So far, 23 labor unions have filed a complaint in Cook County Circuit Court against Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot's COVID-19 vaccine mandate and are requesting the same deadline of suspension a Chicago judge gave police officers, according to the Chicago Tribune.
The 23 plaintiffs are seeking an injunction that would force Lightfoot's mandate into arbitration as well as place a hold on the Dec. 31 deadline for city workers to get fully vaccinated. They argue that the mandates are a violation of their collective bargaining rights.
On Nov. 1, Judge Raymond Mitchell said the city could not fire police officers until Chicago's Fraternal Order of Police had their arguments heard by an arbitrator. The city can, however, still place officers on unpaid leave if they fail to abide by the vaccination mandate.
Chicago FOP President John Catanzara had previously estimated, according to Breitbart, that roughly 3,200 officers, or ''about a third of the department,'' are defying the city's vaccine mandate.
The Tribune report adds that ''the complaint filed Friday by the 23 unions says Mitchell's ruling 'addressed the identical question of irreparable harm' that the vaccination mandate would inflict on the bargaining units, which have filed labor grievances against the city over the policy.
''It argues that a suspension of the Dec. 31 deadline is necessary or else it will be too late to 'undo the harm' caused by obeying the requirement to get vaccinated.''
Part of the union's petition reads, ''The City's unilateral action has diminished support for the Plaintiff Unions as the exclusive bargaining representatives for the employees in their respective bargaining unit.''
The Tribune report mentions that 78% of the police department, 93% of the fire department, and 72% of city employees have complied with the mandate in Chicago.
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