The political power of police unions - concentrated in America’s most “progressive” states - has led to the creation of laws and policies that enable police violence and make places like CA and NY less transparent or accountable than the average Republican state.
The political power of police unions must be curtailed, their power to negotiate and determine policies involving police discipline and use of force must be taken away, and their influence in funding and electing candidates and initiatives must be challenged and defeated.
A big reason police unions have so much power is they enjoy bipartisan support. The Right is dismantling every union except police unions and the Left/organized labor won’t challenge any unions - even though police unions present a particular problem that needs to be addressed.
To defeat the police unions, lawmakers in both parties need to show the courage to reject police union influence and begin curtailing their power. This won’t happen unless organized labor is also willing to call out the ways police unions use their power to corrupt the system.
It’s one thing to bargain over wages and benefits. It’s another to give a police union the power to negotiate away any semblance of justice or accountability within your community or state. Lines must be drawn.
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