Chicago police union wins hearing in fight against forced COVID-19 vaccines
Chicago’s mayor wanted police either vaccinated against COVID-19 or regularly tested, but the pushback from their union has received two recent legal advances.
The fight over a COVID-19 vaccination mandate for Chicago Police saw two recent legal moves, with the police union gaining a hearing on its claims and the city dropping a lawsuit intended to muzzle the union president.
The fight led by Fraternal Order of Police President John Catanzara over what the union is claiming was overreach by Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot will receive a hearing before the Illinois Labor Relations Board. Having a hearing granted means the board found merit to the union’s complaint.
The union claims Lightfoot should have bargained over her vaccination policies. She imposed an Oct. 15 deadline for officers to report their vaccination status and a Jan. 1 deadline to be vaccinated. The union convinced a judge to delay the Jan. 1 vaccination deadline, and now other city employee unions are also seeking delays.
Lightfoot and Catanzara’s feud has gone on for months, with her calling him reckless and him calling her a tyrant. He retired ahead of efforts to fire him from the force, and said he now plans to run against Lightfoot for mayor in 2023.
The city sued the union over Catanzara urging union members to ignore Lightfoot’s Oct. 15 reporting deadline. A judge ordered him muzzled for several weeks. The city dropped that lawsuit Dec. 2.
Lightfoot said it was dropped both because of high compliance with the reporting requirement and high vaccination rates among officers.
“[O]ur brave police officers are smarter than their FOP leadership, and care more about their city, their fellow Chicagoans, and upholding their sworn oath to protect and serve, than they do Catanzara’s frivolous demands to stop working,” Lightfoot said.
Officers complied with “the nation’s worst mayor” under duress, the FOP claimed.
“Oblivious to the fact 30% of the department did not comply BY CHOICE and are only complying under duress and force, she just can’t help herself when it comes to ignorance.”
Lightfoot wanted to require unvaccinated officers to be tested twice a week at their own expense. Since October, dozens of Chicago first responders were put on no-pay status for refusing to report, as Catanzara urged.
If the Illinois Labor Relations Board decides in the union’s favor, it would be able to seek relief from or bargain over city COVID-19 mandates. The city has 15 days to respond, then a hearing will be set.