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People espousing that unions don't work should have a look at police unions. (lemmy.world)
submitted 9 months ago by to c/showerthoughts@lemmy.world
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You can't touch a single police officer without them throwing a hissy fit and shutting everything down.

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[–] 1 point 9 months ago (2 children)

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.

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  • [–] [S] 1 point 9 months ago (1 child)

    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.

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  • [–] 1 point 9 months 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.

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