for random drug and alcohol testing and believe that you may test positive for alcohol, do not drive yourself down to 35th Street. We all have stress and pressure in our lives and work, so if you find yourself against the wall in this circumstance, do not drive yourself; request for someone to drive you so that a bad situation does not become worse.
Finally, it is the holiday season. For most of us, it brings joy and happiness but, unfortunately, for others it brings doubt and depression. For those feeling sadness at this time of year, reach out for help to deal with everything. Do not let yourself dwell on the things that bring you down in life. No matter what you have seen or done, there are many more things to see and experience in your life. Every day is a step forward; keep push- ing ahead, and you will find more life to live. And if something about this job is really upsetting and confusing to you, give me a call down here at the union; maybe I can make something clear that might be puzzling. It certainly couldn’t hurt.
MICHAEL GARZA
12 CHICAGO LODGE 7 ■ NOVEMBER 2018
Stay safe.