police and unions

Article

15 Oct

Police and labour unions have a contradictory relationship. A key role of police, both historically and currently, has been to break strikes, harass and even kill union members. At the same time, in many jurisdictions police are highly unionised themselves. This article explores this history and ongoing issues in the relationship between police and the union movement.

early police and unions

As capitalism and the Industrial Revolution developed, policing emerged as a way to enforce the new class structure, and unionism as a means to push back.

Labour strikes had previously occurred throughout history, as had armed enforcement of hierarchies, but the particular institutions were new - unions with formal structures engaging in collective bargaining, and modern police forces.

Simplified for brevity, from the middle ages through to early modern Britain, the majority of people were “peasant” farmers, working the land of estates owned by the aristocracy. Peasants sold a portion of their produce to their landlord, but otherwise had a degree of control over their labour. In late 18th and early 19th century England, the enclosure of previously common lands and the Industrial Revolution led to rapid growth of cities with a large class of “workers” who sold their labour for wages, rather than selling a product. This loss of agency led to terrible working conditions, with workers living in slums (1).

In order to regain agency and improve their conditions, workers began to form unions. By pooling resources and acting as a collective, workers advocated for reforms at work like higher wages and shorter hours.

The French Revolution of 1789-99 saw the radicalisation and political prominence of Parisian workers - the “Sans-Culottes”. The British ruling class became increasingly paranoid about a worker uprising spreading to their shores.

Parliament banned unions and collective bargaining with the Combination Acts of 1799 and 1800 (2). Unions continued to operate as clandestine organisations. Strikes and industrial sabotage continued until the Acts were repealed in 1824. However, the Combinations of Workmen Act in 1825 again placed extreme restrictions on unionism such as banning strikes (3).

Older methods of control were unsuitable to enforce the new urban economic system.

The problem was best demonstrated by what became known as the Peterloo Massacre (4). On 16 August 1819, 30-50,000 workers gathered at St Peter’s Field in Manchester to demand electoral reform in the midst of artificially inflated food prices and poor working conditions. Without a regular police force to disperse the gathering, local authorities relied on the army. Cavalry charged the crowd leading to 18 deaths and hundreds of injuries (5). The British public was outraged, and the press dubbed the massacre “Peterloo” to evoke the recent battle of Waterloo.

It became clear to the government that soldiers were not suited to the task of suppressing protests, so they established modern police forces. Previous law enforcement was largely conducted by magistrates, night watches, and temporary posses formed to capture fugitives or control crowds. Modern police forces would consist of salaried officers responsible for maintaining order in a specified jurisdiction at all hours (6).

In 1829 the Metropolitan Police Force for London was established. Generally considered to be the first modern police force, it has served as a model for police forces throughout the world. The Metropolitan Police wore blue to distinguish themselves from the red traditionally worn by the British military, and were armed with batons instead of firearms.

In the South of the United States of America, slave patrols (tasked with capturing “fugitives” and preventing an uprising) evolved into modern police forces (7). Urban police forces in the North evolved along similar lines to the UK by consolidating the night and day watches, with the New York City Police Department being founded in 1845, Boston and Philadelphia in 1854, and Chicago in 1855.

haymarket

The union movement also spread to the USA. On 1 May 1886, up to 500,000 workers across the country joined a general strike for the eight hour day. On 3 May, unionists confronted strikebreakers at the McCormick Reaper Works in Chicago. Police fired at the union workers, killing two to six (8).

Anarchist unionists called a rally in Haymarket Square the next day, 4 May to protest police brutality. At approximately 10:30 PM as the rally was winding down, police attempted to disperse the crowd. An unidentified person threw a bomb at the police lines, killing one officer. The police fired into the crowd, in the darkness killing several of their own officers through friendly fire. Up to eight workers were killed and seven police, with another dying years later of his wounds (9).

