TonyzTone t1_jaik67s wrote
Reply to comment by k1lk1 in New York Will Pay Millions to Protesters Violently Corralled by Police by mowotlarx
>We need to bust the police union.
We need to be very careful about this. Breaking the police union will affect other public sector unions, and possibly even private sector unions. IANAL, but I know that police unions are still protected by the different labor and collective bargaining laws.
MattJFarrell t1_jaipcgj wrote
Agreed. I strongly believe in unions, and think everyone should have some employment and legal protections that comes with membership in a union. What we need to do is to strip away some of the absurd powers that the police union has. Also, police misconduct should not be investigated by the police force. That should be a separate, state-level organization.
TonyzTone t1_jaj53in wrote
It's a classic "who watches the watchmen" situation.
The separate organization could be the Attorney General, which is far enough removed from daily policing activities that it makes sense. Civilian Complaint Review Board is also independent of NYPD so, there's that.
The issue is ultimately accountability. What should happen if a police officer steps outside of their legally-restrained role which unfortunately exists in a fast-paced, high-tension environment with a lot of grey areas and "he said, she said."
the_lamou t1_jakvgn5 wrote
>What should happen if a police officer steps outside of their legally-restrained role which unfortunately exists in a fast-paced, high-tension environment with a lot of grey areas and "he said, she said."
What SHOULD happen is that even the slightest possible hint of impropriety is met immediately with strict discipline, because any organization that has a state-sanctioned right to use force against human beings has to be held to the highest possible standard.
Police officers should have it drilled into their heads that every action is held to scrutiny and judged, and should be constantly reminded that they serve the public and not the other way around.
sunflowercompass t1_jakzx18 wrote
The military doesn't get fucking unions. The people who man our nuclear missiles don't have unions. I am pro labor as they come but maybe we can have this one exception.
TonyzTone t1_jal0uv6 wrote
Because when the law was passed barring military unions, we were at the height of the Cold War and the most ardent pro-military union elements were sympathetic to the USSR.
If anything, you might be pointing more to the need to allow military unions than anything. For what it’s worth, National Guard members serving in a state capacity can be unionized.
SwellandDecay t1_jak5vo0 wrote
Who do you think gets called in to bust up unions and violently suppress workers? It's cops. I can promise you that the SBA is not helping workers rights in any way shape or form.
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