George Floyd’s Death Reveals Glaring Problems of Public Sector Unions

The president of Minneapolis Police Federation, Lt. Bob Kroll, speaks at a news conference
Steve Karnowski/AP Photo
Dr. Susan Berry

The New York Times is blaming police unions for protecting members accused of misconduct and resisting efforts to bring about reform in the wake of the death of George Floyd at the hands of police in Minneapolis.

In a piece on Sunday, the Times wrote about police unions:

They aggressively protect the rights of members accused of misconduct, often in arbitration hearings that they have battled to keep behind closed doors. And they have also been remarkably effective at fending off broader change, using their political clout and influence to derail efforts to increase accountability.

Derek Chauvin, the former Minneapolis police officer who has now been charged with second-degree murder for Floyd’s death, had 17 prior complaints filed against him, 16 that were closed without disciplinary action.

The Minneapolis Police Department said privacy regulations regarding revealing details about the prior complaints against Chauvin have been negotiated in police union contracts.

While many other media are focusing as well on the resistance of police unions to bring about reform, the same might be said of any other public sector union.

As the Washington Examiner editorial board noted: “Like other public-sector unions, teachers’ unions, in particular, police unions have become a powerful machine that defends officers against investigation, discipline, and dismissal, even when they deserve it.”

The Minnesota Star-Tribune observed a letter to union members by Bob Kroll, president of the Minneapolis police union, who attempted to defend Chauvin’s act of kneeling on Floyd’s neck as he struggled to breathe:

“What is not being told is the violent criminal history of George Floyd,” Kroll wrote. “The media will not air this. I’ve worked with the four defense attorneys that are representing each of our four terminated individuals under criminal investigation, in addition with our labor attorneys to fight for their jobs. They were terminated without due process.”

As multiple reports have shown, public sector unions have often helped their members escape responsibility and accountability. With Floyd’s recent death, the focus is currently on police.

Greg Phares, retired Baton Rouge police chief, talked with Tony Perkins, president of Family Research Council, about the police culture in Minneapolis on Washington Watch.

“Under a union system and a civil service system, an officer has a right to his job,” Phares said. “And it is very difficult to intervene early and get rid of a guy who, in this case, certainly appears to have been a troubled cop and certainly seems to be exhibited that early on. And it clearly was not dealt with.”

Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) tweeted that “unions try to create voice & fairness” and that “contracts should protect against false allegations but they should never shield misconduct.”

She tagged Black Lives Matter as well:

Nevertheless, in 2017, USA Today noted, for example, that many teachers who have sexually abused students have still managed to remain employed as teachers.

“Despite decades of repeated sex abuse scandals — from the Roman Catholic Church to the Boy Scouts to scores of news media reports identifying problem teachers — America’s public schools continue to conceal the actions of dangerous educators in ways that allow them to stay in the classroom,” a year-long investigation found, adding that, as in the case of police, government officials and unions stand in the way of reform:

As a result, schoolchildren across the nation continue to be beaten, raped and harassed by their teachers while government officials at every level stand by and do nothing. The investigation uncovered more than 100 teachers who lost their licenses but are still working with children or young adults today.

…

At every level, institutions and officials charged with ensuring the safety of children have failed. Lawmakers have ignored a federal mandate to add safeguards at the state level. Unions have resisted reforms. And administrators have pursued quiet settlements rather than public discipline.

However, it is a very serious, but separate, issue that groups such as Black Lives Matter and Antifa have used the death of George Floyd to provoke violent riots and protests throughout the nation — just as they have inflamed other violence in the past.

The National Education Association (NEA) is also aligning itself with Black Lives Matter and LGBTQ activists:

As Rev. Bill Owens, president of the Coalition of African American Pastors, told Breitbart News Friday, racial tensions have not improved in America because the true civil rights movement has been “hijacked” by politicians and groups who are using black Americans as “a pathway to power.”

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