Collective Bargaining In Law Enforcement

Research monograph on the trade union power and impact of police trade unionism in the USA, with particular reference to the collective bargaining frameworks applicable to this branch of the public sector - covers police occupational organizations, Black officers organizations, etc., and examines the impact of trade unions on professionalism and on law enforcement policy. References.

For the past 40 years, the majority of law enforcement personnel could depend on regular salary increases, better health care, and pension benefits while reaping the advantages of belonging to an organization that was learning how to gain and use political power. However, these peaceful and untroubled days are over. Police unions, despite their best efforts at the bargaining table, now find themselves preparing their members for layoffs, pay and benefit cuts, and more restrictive working conditions. Leaders are trying to fight back against the well-financed, organized efforts to weaken the public sector unions, eliminate collective bargaining rights, end defined benefit pensions, and privatize the job. Police unions must change the way they do business if they want to survive. This book identifies how to mount an effective political campaign, the complexities of confrontations, and the reasons police union leaders fail. The book is divided into five primary parts, each of which explores police union management. Part I focuses on the myriad of police challenges, Part II examines the three reasons union leaders fail, Part III examines the ability to embrace reforms, Part IV discusses the future of policing, and finally, Part V evaluates the national and international perspectives on the current issues that impact policing. Areas of discussion include officer-involved shootings; stopping the growing racial divide between law enforcement and citizens; complex issues concerning body cams; how to use social media effectively; mastering a certain leadership style; changing the culture of unions; more diversity among leadership; and motivating membership. By following the superb analysis and creative ideas for solutions in this book, police labor leaders, law enforcement personnel, and policymakers will see the quality of their efforts improve remarkably.

This Brief examines the role of Police Unions in law enforcement policy development. It provides an overview of the historical and political background of police labor unions, and takes a critical look at the shifting perception of labor unions from generally positive to somewhat negative, to compare this perception with their real impact. It examines the perceived role that unions play, whether positive, negative, or neutral in the development and advancement of contemporary law enforcement agencies and their respective policies. This work provides a multisite survey of police administrators’ views and opinions on police union impact on a variety of police functions including: delivery of services, prevention of crime and disorder, and interaction with the public. The results of this research provide a comprehensive look at ways to improve the ways police departments operate and how they improve and enhance legitimacy in their communities.It provides a context for the current state of the public sector labor relations environment. It will be of interest to researchers in criminology and criminal justice, police science, and public policy.

This is a summary report of a two-year study of police unions and their effect on policing and law enforcement. The growth of police unionism in the united states during the 1960's has been a phenomenon of major importance in police management. Police unions in twenty-two urban areas were the target of this field study, during which interviews were conducted with police chiefs or their representatives, city labor relations representatives, police union leaders, and black officer organization leaders. The study explains the influences resulting in the recent rise of militancy in police unions and describes the present nature of these organizations. The effect of the lack of a single employer-figure on the form and conduct of collecting bargaining is discussed, as well as the impact of unions on labor-management relations. The study examines the dimensions of police union bargaining power and the use labor leaders make of this power in varying situations. The relationship between unionization and professionalization is analyzed, as is the impact of police labor organizing on the chief's ability to manage and on the formulation of law enforcement policy. The nature of black officer organizations, and the factors which led to their formation, are compared with similar characteristics of police unions, and the divergence of purpose is examined in relation to intra-departmental racial unrest. Appended is a bibliography on police unions and labor organizations.

When Derek Chauvin knelt on George Floyd's neck for more than nine minutes, and when Jason Van Dyke fired sixteen rounds at Laquan McDonald who was walking away from the responding officers, were Chauvin and Van Dyke acting exclusively of their own volition, or were their actions indicative of a deeper, systemic issue? Nearly 60% of law enforcement officers enjoy collective bargaining protections from their police unions, but these protections create a lack of accountability. Police unions can bargain collectively with police departments because of state legislation typically allowing negotiation over matters affecting wages, hours, and terms and conditions of employment. This broad language has allowed many police unions to negotiate contracts which shield law enforcement officers from liability for misconduct, permit officers to delay being interrogated for up to forty-eight hours following a critical incident, allow police departments to expunge officer disciplinary records after a few years, require all disputes to be settled in binding arbitration by arbitrators often selected by the police union itself, and significantly limit transparency of disciplinary records to the public and to civilian review boards.One way to solve all these troubling issues is to forbid police unions from bargaining for matters affecting wages, hours, and terms and conditions of employment, or at the very least matters affecting “terms and conditions of employment.” The appendices to this paper include samples of current statutes permitting collective bargaining among police unions, a collection of statutes from all the states that forbid public unions and police unions from collective bargaining, and model statutory language which states may adopt to remedy the aforementioned harmful provisions and ultimately more easily hold law enforcement officers like Chauvin and Van Dyke accountable.

Unlike Europe, where most public sector workers have long been included in collective bargaining agreements, the United States excluded public employees from such legislation until the 1960s and 70s. Since then, union membership in the U. S. has grown more rapidly among public workers than among workers in the private sector. This book provides up-to-date information on public sector collective bargaining in the United States today. The editors' seek to understand the real nature of PSB by examining eight states where the action is taking place -- California, Hawaii, Illinois, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin. The chapters offer unique case studies of legal origins, developments, and challenges to collective bargaining; negotiations experience and outcomes; discussion of legislation; and emphasis of histoical development as well as current practice.