Police Unions

vantjf11

Political Powerhouses?

There I was, barely 22 years old and about to embark on my police career. Bright eyed and bushy tailed, I was incredibly naïve and gullible. It was a Friday, my academy classmates and I were all gathered at the Police Officers Association (POA) for our introduction to city employment. There were forms galore to complete, ID cards to be made and a mountain of brochures and information packets to take home. There was also the hard-sell insistence we join the POA.

The sales pitch went something like this: The POA would collect monthly dues, which would then entitle me to legal representation should I do something stupid or illegal and be facing either days on the beach (suspension), termination or a lawsuit. They also billed themselves as the bargaining unit with the city when contract negotiations were up for renewal. At the time, they also provided group health insurance and members could enjoy a yearly family picnic and Christmas party.

I was led to believe joining the POA was mandatory. In my naivety I may not have understood enrollment was an option and at that point I was more focused on simply graduating from the police academy. I joined the POA, and entered into my love-hate relationship with them and what they came to represent.

Through the years, I watched the association delve more deeply into city politics. They’d support the candidates in what I thought were very transparent attempts to help elect those they thought would cater to our every cop-whim. At face value, proper political alignment sounds good, but the reality is cops are responsible for working with whoever’s in office. Allegiance to one candidate or another is a very slippery slope — and one that usually slides right out from under our feet.

I understand associations try to ensure we’re being paid a fair wage and we’re not being taken advantage of, but it’s our duty to work with whoever the elected officials may be. My former association found themselves on the short end of the stick no matter whom they supported during elections. If they supported the loser they’d find things strained from the get go when dealing with the winner. Suddenly all those marches, negative ad campaigns and letters come back to haunt them.

If the association managed to support a winner they’d still often find themselves on the short end of the stick when campaign promises didn’t come to fruition. And many associations support politicians for the very selfish reasons of their membership. Yearly pay raises, specialty pay, increases in benefits among many things, are usually the motivating factors in supporting a candidate. This is all very transparent to the general public — many of whom already think we’re overpaid in many cities.

Voters are more often looking at police, fire and other municipal employees as being a huge drain on local budgets, with many of the contracts negotiated when the economy was good. Now that it’s in the tank, bloated salary and benefit packages are, in fact, a drain.

Many cops would be stunned to work in the private sector where productivity is expected — not the “acceptable level of activity” they’re used to working with. If the average cop had to go to work in the private sector they’d be in for a rude awakening. And as an employee in the private sector you’re no longer able to suck on the teet of the government and you get whatever pay and benefit package the company can afford.
We’ve all chosen our career in police work and I don’t know of many of us who ever got into this business as a means of getting rich. So I have to wonder why we allow so much of our association dues to go to politics? It’s my firm opinion associations and unions need to be “a-political” rather than political. There’s a reason the military respects the “office” of the president — not the person who is the president.

Let’s take all the money our unions are spending endorsing politicians, who may or may not turn on us anyway, and put that money to better use. Put the money into the widows and orphans fund or put it toward getting better equipment for officers. Yup, I said it, buy equipment with it. You’re probably saying, “but the agency’s supposed to supply me with all the necessary equipment.” Remember what Clint Smith said, “What if they don’t?”

Do something, anything with the money put into PACs. Stop trying to play footsie with politicians and simply learn to negotiate with all of them. A very good use of the PAC money would be to use it to hire a professional negotiator to assist in upcoming contract talks. Pay for someone who speaks business and understands the art of negotiating. Cops need to get back to the business of being cops and leave the politics to the politicians.