Up to half of Chicago's rank-and-file police officers could be placed on unpaid leave starting Friday because of a dispute between their union and Mayor Lori Lightfoot over a city requirement for officers to disclose their vaccine status.
The dispute in Chicago is emblematic of tension across the country between unions and employers as cities and businesses seek to enforce vaccine mandates. At least 228 officers have died of Covid-19 this year compared to 245 last year, according to the Officer Down Memorial Page.
Covid is the leading cause of death for officers despite them being among the first groups having access to the vaccine at the end of last year.
At least 120 officers in San Francisco will be off the street after failing to comply with the city's vaccine mandate, CNN affiliate KGO reported. Eighty of the 120 police officers work in the department's patrol division, San Francisco Police Officers Association vice president Tracy McCray said.
In a message to officers in Chicago, their union president framed the issue as an employment dispute between the city and the officers.
"I've made my status very clear as far as the vaccine, but I do not believe the city has the authority to mandate that to anybody let alone that information about your medical history and change the terms of employment so to speak on the fly," said John Catanzara, president of the local Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) lodge. Earlier this month, the former president of the union died of Covid. He served as president from 2014 until 2017.
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