The Labor Council provides full service union representation in negotiating and enforcing union contracts, improving salaries, working conditions and benefits for law enforcement professionals throughout Illinois.
Our members are protected 24 hours a day by a staff of 10 full-time, in-house attorneys and staff members who have the best proven track record of winning. We represent law enforcement professionals exclusively and full-time. When someone wants an expert, they call in the FOP Labor Council.
Standing up for our members effectively and responsibly is a daily occurrence. No unit is too big or too small. We provide training seminars and conduct annual meetings where our members determine the direction of their Labor Council.
We Are One Illinois recently held a rally at the state capitol rotunda to show solidarity among Illinois government workers whose pensions and collective bargaining rights are threatened. Around the country, workers are under attack, made to pay for an economy ravaged by the corporate elite. Workers converged at the Illinois State Capitol to make sure our elected officials heard our voices in unison.
Illinois Labor Stands Together To Defend Working Families
We Are One Illinois is focusing on the upcoming legislative veto session, which got underway on October 25, to demand that Governor Quinn and state legislators support a supplemental appropriation that would provide funding to honor all union contracts.
Labor will also be prepared to renew our strong opposition to any attempt to push through legislation that, in clear violation of the state constitution, reduces pension benefits for current employees.
Our message: Organized labor is united in insisting that Illinois cannot become another Wisconsin or Ohio. If public employee unions cannot bargain contracts that are legally enforceable, then collective bargaining will soon cease to be a viable vehicle for workers' aspirations. We call on state legislators to provide adequate funds to fulfill the State's obligations under our collective bargaining laws and to refuse to support SB 512 or any similar measure intended to drastically reduce pension benefits for public employees.
Collective Bargaining At Risk In Illinois
The rights of all public employees in Illinois have been put in grave jeopardy by Governor Quinn and leading legislators. Gov. Quinn has acted to void key provisions of negotiated union contracts and is aggressively defending his actions in state and federal court, alleging that public employers have no obligation to honor union contracts if they don't have sufficient funds.
The Governor's position that no contractual requirements exist because the legislature did not appropriate enough money strikes at the heart of public sector collective bargaining in Illinois. If upheld by the courts, it would allow any governor, mayor, school administrator, state university or community college president to unilaterally void union contracts at any time based on the claim of inadequate funding from the relevant legislative body. No union contract would ever truly be binding on any employer if the Governor's position is sustained.
If he prevails in this fight, Quinn will have accomplished by executive fiat, with the tacit approval of the Democratic legislative leaders, what Governor Walker did by legislation in Wisconsin - the evisceration of long-established bargaining rights for all public employees in the state of Illinois.
Public Pensions At Risk In Illinois
Key legislators, under strong pressure from big business interests, are seeking to drastically reduce the pension benefits of current public employees, effectively eliminating defined benefit pension plans as viable options for most employees. This legislation could be voted on in the Veto Session.
House Passes LEOSA Amendments Bill
Chuck Canterbury, National President of the Fraternal Order of Police, hailed action in the U.S. House of Representatives, which passed S. 1132, the Law Enforcement Officers Safety Act Improvements Act, last night by voice vote under a suspension of the rules.
Senator Patrick J. Leahy (D-VT), the Chairman of the Judiciary Committee, was the sponsor of S. 1132. With the active support of the Judiciary Committees Ranking Member, Senator Jefferson B. Sessions III (R-AL), the legislation was favorably reported by that committee in March of this year and passed by unanimous consent in May.
"I want to express my deep appreciation to Chairman Leahy and Majority Leader Hoyer for their commitment to this issue", Canterbury said. Both of these gentlemen are FOP champions who worked very hard, first to win passage in the Senate and then to get the bill on the calendar for action in the House before the end of the regular session. They deserve a lot of the credit for
today's victory.
