Police unions “must be able to negotiate disciplinary matters” to protect officers from unfair punishment, AFL-CIO president Richard Trumka said during an “Axios on HBO interview”.
Why it matters: After the death of George Floyd last year during an arrest and the subsequent Black Lives Matter protests nationwide, unions are at the center of a heated debate in the labor movement.
- Racial justice leaders, the BLM movement and some unions affiliated to the AFL-CIO believe that police unions do not belong in the labor movement because they use their collective bargaining power to protect the police from accountability and thwart reform efforts.
- They say it is inappropriate to plead for misconduct by the police and that agreements make it difficult to fire officers who abuse their power or abuse vulnerable minorities.
Trumka pushed back, says without the power to negotiate disciplinary action, the outcomes can be “fickle” in ways that are unfair to officers.
- The diverse federation of the AFL-CIO includes the International Union of Police Associations, which negotiates on behalf of some local police unions.
- “Look, I come from a coal mine. My grandfather helped organize the coal mine and we had no protection,” Trumka said. “The employer did all the disciplinary things. And I could tell you, it was never fair and it did not help with policing.”
Yes, but: Police officers are authorized to carry guns and use deadly force in their work.
- Progressive critics of police unions argue that negotiating disciplinary proceedings for an officer who killed an unarmed Black man is a fundamentally different proposal than negotiating sanctions with a coal miner or a teacher.
Other highlights: During the interview, Trumka also defends his legacy in the labor movement amid a period of decline.
- He aggressively pushed back against the criticism of younger union leaders that the movement under his watch had placed too much money and focus on political donations and not enough in the organization.
- On the obstructed topic of reopening at the school, he joined the Chicago Teachers Union and rejected comments from the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) that vaccinations do not have to be a prerequisite for teachers to return to classrooms.
- Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot today announced a preliminary agreement that will reopen schools for parents seeking education.
Editor’s Note: Updates with preliminary agreement for Chicago and its public school teachers.