As of Jan. 1, all 32,000 employees of the City of Chicago became eligible to take up to 12 weeks of paid parental leave, whether they are the birthing or non-birthing parent. However, Chicago Public Schools teachers, and members of the Chicago police and Chicago Fire Department unions, were not covered by this new policy.
Fortunately for CPS employees, Mayor Brandon Johnson extended the policy to include them earlier this month. Fraternal Order of Police President John Cantanzara recently posted a YouTube video demanding that police officers receive the same treatment as CPS teachers.
I agree with Cantanzara on this point. Johnson should extend the paid parental leave policy to include police officers and fire department members, even their union officials haven’t publicly stated their opinion on the issue.
One concern critics had during the mayoral campaign was that Johnson, a former organizer for the Chicago Teachers Union, whose campaign contributions and foot soldiers helped put him in office, would give special preference to CTU members.
While I agree with his decision to extend paid parental leave to CPS teachers (most of whom are members of the CTU), doing so without taking care of CPD and CFD members could lend credence to that viewpoint.
Paid parental leave is the right thing to do for the children of Chicago. Extending it to police and firefights would position the city as a leader nationwide.
The best thing about the actual leave policy is that it includes both mothers and fathers — as study after study shows the importance of fathers in their children’s lives, and study after study shows the benefits of paternal involvement beginning in those vital first weeks.
Many working parents are allowed time off to tend to a newborn or adoptive child, but paid time off is much less common than it should be, especially for fathers. Sadly, new dads have less support to spend time bonding with their newborns, caring for their children or taking them to doctor appointments.
The overall battle for fairness and equality on this issue will continue across the country. But Johnson has a unique opportunity to position Chicago as a leader and make life better for a whole lot of families with parents who are police officers and firefighters. He should extend the paid parental policy to cover them.
Jeffery M. Leving is founder and president of the Law Offices of Jeffery M. Leving Ltd.
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