The House companion bill, H.R. 3752, as introduced by Representative J. Randy Forbes (R-VA) and championed by Representatives Steny H. Hoyer (D-MD), the House Majority Leader, and Lamar S. Smith (R-TX), Ranking Member of the House Judiciary Committee. Representative Robert C. Scott (D-VA), Chairman of the Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism and Homeland Security and an opponent of the original LEOSA, had previously announced his intention to hold the bill in subcommittee, which would have killed the bill for the year. FOP members in his home State and District, as well as continuous contact with the FOPs Washington staff and personal contact with Chairman Leahy eventually prevailed on Rep. Scott to release the bill for a floor vote.
"Many of our retired officers are facing significant hurdles because some States have failed to implement the law as intended by Congress. This bill, which the President has promised to sign, will help them overcome those obstacles", Canterbury said.
The bill, which was crafted in large part by the FOP, was given a high priority by the organization. No other law enforcement organizations or police groups took played any role in its successful passage despite intense interest in the bill on the part of active and retired officers. The legislation will improve certain provisions of the Law Enforcement Officers Safety Act (LEOSA), especially with respect to retired law enforcement officers, and will make clear that law enforcement officers employed by the Amtrak and Federal Reserve Police Departments, as well as those employed by the executive branch of the Federal Government who are classified as a GS-0083 branch, especially the U.S. Department of Defense, meet the definition of qualified law enforcement officer in current law. The bill would also lower the aggregate years of service needed to meet the definition of qualified retired law enforcement officer from fifteen (15) to ten (10) and removes confusing language related to that same definition.
The bill will be transmitted to the President to be signed into law.
Officer Paul Nauden
suffered a fatal heart attack while conducting an undercover narcotics buy
as part of a large narcotics investigation.
While on scene he informed other undercover officers that he did not feel
well and could not complete the transaction. He left the scene in order to
not jeopardize the operation and the other officers. He flagged down a
passing ambulance a short distance away and was transported to a local
hospital. He passed away early the next morning.
Officer Nauden had served with the Chicago Police Department for 21 years
and was assigned to the Narcotics Section. He is survived by his wife and
two young daughters.
Justice Antonin Scalia doesn’t shy from controversy, even before a large crowd of ABA members. On Saturday during the ABA Midyear Meeting in New Orleans, Scalia answered questions posed by Boston University law dean emeritus Ronald Cass and then from the audience. Topics included abortion, religion, lawyer pay and the justice's recent opinion on police use of a GPS device to track a criminal suspect. The only topic that was off limits—and it was Cass who said Scalia couldn’t answer—was on the Constitution and same-sex marriage. Scalia didn’t hesitate when an audience member asked him whether his Catholicism influenced his…
U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder today announced two new Justice Department programs aimed at helping to bolster indigent defense services at the state and local levels. Between them, the two programs will make up to $2.4 million in federal funding available to research projects studying the barriers that prevent criminal defendants from receiving effective legal assistance, and to support direct efforts to break down those barriers. "These initiatives represent an unprecedented level of support—from this Justice Department and from the administration as a whole—for reforming America's legal system, and improving its ability to serve those who find quality representation to…
Since the events of 2001, the intersection of law and terrorism has become one of the most volatile zones in the public square—a place where qualities of life and manners of death are deliberated against 225 years of the U.S. Constitution. Read all the articles in the Patriots Debate series: WAR POWERS • Constitutional Dilemma: The Power to Declare War Is Deeply Rooted in American History by Richard Brust • War Powers Belong to the President by John Yoo • Only Congress Can Declare War by Louis Fisher Next Topic: TARGETED KILLINGS This month we are offering the first in…
Many large corporations are making significant progress in bringing diversity to their legal departments and creating opportunities for women of color to advance, but a panel of women lawyers in corporate leadership positions told a packed audience today that women also need to take control of their careers if they want to advance up the corporate ladder. "Be bold, and let people know what you want," said Denise F. Keane, executive vice president and general counsel of Altria Group Inc., in Richmond, Va. Systems implemented at companies to help people advance "need to work really well to find you. You've…