The police pinned the incident on the “Chicago Eight” - prominent anarchists who were accused not of directly throwing the bomb, but conspiracy. Union members and socialists were barred from sitting on the jury. Despite a lack of evidence linking the accused to the bombthrower, the jury found the group guilty of murder. One anarchist was sentenced to fifteen years imprisonment, and seven others to death (10). Two of the men had their sentences commuted, one died of suicide and four were executed. The Haymarket Affair became a cause célèbre for the worldwide union movement. To commemorate Haymarket and the struggle for the eight hour day, 1 May was subsequently chosen as International Workers’ Day (also known as Labour Day or May Day), and is now a public holiday in many countries.

russian police unions

In response to growing socialist influence within unions, the Russian Okhrana (secret police) set up pro-Tsar unions in 1901 (11). Revolutionary critics dubbed this practice “police socialism”. Although these unions initially drew support away from revolutionary organisations, the police lost control.

In 1903 a “police union” in Odessa went on strike, and on 22 January 1905 Father Georgy Gapon led the formerly police-controlled Assembly of Working Men to the Winter Palace in St Petersburg with demands including an 8 hour day, freedom of the press and higher wages for women. Police influence had convinced these workers that the Tsar was their protector and would be sympathetic to their demands. Troops fired on the workers, killing several hundred in an event that came to be called “Bloody Sunday”.

Bloody Sunday sparked the Revolution of 1905 with strikes spreading across the country (12). After the failed revolution, the government abandoned “police unions”.

modern police violence against unionists

The 20th century saw the rise of anti-capitalist unions such as the International Workers of the World, the Spanish Confederación Nacional del Trabajo (National Confederation of Labour) and Communist parties inspired by the Russian Revolution of 1917. This alarmed authorities, and police violence against unionists became commonplace. The following non-exhaustive list gives notable examples:

Belgian General Strike of 1902 - Belgian workers called a general strike to end the system of plural voting in which wealthy citizens received more votes. In one notable incident, the Civil Guard fired on workers in Leuven, killing six and wounding fourteen (13). Twelve workers were killed in total during the strike.

Lawrence Textile Strike (Bread and Roses Strike) - In 1912, Massachusetts reduced the working week for women and children, and textile factory owners cut pay by a corresponding amount. The Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) had organised the largely female immigrant workforce in Lawrence, and the pay cut triggered a strike for improved conditions (14). This was opposed by the more conservative unions within the American Federation of Labor (AFL) who unsuccessfully attempted to break the strike.

Police killed a striking worker named Anna Lopizzo on January 29, and subsequently charged the two IWW strike leaders Joseph Ettor and Arturo Giovannitti with her murder. Along with a third defendant, they remained in custody for the duration of the strike and were eventually acquitted (15).

The strike from January 11 - March 14 took place in freezing weather, and the striking workers sent hundreds of their children to relatives and sympathisers in other cities to avoid starvation. The Lawrence textile mills made extensive use of child labour, so many of these children were striking workers themselves. The children joined parades as ambassadors for the people of Lawrence. The publicity drew the ire of the police who blocked the passage of a group of children at the Lawrence Train Station on February 24 (16). The police beat the children and their mothers and conducted a mass arrest. A pregnant mother miscarried as a result of the police beating.

Battle of Blair Mountain - For three decades up to 1920, coal mines in Mingo County, West Virginia fired any worker who joined a union, which also meant evicting that worker’s family from housing in the company town. The United Mine Workers organised to break this policy by signing up over 3,000 workers to the union. All were immediately dismissed.

On 19 May 1920, agents from the Baldwin-Felts Detective Agency were employed to evict miners’ families from their homes at gunpoint. In a rare case of police support for unionists, Matewan Police Chief Sid Hatfield attempted to arrest the agents, who in turn claimed they had a warrant to arrest Hatfield. A gunfight ensued between locals and the agency, with 7 agents and three locals killed, including the mayor (17). For a year after the shootout, martial law was enforced with occasional gunfights in the area between miners and state police, who sided with mine owners in contrast to Hatfield. Hatfield and his deputy later faced conspiracy charges for a separate incident, and on 1 August 1921 when they arrived unarmed at court, they were shot dead by a group of Baldwin-Felts agents. None of the murderers were convicted (18).

