(Editor’s note: Alexia Fernandez Campbell, Senior Reporter. The author of this article is a member of the Washington-Baltimore News Guild, which is affiliated with the Communication Workers of America, a member union of the AFL-CIO.)
By Alexia Fernández Campbell, Senior Reporter
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Labor unions exist to protect workers, but most workers aren’t authorized to use deadly force as part of their jobs.
Police unions have written labor contracts that bar law enforcement agencies across the country from immediately interrogating or firing officers after egregious acts of misconduct.
Leaders of the country’s other labor unions are tiptoeing around the subject as their members join protests in hundreds of U.S. cities this week over the killing of George Floyd. Labor leaders have strongly denounced police officers’ actions in that case and called on lawmakers to address systemic racism. But they are suggesting that collective bargaining agreements should not be on the table. They have been careful not to blame police unions for the problem, choosing to embrace them instead.
Police union contracts are not normal collective bargaining agreements.
Police unions have crafted a complex web of disciplinary rules that critics say (https://newrepublic.com/article/15791b/no-cop-unions) makes it impossible to hold police accountable for killing unarmed Black citizens. After a Minneapolis police officer pinned Floyd’s neck to the ground for more than eight minutes while fellow officers stood by and watched, many want to see these union contract rules reformed or dismantled. (https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/abolish-police-unions-and-the-law-can finally-treat-cops-like-everyone-else).
