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Earlier this month, Johnson and Chicago Public Schools officials
announced that employees would get up to 12 weeks of paid
paternity leave. Previous policy granted parents six to eight
weeks of leave. The new change will bring CPS in line with
policy in other departments.
John Catanzara of the Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 7 is now
urging the mayor to approve the same leave for the police force.
"The teachers were granted parental leave without bargaining. We
certainly expect the same considerations for our membership,"
Catanzara said on a YouTube video.
That CPS move has resulted in CPD wanting the same leave, which
is their right, according to Illinois Policy Institute's Mailee
Smith.
"Government unions can negotiate over virtually anything," Smith
said. "They already had the right to negotiate over things like
paternity leave or days off or sick leave. They already had the
right to do that."
However, Smith said that CPD is not trying to negotiate.
"What this shows is that government unions bypass bargaining
when it is convenient for them," Smith told The Center Square.
"Unions can abandon labor laws and not go to negotiations when
it's convenient for them, but government leaders do not have
that same leeway. They cannot just change things without
bargaining."
Johnson has yet to comment on the police union's requests. Smith
said his decision will be a big one for how people view the
mayor.
"I think Brandon Johnson has put himself in a very interesting
position," Smith said. "He has yet to show how he will govern
for all of us, how he will be a mayor for everyone and not just
follow what his former CTU colleagues want."
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