Responding to Hatfield’s murder, miners across the region took up arms, with a large group converging in the state capital Charleston. The miners wore red bandanas and were dubbed the “Redneck Army” (19). Roughly 10,000 workers attempted to march to Mingo County in order to end martial law and release imprisoned miners, via Blair Mountain in Logan County. The local sheriff Don Chaffin was receiving regular bribes from mine owners to keep the union out of his county. He fortified Blair Mountain with his police force and private army funded by the mine owners.

On 29 August, the Battle of Blair Mountain began between the larger union force and the better equipped, dug in police force. Sheriff Chaffin hired private planes to drop bombs and poison gas on the miners. Over the next few days National Guard and Army troops arrived, and the miners surrendered. Exact casualties are unknown, but it’s estimated that between 50-100 miners were killed, along with 30 police and private militia (20).

Nazi suppression of unions - Hitler came to power in January 1933 and soon began reorganising Germany’s police forces. On 26 April the political and intelligence sections of the Prussian Police were merged to form the “Geheimes Polizeiamt” (secret police office), shortened to Gestapo. The first action of the Gestapo on May 2 was to arrest 58 union leaders, while regular police and the Nazi Party’s storm troopers occupied union offices (21). Independent unions were subsequently banned in Germany, and arrested unionists were sent to concentration camps or summarily executed.

Memorial Day Massacre - in 1937, steel workers across the USA went on strike demanding employer recognition of their union - the Steel Workers Organizing Committee. On May 30 (Memorial Day), roughly 1500 workers and their families gathered for a picnic and mass meeting in Chicago, then marched across a park towards the Republic Steel Mill. They were met by 250 police officers who used tear gas, batons and revolvers to attack the crowd, killing 10 and wounding over 100 (22). In separate incidents in other parts of the US, at least six more unionists were killed and the police destroyed the local union headquarters in Massillon, Ohio. Following the massacre, the media suppressed footage of the violence and falsely portrayed workers as the aggressors (23).

Battle of Orgreave - Police violence against picketing workers was widespread during the 1984-85 UK Miners’ Strike. The most serious incident occurred on 18 June 1984 in what became known as the Battle of Orgreave. A force of roughly 6000 police officers attacked roughly 5,000 miners with batons, dogs and a mounted police charge, leading to at least 120 recorded injuries (24). 95 miners were charged with riot and other offences which risked lifelong imprisonment, but the case collapsed when it became clear that the police had fabricated evidence (25).

Marikana Massacre - On 16 August 2012, South African police killed 34 striking platinum miners (26). This was the culmination of a week of violence (some committed by striking workers) and the deaths of six other workers, two security guards and two police officers. After the massacre, police planted weapons on their victims’ bodies to justify the shootings (27).

Unlike other incidents listed, these workers were involved in a wildcat strike (a strike not authorised by the union leadership). Many of the striking workers were members of the National Union of Miners, but when they marched to the union office seeking endorsement of the strike on 11 August, union officials fired on the workers, wounding two (28).

Note that the list focuses on police violence against unionists, rather than military or other state bodies as seen in the Banana Massacre, Lena Massacre or the mass killings of unionists in Indonesia under the Suharto regime.

police infiltration of unions

Police have been tasked with surveilling union activity and infiltrating unions using undercover officers or informants.

Surveillance of unions can be intended to, or claim to, target corruption or organised crime (29), but is often aimed at disrupting leftist political activities.

From 1968 to 2011, British undercover police infiltrated over 1,000 political groups including unions, left-wing political parties, peace and environmental activists (30). The undercover police were primarily members of the Metropolitan Police’s Special Demonstration Squad, and the National Public Order Intelligence Unit, a private organisation consisting of officers seconded from conventional police forces, run by the Association of Chief Police Officers.

Undercover police provided employers with intelligence on militant unionists, who were then blacklisted and unable to find work (31).

Some undercover police entered into sexual relationships with people they were spying on, such as Mark Jenner (posing as Mark Cassidy), who infiltrated the Union of Construction Allied Trades and Technicians and lived in a domestic relationship with a teacher’s union member named “Alison” for five years (32). While some women who were groomed into sexual relationships have received compensation, none of the police officers responsible have faced criminal charges for their sexual violence.

police as workers

Anarchists, Marxists and others in the union movement have questioned whether police are “workers”, and examined their unique relationship to the state and capital.

