Safe Passage - Spare no Expense (UPDATE)

This is getting ridiculous.

First up, the Safe Passage orders are ridiculously long and involved. Seems the entire day watches in select Districts are getting shifted around. If they move your start time by more than 2 hours, you're entitled to a bit of cash per the Contract. Your Unit Rep of the FOP can help you on that front. Word is all the PPO's and maybe even the recruits are involved, too.

Second, they're sending a few hundred non-essential personnel from HQ to 007 and 011 to make sure that the Safe Passage has an incident-free week at least, two weeks on the outside. Where do they keep digging up these "non-essential" persons? We thought they emptied out HQ during the last two purges. Guess they missed a few, because we still can't find parking when we go down for our regularly scheduled IAD dates.

Third, we saw the order for something like 40 or more pieces of fire apparatus to be deployed on Safe Passage routes. We assume they'll be free to leave should the next Great Chicago Fire break out, and you know everyone loves a firefighter. But this is getting ridiculous.

And finally, the City is telling non union employees from all departments that they will be assigned to a Safe Passage for 2 weeks (from 0600 to 0900) before reporting to their regular job for the day. Streets, Water, Park District, Sewers, etc. The City mean EVERYONE will have a spot to park and watch the children on their way to school. That means all sorts of regular city services will be delayed at least the first 3 hours of the day and the delays will most likely stack up all week. If they have to complete certain projects or pickups like garbage, is that going to mean another pile of overtime money burned through in short order?

Everything about this screams, "Overkill!"

UPDATE: True or false?

• Everyone in OCD was given a 2 day notice that their hours would be changed to school open & close hours & some RDO's will be cancelled (switched without pay). I guess the "leaders" don't think police officers planned to walk their own children to school. Now we have to cancel our VRI days. Thanks leaders, I can't wait to go buy more crack!!!  

On one hand, that's life in a Unit kid - "voluntary" change of hours and if you bitch about it, back to the District you go.

On the other, getting shafted out of pre-planned VRI dates, short notice cancelled RDO's and/or start times when you might be taking your own kids to school (you know, like a responsible parent, instead of watching someone else's kids) is wrong on a number of levels.

Anyone recall how many kids have been shot, maimed or beaten on the first day of school in the past? Yeah, we can't think of any either. That usually happens after school has been in session a few weeks and the gangs have reestablished their old feuds and started their heavy recruitment.

Overkill.