Police Administration: Structures, Processes, and Behavior (Eighth Edition) Charles R. Swanson, Leonard Territo, and Robert W. Taylor Labor Relations Chapter 11

Introduction No single force in the past 50 years has had such an impact on the administration of police agencies as collective bargaining Collective bargaining: negotiation between an employer and a labor union Usually regarding issues such as wages, benefits, hours, and working conditions

The Unionization of Police The needs of labor organizations The reduction of legal barriers Police frustration with the perceived lack of support for their “war on crime” Personnel practices in police agencies Salaries and benefits Increase in violence directed at police The success of other groups From the 1950s through the 1970s, a number of events combined to foster public-sector collective bargaining. What legal barriers were reduced during this time?

The Impact of Police Unions on the Community Discipline and Accountability Police Subculture City or County Finances There are four areas that need to be examined in order to fully understand and appreciate the impact of police unions in agencies as well as in the community Discipline and Accountability: The impact of police unions on discipline and accountability is arguably the issue that causes the greatest concern. Police unions play a role in reinforcing the norms of police subculture Code of silence: refusal of officers to testify against other officers who are accused of misconduct There are specific provisions in many collective bargaining agreements that inhibit investigations Procedures for investigation of alleged misconduct (time, place, manner of interrogations) Development of citizen oversight agencies Police Subculture Overall management practices Accountability and discipline Officer interactions with citizens Local politics City or County Finances Negotiate good salary and fringe benefits for their members Politics Regularly endorse political candidates for office Support or oppose proposed ordinances or referenda Influence city or county budgets Politics

Structure of Laws Governing Collective Bargaining for Law Enforcement Collective bargaining agreements The wages and benefits of law enforcement officers are guaranteed for the duration of the agreement Officers have a forum to have their disputes heard National Labor Relations Act State governments (and their subdivisions of cities and counties) are excluded from the “employer” provisions Collective bargaining laws for public sector vary between jurisdictions The broadest grant of rights to law enforcement officers exists in collective bargaining agreements.

Collective Bargaining Models Binding Arbitration Meet and Confer Bargaining Not Required Binding Arbitration: a judgment made by a neutral third party to settle a dispute between labor management, in which both parties agree in advance to abide by the result Meet and Confer: employers are only obligated to meet and confer with representatives, with no method of resolution specified Bargaining not Required: collective bargaining is not statutorily required by the state The distribution of states with collective bargaining and those without such laws is quite geographically distinct States without bargaining laws are centered in the South and the Southwest States with bargaining laws are found in the Northeast, in the Midwest, and the West Coast

Unfair Labor Practices A refusal to bargain in good faith over subjects that are mandatory for bargaining Interference, restraint, or coercion of employees because employees have exercised their collective bargaining rights The “domination” of a labor organization by an employer The failure to furnish information relevant to the collective bargaining process Inappropriate “interference” by an employer with the internal activities of a labor organization Discrimination against employees who have exercised their collective bargaining rights States with collective bargaining almost always have statutes that list a number of labor practices deemed to be “unfair.” The usual list of unfair labor practices include those listed above.

Subjects for Bargaining Mandatory Permissive Mandatory Subjects Wages, hours, and terms and conditions of employment Must be bargained if raised by either side Permissive Subjects Usually fall under the general heading of “management rights” Those over which bargaining may occur but is not compelled Illegal Subjects Those over which the employer is forbidden by law from bargaining Illegal

Establishing the Bargaining Relationship The process of establishing a bargaining relationship is straightforward But is fraught with the opportunity for disputes Management may see collective bargaining as a disruptive factor to the running of the department The union begins an organizing drive by working to get 30% of the class of employees it seeks to represent to sign authorization cards (figure above).

Negotiations Although the composition of management and union bargaining teams varies somewhat by jurisdiction, the figure above shows a “typical” municipal situation. Occasionally, a member of the city council also sits in as an observer. Selecting Teams Union’s chief negotiator will usually not be a member of the bargaining unit Rather, she will be a specialist brought in to represent it Avoid zealots Preparing for Negotiations Management Select negotiation team Agree on site where negotiations will take place Establish bargaining schedule in conjunction with the union Gather, tabulate, and analyze information and data Determine position on union’s anticipated preliminary demands Develop objectives it seeks to achieve during forthcoming process of bilateral determination

Negotiations First meeting Initial session Friendly conversation Opening statements Ground rules reviewed, modified, or developed Examine contract the union is proposing Number of bargaining sessions range from one to several dozen Range from 30 minutes to 10 hours

Sample Two Column Layout Union Management Expendable Accepted “Trade-off” Accepted with minor modification Negotiable Rejected The union will have categorized each clause in the proposed contract as being: Expendable: under certain circumstances it will be withdrawn as a symbol of good faith Trade-Off: will be dropped as a total or partial payment for obtaining some other benefit Negotiable: the benefit needs to be obtained in one form or another Non-Negotiable: benefit is wanted exactly as proposed Management will study the information and both parties will return to the table. Management will respond to the union’s proposal by indicating which clauses it has: Accepted Accepted with minor modification Rejected Wishes to make its own proposals and counterproposals Then the bargaining begins. Non-Negotiable Wishes to make proposals and counterproposals

Grievances May be limited to matters discussed specifically in the contract, that are primarily contract-related, or that pertain to the job Grievance procedure is a formal process that has been pre-negotiated Grievance: a complaint or an expression of dissatisfaction by an employee Grievances are inevitable.

Arbitration Issues and Decision Making Why arbitrate? Legitimate concern Union shows symbolic support for member Administration show symbolic support for manager Unions are selective in the cases they take to arbitration Win 77% of cases they take to arbitration cases Critical factor: Speed with which the case is heard About 90% of arbitration cases involve discipline against an officer Arbitrator will typically look at the “totality” of the circumstances to determine mitigating or aggravating factors (if any)

Job Actions Work Stoppage Confidence Vote of Work Slowdown Work Speedup Types of Job Actions Activities by employees meant to express their dissatisfaction With a particular person, event, or condition Or to attempt to influence the outcome of a matter pending before decision makers Meant to signal: “We are here, organized, and significant, and the legitimacy of our position must be recognized.” Vote of Confidence Usually produces a finding of no confidence How rank-and-file members signal their collective displeasure with the chief administrator of their agency Work Slowdown Work at a leisurely pace, causing productivity to fall Work Speedups Acceleration of activity, resulting in the overproduction of one or more types of police services Creates public pressure on elected and appointed leaders to achieve a union-desired goal Work Stoppage Strike – withholding of all labor’s services Blue Flu – officers organize mass absences on the pretext of sickness for the purpose of protest against their employer What are some law enforcement examples of work slowdowns, work speedups, and work stoppages?

Police Unions: Political Context Safety concerns Washington, D.C. “Killing field” Political activism Lautenberg Amendment (“Brady Bill”) Budget and staffing Methods of communication TV, billboards, etc. Political events Unions typically focus on economic factors, also take stances on other issues

Administrative Reaction to Job Actions No simple answers Ignore or take action Mindset should be to avoid job actions Anticipatory Strategies City managers need contingency plans Must be temperate in public comments Efficient and prompt neighborhood communications (neighborhood groups, civic clubs) During the Job Action Tension in the workplace (even contempt) for management, colleagues who did not strike Attempts to create goodwill soon after a job action can backfire Aftermath