Marx defined workers (or proletarians) as individuals who do not own the means of production (eg. factories, farms, companies) and thus have to sell their labour-power in exchange for wages (33). By this simple definition, police are workers.

However, Marxists are not only concerned with the individual’s status as a worker, but the broader “class” of groups i.e. workers, capitalists, nobility etc. Marx saw the conflicting interests of classes as the driving force of history. While police officers share some common interests with the working class, their role in class conflict is to support capital rather than other workers.

“Violence Worker” is a recent term for workers like police, prison guards and the military. Originally coined to describe Brazilian police officers who had committed torture and murder (34), it has shifted to encompass all workers who embody the violence of the state.

Violence workers perform some tasks that could be done by regular workers - soldiers provide disaster relief, police collect lost wallets and put out missing person bulletins. But they are defined as violence workers because they are uniquely tasked with carrying out violence on behalf of the state.

Siegel outlines how this violence work is fundamental to the modern state. Weber famously defined the state as an organization claiming a monopoly on the legitimate use of force within its borders, which Siegel says is achieved through the labour of policing:

Violence is fundamental to police because it also lies at the heart of the state… Police realise − they make real − the core of the power of the state. That is what calling police ‘violence workers’ can convey. It doesn’t mean the work is always violent. It is not intended to indict the people who are police officers as bad people, vicious in personality or in their daily routines. It is about what their labour rests upon and therefore conveys into the material world. (35)

development of police unions

Insofar as they are workers, police officers can benefit from better pay and conditions by bargaining collectively as a union. But initially the police resisted unionisation because of their more conservative leanings, adversarial relationship with other unions, and discouragement from government.

Police unions began forming in the USA with the National Chiefs of Police Union, founded as a professional networking association in 1893 (36), and the Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association in 1894 (37). These organisations are now respectively known as the International Association of Chiefs of Police and the Police Benevolent Association of the City of New York. Originally founded to provide benefits to relatives of deceased officers, the Police Benevolent Association soon expanded into union activities like advocating shorter working hours.

In 1897 police officers in Cleveland attempted to unionise with the AFL but were publicly rejected, with the AFL stating “It is not within the province of the trade union movement to especially organize policemen, no more than to organize militiamen, as both policemen and militiamen are often controlled by forces inimical to the labor movement.” (38)

Labour market disruptions and inflation caused by World War 1 created a flashpoint for police unionisation, with strikes across the United Kingdom, Canada and the USA. These strikes sought increased pay and recognition of police unions - with success on pay and defeat on union recognition.

The National Union of Police and Prison Officers had begun as an underground movement. The union had socialist leaders, and support from some in the broader socialist movement such as Sylvia Pankhurst (39). On 30 August 1918, officers of London’s Metropolitan Police went on strike, demanding higher pay, reinstatement of fired union leader Constable Thomas Thiel, and recognition of their union. The government agreed to all demands other than union recognition, ending the strike the following day.

Parliament moved to ban police unions and the withdrawal of labour, leading officers to take further action on 1 August 1919 in protest. The majority of officers in Liverpool went on strike, but the strike petered out in London and elsewhere (40).

With the passage of the Police Act 1919, the National Union of Police and Prison Officers was banned, replaced by the Scottish Police Federation and Police Federation of England and Wales. Unlike regular unions, these government-mandated associations do not have the right to strike (41).

Also in 1919, police found themselves on both sides of a general strike in Winnipeg, Canada lasting from 15 May to 26 June. City police voted to endorse the strike but remained on duty to try and prevent the imposition of martial law (42). When the majority of officers refused to sign a pledge that they would not join a union or strike, they were dismissed on 9 June. The strikebreaking replacement officers were given higher pay, and supplemented by the Royal North-West Mounted Police.

On 21 June, the Mounted Police charged at striking workers and fired into the crowd, killing one and injuring roughly 30 (43). The police issued arrest warrants for editors of the “Strike Bulletin” newspaper to prevent its further publication (44). On 25 June union leaders called off the strike.

