Chicago’s vaccine mandate has entered its first fulls week, and many people are not happy about this. There has been ongoing tension with the mayor and the Chicago police union.
Since Friday’s deadline for Chicago workers to report their vaccination status, at least two memos have been sent out. Unfortunately, thousands of officers have continued not to report their vaccination status, said the Fraternal Order of Police President John Catanzara.
The memo sent Sunday talks about the consequences if officers are not following Chicago’s vaccination policy. Officers who do not report could be dealing with a disciplinary investigation ending up with a penalty and/or separation from the police department. The memo then states that members of the department who retire while under an investigation will be denied retirement credentials.
The second memo sent Saturday states days off needs approval from a deputy chief or above.
Catanzara says that officers who still refused to report their vaccination status will be notified by their supervisors on Monday and then again to comply with the mandate. He reports:
The unofficial number we have is about 3,200; so a third of the department. If they refuse, it sounds like they’re going into a no-pay status, effective immediately.
The dispute with the Police Union and the Lightfoot administration isn’t about covid or personal beliefs and opinions but collective bargaining rights. Catanzara says the city has refused to negotiate about the many changes or any information at all about their employment policies.
CPD has not answered if the memos are related to the tension between the police union and Mayor Lightfoot about the vaccine mandate, but the union does not stand down.
Written by Daylontie Jasper
Edited by Cathy Milne-Ware
Source:
CBS Chicago: Chicago Police Union President Estimates More Than 3,000 Officers Defying City’s Vaccine Reporting Mandate; by Mugo Odigwe
Feature Image Courtesy of Michael Kappel’s Flickr Page- Creative Commons License
Inset Image Courtesy of Ashley Diener’s Flickr Page- Creative Commons License