Judge Madeleine Landrieu of Louisiana’s court of appeals was a civil trial judge in New Orleans when Hurricane Katrina hit in August 2005. She was among 16 out of the civil court’s 18 judges who lost their homes in the disaster. Landrieu evacuated with her family and moved them into her sister’s crowded home. The city she left behind was devastated. Civil court records weren’t accessible. The court website was down. Communications were impossible. Lawyers were unavailable. Landrieu recounted her experiences on Friday in an ABA Midyear Meeting program that used the Katrina experience to teach about disaster preparedness. Also…
The ABA Commission on Ethics 20/20 still is undecided on whether it will make a recommendation on whether nonlawyers should be allowed to have some form of limited ownership interest in U.S. law firms. In recent months, the commission's work on the issue has focused on what the substance of such a recommendation might be. On Dec. 2, the commission released a discussion paper (PDF) on alternative law practice structures that outlines one possible approach to nonlawyer ownership—but it does not amount to an actual recommendation. The commission also posted initial draft proposals (PDF) on choice-of-law issues affecting fee-sharing when…
The attorney general of New York today filed suit in state court against three major banks and an electronic mortgage recording operation, contending that they circumvented legal requirements and cost the the state some $2 billion in property recording fees by keeping their own private list of property transfers and mortgage assignments. The Brooklyn Supreme Court suit seeks to ban foreclosure filings that rely on information from the Mortgage Electronic Registration System and obtain reimbursement from the defendants for lost recording fees and other damages, according to the Los Angeles Times and Reuters. Bloomberg also has a story. "The banks…
Adam Skaggs. Photo by Kathy Anderson Should law firms have to report judicial campaign contributions by their lawyers and staffers? Should they include information about nonfinancial support, such as endorsements? And how should judges use that information to decide whether to recuse themselves? Those questions were considered at a public hearing at the ABA Midyear Meeting on Friday as commenters dissected proposed amendments to model ethics rules. The need for revisions is clear, according to Adam Skaggs, senior counsel at the Brennan Center for Justice at New York University School of Law. There has been an “explosion in spending in…
The hacktivist collective known as Anonymous claims to have obtained material from a law firm's computer system concerning its defense of a controversial U.S. Marine accused of responsibility for the 2005 slayings of 24 civilians in Haditha, Iraq. Anonymous says it retrieved about three gigabytes of "court mails, faxes, transcriptions etc" from Puckett & Faraj related to its defense not only of Staff Sgt. Frank Wuterich but other marines, Computerworld reports. The group, which also says it defaced the Puckett & Faraj website, plans to make the marine defense material public soon. "We believe it is time to release all…
If everyone in the office grumbles when there's mention of another meeting to add to already busy schedules, managers may want to take note of Grand Rapids, Mich.-based Atomic Object. This software-development firm holds its mandatory company meetings first thing in the morning. Chitchat is kept to a minimum. And everyone is required to stand. "Stand-up meetings are part of a fast-moving tech culture in which sitting has become synonymous with sloth," the Wall Street Journal reports. The goal of stand-ups is to keep meetings short and focused. Stand-up meetings have been used by the military since WWI, but the…
Updated: Labor lawyers have been sounding a warning in recent years that employers could be violating the law by hiring unpaid interns to do work that ordinarily would be performed by a paid employee. And now a lawsuit seeks to put that argument to the test, contending that a 28-year-woman who says she worked up to 55 hours per week, without pay, as an intern at Harper's Bazaar last year must be treated like any other employee under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act, according to Reuters. Xuedan "Diana" Wang seeks class action status for her suit, which was filed…
A three-judge panel of the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of appeals has revived a lawsuit that claims a girls basketball team in Indiana gets less desirable scheduling than the boys team in violation of Title IX. The Chicago-based panel held that the Franklin County, Ind., school system should face trial to determine whether an "obvious disparity" in the schedules amounts to denying equal athletic opportunities to girls, Education Week's School Law blog reports. The suit maintains that during the 2009-10 basketball season at Franklin County High School, 95 percent of the boys team's games were given prime-time spots on Friday…
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