Meanwhile, the AFL reversed its policy and began working with police unions across the USA. Police in Boston received an AFL charter, but the Massachusetts Governor Calvin Coolidge and the Police Commissioner refused to recognise the officers’ right to form a union.
Boston Police went on strike from 9-13 September 2019, resulting in the firing of all striking police, with replacement officers hired on improved wages (45). Police union activity was driven underground in Boston, with the Boston Police Patrolmen’s Association eventually being founded in 1965 (46).

The police strikes in 1918-19 came soon after the 1917 Russian Revolution, leading the press and politicians to label the police as “Bolsheviks”, deserters and mutineers (47, 48). The fear that police would become revolutionary vanguards was not borne out by police union behaviour in the following century.

After the brief peak of activity in 1918-19, police unions faded in the USA. In the 1960s, Black Civil Rights activists demanded police accountability including civilian oversight boards. Backlash to the Civil Rights movement led to a surge in police union membership (49). In New York, the Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association defeated a civilian review board in 1966, with union president John Cassese saying “I am sick and tired of giving in to minority groups, with their whims and their gripes and shouting.” (50)

Due to restrictions on police unions or striking, police in the USA developed the tactic of a “blue flu” - officers calling in sick to work en masse as a form of industrial action (51).

In an unusual show of union cooperation, in 1974 Baltimore police officers joined a wider local government strike including sanitation workers. Members of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees across local government achieved higher wages for most municipal workers, but police officers missed out and several lost their jobs (52).

On 16 September, 1992, New York police officers rioted over a revised proposal for a civilian review board. The Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association organised rally with at least 10,000 off-duty officers and supporters. Police officers carried signs with racist caricatures of the Black mayor Dinkins, chanted racist slogans, and assaulted a journalist. Despite the union’s efforts, The Civilian Complaint Review Board was created in 1993 (53).

legal status of police unions

The International Labour Organisation recognises the right of workers to organise and strike, but allows member states to restrict this right for police and armed forces (54).

Officers in some police forces are banned from joining unions, including Hong Kong (55) and Japan (56). Members of the Royal Canadian Royal Mounted Police were unable to join unions until the ban was declared unconstitutional in 2015 (57).

Police in Ireland and the UK cannot join regular unions, but may instead join police associations without all of the rights of other unions (58, 59).

Similarly, some jurisdictions such as Germany allow police to unionise but restrict their right to strike. German police and some public servants have “beamte” status, granting them lifetime tenure and generous pensions but restricting political and union rights (60).

In countries such as Saudi Arabia where unions are banned generally, this extends to police officers.

Where police can join unions, it is one of the most unionised professions. The Police Federation of Australia claims to exceed 95% union density (61). In the US, an estimated 75-80% of police officers are union members (62).

the role of police unions

Given their special status as violence workers, and different class interests to other workers, police unions have different interests to other unions.

While police unions do come into conflict with the state over pay and conditions, when it comes to the use of force the unions either align with the state or push for even more weaponry and less oversight.

For example in Australia, Police unions have pushed to:

increase sentences for people who assault police (63),
expand Taser use despite the weapon being involved in deaths (64),
roll out higher-powered firearms (65),
allegedly influence the minister’s hiring decisions for a new police oversight body (66) and,

roll out riot gear for all officers (67)

and:

defended inaccurate drug dogs (68),

defended the use of pepper spray against peaceful climate protesters (69) and,
opposed the opening of a safe injecting centre (70).

In the USA, police unions have:

defended “qualified immunity” which shields officers from lawsuits (71),
forced police departments to erase officer’s disciplinary records (72),
Defended racial profiling (73),
Pursued “reverse discrimination” lawsuits to prevent affirmative action in police departments (74),
advocated the rollout of military vehicles, grenade launchers and bayonets to police (75),
endorsed Donald Trump for president (76),
opposed the Black Lives Matter movement, with union leaders calling protesters a “terrorist organization” (77), “lynch mob” and “pack of wild animals” (78) and,

raised funds for the killers of Freddie Gray (79) and Michael Brown (80) and blamed Eric Garner for his choking death at the hands of police (81).

