police
they are used to enforce the status quo of both parties.
Comment on People espousing that unions don't work should have a look at police unions.
GreenShimada@lemmy.world 5 days ago
This is true, though police unions typically leverage the “fuck you all” nature of being a union, that Dems won’t touch, and being police, that the GOP won’t touch. So no one stops policies that give wacky amounts of leave.
Tollana1234567@lemmy.today 4 days ago
GreenShimada@lemmy.world 3 days ago
In some cities, typically heavily Democrat ones like Chicago and LA, they’re the monopoly holders, and push their own politics up and force the City Council to take it or accept the political costs of fucking with a union or of fucking with the perception of security and crime. Police unions flip everything you think you know about unions on its head. Unlike normal worker unions, the city can’t close up shop and move if the labor costs get too high. And yet in many large cities police are incredibly ineffectual at everything short of harassing the general public over smalltime BS because it’s easy for them.
Ironically, another Chicago union, the Teacher’s Union, treats themselves with the same level of monopolistic power occasionally, and then asks for a raise and gets smacked down quickly because no one actually cares about schools or learning. Even though most residents support the Teacher’s Union, they are nothing close to holding the same power as the Police Union.
reddit_sux@lemmy.world 5 days ago
That should be the attitude of all unions
IronBird@lemmy.world 4 days ago
police unions arent organized against an abusive management though they’re organized against the public they supposedly serve and protect, which they also have the monopoly of violence over.
if you really wanted to reign in police unions…just make em pay all their abuse of force lawsuits out of their pensions. they’d create a national database tracking/banning cereal shitbags real quick
reddit_sux@lemmy.world 4 days ago
My argument is unions are not the monster they are made out to be. They can be good.
IronBird@lemmy.world 4 days ago
well that’s obvious to anyone whose not been indoctrinated from birth by US propaganda.
police unions though are not unions in the traditional sense, they’re closer to protection rackets.
GreenShimada@lemmy.world 4 days ago
Honestly, not really. Someone that worked with Chicago PD was telling me that a lot of the more senior officers (this was also 10 years ago) leverage accruing enough leave to cover half the year. So they collect a salary 6 months of the year, and a lot end up getting second jobs because they want more money. These are taxpayer-funded services, so I’d rather not give ample avenues to abuse the system because politicians have no spine.
reddit_sux@lemmy.world 4 days ago
This breaks the morale but why to sacrifice collective good because a few game the good to get better.
Contracts can be drawn to have consequences for gaming the system.
GreenShimada@lemmy.world 3 days ago
What commander wants to go against senior guys? What Union wants to throw members under the bus?
And now it means it’s time to hire more officers! /s
That’s the problem with making anyone or any group untouchable, is that you lose the ability to weed out corruption, or even make small changes that affect a few bad actors because the group sees any action against one as an action against all. Which is the point of unions in the first place.
Unions are double-edged swords, and when set in a monopolistic situation like this, you can’t just close the Police Department like you can a coal mine in WV if costs get too high. In Chicago the Police Union IS the monopoly holder - and the same happens in many other cities, like LA. Police reforms become a suicide pact. It’s one of a few situations where everything is flipped from the usual company owner vs. union scenario, and then instantly becomes a national-level “Ah, but we’re a UNION!” when bothered in the slightest.