Legal Status of Municipal Police Employee Organizations

• NCJ Number: 81233
• Journal: Industrial and Labor Relations Review Volume: 23 Issue: 3 Dated: (April 1970) Pages: 352-366
• Author(s): H A Juris; K B Hutchison
• Date Published: 1970
• Length: 15 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This study evaluates the legal status of municipal police employee organizations and discusses critically the assumptions on which current public policy in this area is founded.

Abstract

It outlines the historical context of public policy, presents recent data on the incidence of collective bargaining among municipal police departments, reviews the current legal status of public employee organizations, and discusses several alternative directions public policy might take in the future. Study data are based on the results of questionnaires sent in 1968 to the chief law enforcement officer in all cities over 50,000 in the 50 States and to a 1 in 5 sample of cities between 10,000 and 50,000 in population. At least one police employee organization was reported by 84 percent of the respondents. Of cities over 50,000 in size, 89 percent had at least 1 police employee organization and of cities under 50,000 population, 72 percent. Thus, police employee organizations exist in large numbers, but most are police-only local units. While some have affiliated with organized labor, most have remained independent or are local affiliates of police organizations. Moreover, most of these organizations function as unions regardless of their affiliation. Public employee unionism and collective bargaining are not fairly well accepted. A total of 6 States allow the police to affiliate with an employee organization, 23 States grant organization right to public employees in general or municipal employees in particular (implied right of police to join), and 5 States and the District of Columbia prohibit police from joining labor unions. Thus, police unionism is well established, and the trend should be institutionalized and not opposed. Tables and a few footnotes are included. An appendix includes a table showing the legal status of collective action by municipal law enforcement officers by States.