Why Police Unions Are Not Part of the American Labor Movement
August 27, 2020
Paul F. Clark says the strain between law enforcement and labor goes back to
the origins of trade unions in the mid-19th century.
Minneapolis Police create a blockade after a campaign rally for President
Donald Trump on October 10, 2019.
(Stephen Maturen/Getty Images)
By Paul F. Clark
Pennsylvania State University
In the wake of George Floyd's death at the hands of a Minneapolis police
officer, news reports have suggested that police unions bear some of the
responsibility for the violence perpetrated against African Americans.
Critics have assailed these unions for protecting officers who have abused
their authority. Derek Chauvin, the former police officer facing
second-degree murder charges for Floyd's death, had nearly 20 complaints
filed against him during his career but only received two letters of
reprimand.
Many people who support labor unions in principle, who view them as a
countervailing force against the power of employers, have only recently come
to view police unions as problematic - as entities that perpetuate a culture
of racism and violence.
But this sentiment reverberates through the history of the U.S. labor
movement. As a labor scholar who has written about unions for decades, I
think this viewpoint can be explained by the fact that police unions differ
fundamentally from almost all trade unions in America.
Foot Soldiers for Status Quo
For many veterans of the labor movement, police have been on the wrong side
of the centuries-old struggle between workers and employers. Rather than
side with other members of the working class, police have used their legal
authority to protect businesses and private property, enforcing laws viewed
by many as anti-union.
Washington State Police use tear gas to disperse a crowd in Seattle on May
30, 2020.
(Jason Redmond/AFP via Getty Images)
The strain between law enforcement and labor goes back to the origins of
American unions in the mid 19th century. Workers formed unions to fight for
wage increases, reduced working hours and humane working conditions.
For employers, this was an attack on the existing societal power structure.
They enlisted the government as the defender of capital and property rights,
and police officers were the foot soldiers who defended the status quo.
When workers managed to form unions, companies called on local police to
disperse union gatherings, marches and picket lines, using violence and mass
arrests to break the will of strikers.
Mounted New York City police officers battle with striking members of the
International Longshoremen's Association, March 24, 1954. (Getty Images)
Narrow Focus
Police work is a fundamentally conservative act. And police officers tend to
be politically conservative and Republican.
A poll of police conducted in September 2016 by POLICE Magazine found that
84 percent of officers intended to vote for Donald Trump that November. And
law enforcement unions like the Fraternal Order of Police, the International
Union of Police Associations and the National Border Patrol Council all
endorsed Trump's candidacy in 2016.
This contrasts sharply with the 39 percent share of all union voters who
voted for Trump and the fact that every other union which made an
endorsement supported Hillary Clinton.
Police surround a protester in Boston, Massachusetts on May 31, 2020.
(Joseph Prezioso/AFP via Getty Images)
Exclusively protecting the interests of their members, without consideration
for other workers, also sets police unions apart from other labor groups.
Yes, the first priority of any union is to fight for their members, but most
other unions see that fight in the context of a larger movement that fights
for all workers.
Police unions do not see themselves as part of this movement. With one
exception - the International Union of Police Associations, which represents
just 2.7 percent of American police - law enforcement unions are not
affiliated with the AFL-CIO, the U.S. labor body that unites all unions.
Alternative Justice System
A central concern with police unions is that they use collective bargaining
to negotiate contracts that reduce police transparency and accountability.
This allows officers who engage in excessive violence to avoid the
consequences of their actions and remain on the job.
In a way, some police unions have created an alternative justice system that
prevents police departments and municipalities from disciplining or
discharging officers who have committed crimes against the people they are
sworn to serve.
In Minneapolis, residents filed more than 2,600 misconduct complaints
against police officers between 2012 and 2020. But only 12 of those
grievances resulted in discipline. The most significant punishment any
officer received was a 40-hour suspension.
Besides collective bargaining, police have used the political process -
including candidate endorsements and lobbying - to secure local and state
legislation that protects their members and quells efforts to provide
greater police accountability.
Police officers are a formidable political force because they represent the
principle of law and order. Candidates endorsed by the police unions can
claim they are the law and order candidate. Once these candidates win
office, police unions have significant leverage to lobby for policies they
support or block those they oppose.
Because of this power, critics claim that police unions don't feel
accountable to the citizens they serve. An attorney who sued the Minneapolis
Police Department on behalf of a Black resident who was severely beaten by
police officers said that he is convinced that Minneapolis "officers think
they don't have to abide by their own training and rules when dealing with
the public."
George Floyd's death has raised serious concerns about the current role of
police and police unions in our society. Several unions have demanded that
the International Union of Police Associations be expelled from the U.S.
labor federation. Other unions oppose expulsion. They argue that the labor
movement can have a greater impact on a police union that is inside the
"House of Labor."
In any case, there is a growing recognition that police unions differ
significantly from other unions. And there is a growing acceptance that they
are not part of the larger American labor movement but rather a narrowly
focused group pursuing their own self-interests, often to the detriment of
the nation at large.The Conversation
Paul F. Clark is school director and professor of labor and employment
relations at Pennsylvania State University.
This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons
license. Read the original article.