On 4 June 2020, Buffalo police officers pushed 75-year old protester Martin Gugino to the ground, leaving him unconscious and bleeding from the ear. Footage of the incident sparked national outrage, leading to two officers being suspended without pay. The union defended the officers and organised a mass resignation of the entire 57-person riot unit (82).

On June 12, 2020, Atlanta police shot and killed Black man Rayshard Brooks. When officer Garrett Rolfe was charged with murder on June 17, his fellow police officers staged a “blue flu” strike in protest (83). On June 18, the corporate-funded Atlanta Police Foundation announced a $500 bonus for all Atlanta police officers (84). The charges against Rolfe were ultimately dropped (85).

Collective bargaining rights for police unions in the USA have been shown to lead to more people of colour being killed by police. This may be linked to the decreased likelihood that officers will be charged or convicted, coupled with existing racial bias. Collective bargaining had no meaningful impact on officer safety or reported crime (86).

violence unions

Other unions with “violence worker” members have the similar unusual class interests as police unions. “Violence unions”, to coin a term, can function in similar ways to police unions by expanding the coercive power of the state and combating the broader union movement.

Prison unions have protected violent guards, advocated for expansion of the prison system and in favour of solitary confinement (87).

In some jurisdictions, prisoners are coerced to work in dangerous conditions and at lower rates than other workers, but they are generally not able to join unions. Low pay for prisoners places downward pressure on wages for the rest of the working class (88).

In some cases, unions of regular workers include police officers and other violence workers. The high rate of unionisation of violence workers gives those workers disproportionate influence within those unions. For example, the New South Wales Public Service Association (PSA) covers Special Officers, NSW Police Radio Operations Group, Sheriff's Officers, Corrections and Youth Justice (child prisons). The leadership of the PSA is dominated by violence workers, with the president and assistant general secretary having worked in prisons, and the general secretary previously working for the Police Association (89).

Although associated with the “left” of the Australian Labor Party, the PSA has taken conservative stances common to violence unions such as advocating tougher sentences for inmates who assault guards (90), and advocated building a “supermax” prison for children (91). Along with the Police Association, the PSA lobbied for the Mandatory Testing Act 2021 (92). Anyone whose bodily fluids come into contact with a police officer, prison guard (or other public sector workers) is forced to submit to an HIV/hepatitis blood test. The legislation was criticised by health experts and the queer community for being unscientific and stigmatising people with HIV (93).

In 2019, a prison officer killed Wiradjuri man Dwayne Johnstone by shooting him in the back at Lismore Base Hospital as he attempted to escape (94). Johnstone was unarmed, his hands and ankles in cuffs. After the prison officer was charged with murder, the PSA provided his legal defence and called a 24 hour strike, putting prisons into lockdown and delaying court proceedings and visits to inmates (95). The officer was found not guilty of murder, and the PSA campaigned for greater immunity for officers and the rollout of Tasers (96).

Similarly, United Voice (now part of the United Workers Union) had members from a wide range of industries such as early childhood education, and cleaning, but also private prisons and immigration detention centres. While other parts of the Australian left opposed the brutal detention centre regime, United Voice campaigned to keep detention centres open (97). As membership in the sector grew, United Voice reportedly softened its opposition to detention policies including protection for guards using deadly force (98).

police unions within the broader union movement

Outside of pay negotiations, the priorities of police and other violence unions often go against the interests of the broader working class - the victims of policing. Police break strikes, disrupt protests, and enforce the unequal distribution of property. Rather than pushing back against their employer, police unions campaign for more impunity and weapons to better enact state violence.

Examples of police solidarity with other unionists are rare. The case of Sid Hatfield in the leadup to the Battle of Blair Mountain is a notable exception, and he was killed - with the state refusing to punish his murderers.

Police have joined broader strikes with the aim of increasing their own pay, as with the 1974 Baltimore municipal strike.

Unions campaign not only on narrow workplace issues, but broader societal issues important to the working class. For example, unions have supported conservation through the Green Bans, and rights of Indigenous and other people of colour with the Wave Hill Walk Off or the American civil rights movement. Police are generally called upon to suppress these progressive movements.

