It just seems like they hold a lot of power, more than teacher unions for example. Where does this power come from specifically. My apologies if this is the wrong sub. Thanks in advance
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They’re different from regular unions because they’re a public sector union, so they generally negotiate with the government rather than a private business.
A unions power is generally directly related to its size. There are other factors but that’s probably the biggest single factor.
However your impression that it’s more powerful than the teachers union is probably wrong. The teachers union is possibly the most powerful union in the US only behind the AFL-CIO which is something like 4x larger than the next largest(which would be the teachers union).
Police unions functionally aren’t TOO different from regular unions in most aspects, bar one very major thing- rather than a union that is built to protect workers from their superiors, it is a union that is built by superiors to protect themselves from consequences for how they interact with those BELOW them on the social ladder.
They maintain law and order.
The main difference is that the Police is one of the only workforce that can employ (legitimate and legal) violence against the general population. (we agree or not, that is another debate)
If they decide to strike, they usually stop giving tickets, enforcing small crimes OR start being very strict and enforce every little laws and stuff like that, burdening the whole legal system.
They don’t.
Unions gain power in relation to the number of members the represent, especially if its the entirety of an industry.
The UAW, some state teachers unions, teamsters, dock workers, etc. all have extraordinary influence in their spheres. Heck, the dock worker strike a couple weeks ago had the potential of crippling the U.S. economy if it went more than the few days it did. Some teachers unions can effectively hold state governments hostage through political pressure, turns out a lot of people get real mad when their kids can’t go to school and they have to figure out childcare around work on almost no notice.
Police unions have a lot of influence because if they go on strike a lot of vital services are extremely reduced (they can’t completely stop all work/services).
There is one simple question which answers your question:
Who breaks a police strike?
When workers strike, the big threat is that the police will break the strike and surrounding protests up.
Aside from what’s been said, public unions can also be limited in their ability to negotiate pay increases because that’s also subject to government budgetary processes. This results in more worker protection type concessions being made as part of the bargaining process in addition to other “software” benefits.
i think police unions have more power cause they deal with stuff that’s pretty intense like safety laws and public trust. it’s a big responsibility for em. teachers unions do have power too but it’s more about schools and budgets. both are important in their own ways.
so basically police unions are like super unions on steroids. they gotta deal with some serious stuff like safety and community trust. their power comes from the fact that they negotiate contracts that can shape how police operate. kinda wild but also important ya know. without them things might be super chaotic in law enforcement
the power comes from the fact all the members of this particular union happen to have guns and the authority to use them
At its worst it is a union of professional bullies and at its best it is a union of people trying to preserve peace and civility. So you can be encouraged to support the union for very different reasons.
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