Police unions “should be able to negotiate disciplinary issues” to protect officers from unfair punishment, AFL-CIO president Richard Trumka said in an interview with “Axios on HBO.”
Why it’s important: After the death of George Floyd last year during an arrest and subsequent Black Lives Matter protests nationwide, police unions are at the center of a heated debate in the labor movement.
- Leaders of racial justice, the BLM movement, and some AFL-CIO-affiliated unions believe that police unions do not belong to the labor movement because they use their collective bargaining powers to protect police from accountability and block reform efforts.
- They say it is inappropriate to negotiate clemency for police misconduct and that the agreements make it difficult to dismiss officers who abuse their power or mistreat vulnerable minorities.
Trumka backed away, saying that without the power to negotiate disciplinary action, the results could be “whimsical” unfairly for officers.
- Among the various AFL-CIO federations is the International Union of Police Associations, which negotiates on behalf of some local police unions.
- “Look, I came from a coal mine. My grandfather helped organize that 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 didn’t help police.”
Yes, but: Police officers are allowed to carry weapons and use lethal force in their workplaces.
- Progressive critics of police unions argue that negotiating disciplinary proceedings for an officer who may have killed an unarmed black man is a fundamentally different proposition from negotiating sanctions for a coal miner or a teacher.
Other highlights: During the interview, Trumka also defended his legacy in the labor movement in the midst of a period of decline.
- He retreated aggressively against criticism from younger union leaders that the movement under his control had spent too much money and focused on political donations rather than organization.
- On such an open topic of school reopening, he sided with the Chicago Teachers Union and dismissed comments from the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) that vaccinations should not be a prerequisite for teachers go back to the classrooms.
- Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot today announced an interim agreement that would open schools for parents seeking school instruction.
Editor’s Note: Updates with an interim agreement for Chicago and its public school teachers.