Some unionists focus on the police role as strikebreakers as a reason for including them in the union movement. Thomas Thiel, a leader of the National Union of Police and Prison Officers claimed that officers were joining the union because they resented strikebreaking (99). By organising the police to refuse this work, the rest of the union movement could benefit.

On the other hand, the opposing goals of police and other unions have led to moves to remove police unions from labour federations such as the Australian Council of Trade Unions or American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO).

In 2012 socialists held a forum at Victoria’s Trades Hall to discuss police violence and racism. In response, the Victorian Police Association disaffiliated from the Victorian Trades Hall Council (100). When they re-affiliated in 2015, Trades Hall Secretary Luke Hilikari said of the Police Association "Their members play a very important and respected role in our community and [their] opinions are vitally important to the functioning of the Victorian trade union movement." (101)

After the police murder of George Floyd and other Black Americans, some unions criticised police unions for protecting violent officers and perpetuating racism. The Writers Guild of America-East, Nonprofit Professional Employees Union and Washington-Baltimore News Guild unsuccessfully attempted to disaffiliate the International Union of Police Associations from the AFL-CIO. The Association of Flight Attendants passed a resolution calling on police unions to deal with racism or be removed from the labour movement (102).

The Martin Luther King County Labor Council expelled the Seattle Police Officers Guild (103), and The California Labor Federation passed a resolution banning police and border patrol workers from their federation, stating:

The institution of policing in America has its origins directly in slavery, and the slave patrols and night watches which later became modern day police departments historically designed to control minorities and maintain the economic order, to assist wealthy landowners in recovering and punishing enslaved people, who were considered property. Those police departments did act as agents of state repression against workers, labor unions and the fundamental American right to organize and strike.

and,

The most recent heinous public execution of George Floyd by excessive police violence and the murder of Breonna Taylor… have outraged the people of the United States and provoked a mass movement in every state to defund local police departments and reinvest allocate those funds to social services, housing, community benefits and resources that keep people safe. (104)

AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka resisted calls to disaffiliate police unions, and offered mild calls for reform. In response, the President of the International Union of Police Associations wrote to Trumka, stating “Your recent statement where you speak of ’America’s long history of racism and violence against black people’ is inflammatory and patently false.” (105)

conclusion

Today, police continue to break strikes, restrict marches and spy on unions. Unionists should be aware that the police are their adversaries, and consider this when planning pickets, marches and political activity.

Some activists have promoted police unions as a tool for dismantling the state’s repression of the union movement. However, far from being a balance against the power of the state, police unions have tended to bolster state power with an ever-expanding arsenal and impunity for officers.

Police unions exert a conservative influence over union federations, opposing racial justice and crushing protests. Unionists should consider what place, if any, the police have in their movement.

references

(1) Engels, Friedrich. (1845), The Condition of the Working Class in England

(2) The Combination Act 1800

(3) Combinations of Workmen Act 1825

(4) Vitale, A.S. 2017, The end of policing, p.35

(5) Poole, R. 2019, Peterloo: the English uprising

(6) Williams, Kristian. 2004, Our Enemies in Blue: Police and Power in America pp.51-54 - (Williams provides several scholars’ criteria for modern policing)

(7) Williams, Kristian. 2004, Our Enemies in Blue: Police and Power in America pp. 63-83

(8) Avrich, Paul. 1984, The Haymarket Tragedy, pp.189-190

(9) Avrich, Paul. 1984, The Haymarket Tragedy, pp. 206-210

(10) Avrich, Paul. 1984, The Haymarket Tragedy, pp. 271-279

(11) Utechin, Sergei. 1964 Russian Political Thought: A Concise History, pp. 187-188

(12) Porter, Cathy, 1980, Alexandra Kollontai: A Biography

(13) Bloodbath in Leuven - Canon van Vlaanderen

(14) Forrant, Robert 2013, The Real Bread and Roses Strike Story Missing from Textbooks (Zinn Education Project)

(15) ACQUITTED, THEY KISSED.; Ettor, Giovannitti, and Caruso Thanked Judge and Jury | The New York Times

(16) Strike Posters (lawrencehistory.org)

(17) Matewan Massacre (U.S. National Park Service)

(18) Sid Hatfield assassinated (workingclasshistory.com)