Posts tagged police
UTAH, Opinion: Republicans Need to Learn Government Unions Can’t Be Trusted
March 3, 2025 // On Feb. 14, Gov. Spencer Cox signed a law I sponsored banning public-sector collective bargaining. This makes Utah the best state in the nation for protecting taxpayers and ensuring that government employees can negotiate their own employment terms. But this victory came only after fruitless attempts to work with government unions—efforts that exposed their pattern of saying one thing while doing another. In early 2024, I introduced a bill that would have required public-sector unions to hold regular recertification elections. As I argued at the time, unions representing teachers, firefighters and police should have to prove continuously that they represent a majority of workers. Taxpayers, too, have a stake: If a union doesn’t speak for most employees, why should the rest of the state be on the hook for its demands?
Utah Legislature bans collective bargaining for teachers unions and other public sector jobs
February 11, 2025 // “If there’s not going to be consensus, then let’s just run it on its face,” said Sen. Kirk Cullimore, the bill’s Senate sponsor. Labor experts say the proposal, which is headed to the governor’s desk, would establish one of the most restrictive labor laws in the country as Republicans seek to curb the political influence of teachers unions.
The Facts About U.S. Union Membership
January 29, 2025 // The total number of workers who are union members is 14.3 million. Of those, 7 million are public sector workers, so roughly half of U.S. union members work for the government. The National Education Association reported to the Department of Labor that it had 2.8 million members in 2024. The American Federation of Teachers reported 1.8 million members. That means 32 percent of all U.S. union members are in the two major teachers’ unions.
What role will unions play in the 2024 presidential election? A visual guide
October 28, 2024 // Nearly a quarter of the workforce belonged to a union 40 years ago. Now that number is just over 10%. Though worker stoppages have kept up, labor union rates have steadily declined for decades. From 1983 to 2022, union membership fell by half, from 20.1% to 10.1%. "Union density reached a high of over 30% in the post-World War II decades in the 1950s and 1960s," said Kent Wong, director of the UCLA Labor Center.
Police Union, Real Estate Interests Spend Big in Santa Ana Elections
October 23, 2024 // Public safety unions and real estate interests are spending tens of thousands of dollars on their preferred candidates in Santa Ana’s city council races this year – amid allegations that the police union has outsized influence on city hall.
Marco Island Police Union Votes “No Confidence” in Police Chief
October 15, 2024 // Marco Island’s police union expressed a vote of no confidence in Chief Tracy Frazzano during a meeting held on September 28. And Frazzano intends to address and correct their concerns, she said. “Events which led to these concerns include, but are not limited to, Chief Frazzano entering active crime scenes in workout attire, making poor operational decisions resulting in unnecessary risk to the wellbeing of our members and the community, and taking disproportionate disciplinary actions against our members,” wrote Marco Island Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 95 President Jonathon Gray in a letter to City Manager Michael McNees dated October 7.
Commentary: Ballot Measure 2U: Expanding collective bargaining rights to more Denver city employees
October 15, 2024 // Right now, only firefighters, police and DPS teachers can negotiate as part of a union. Should library workers and others be allowed to?
Maine police unions push back over new oversight rules
October 12, 2024 // The Maine Criminal Justice Academy, which certifies the state's police and correctional officers, is considering new regulations that would discipline officers for behavior such as harassing civilians, falsifying written or verbal communications in official reports, possessing a controlled substance and engaging in conduct while on duty that would "significantly diminish the public’s confidence" in law enforcement. The new regulations, which have broad support from top law-enforcement officials, come three years after the state Legislature approved plans to expand the academy’s disciplinary powers and provide the public with more information about misconduct by police and corrections officers. However, in recent comments to the agency, the Maine Association of Police and Maine State Law Enforcement Association expressed "alarm and concern" about the proposed rules. They said the changes "shock the conscience of the already established, clear statutes, regulations and processes that are already custom and practice and very much effective."
Cop who refused to honor the “get out of jail” cards that NYPD officers sell wins $175k settlement after retaliation
September 16, 2024 // The police department declined to comment, deferring questions to the law department. The Police Benevolent Association, NYPD's largest police union, didn't respond to an email seeking comment Tuesday. The city's police unions have long faced scrutiny over the cards because of the appearance of corruption and their appearance for sale on eBay. Bianchi said Tuesday that he's since moved to a dayside shift but that his efforts to advance his career have been limited by the lawsuit.
Labor unions lose 63,000 members under new state law
September 5, 2024 // The largest losses of union representation in Florida due to SB 256 come from those employed by the state government — more than 43,000 state employees have lost their unions. The second largest loss of union representation comes from university and college professors, specifically unions that represent adjunct and part-time faculty. Municipal employees from cities large and small follow. WLRN is using public records to maintain a database that shows the full extent of the fallout of the law.