A police union is a
trade union
A trade union (British English) or labor union (American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers whose purpose is to maintain or improve the conditions of their employment, such as attaining better wages ...
for
police officers. Police unions formed later than most other occupations, reflecting both a conservative tendency and relatively superior working conditions.
The first police unions
formed in the United States. Shortly after World War I, the rising cost of living, wage reductions, concerns over amount of rest and growing dissatisfaction among rank and file police officers led to a number of
police strikes from 1918–1923 and the formation of police unions globally.
Australia
The
Police Federation of Australia represents police officers in all federal states.
Police in Australia have nearly 100% union membership rate and are active in promoting better wages and working conditions, along with broader administration of law enforcement and legal advocacy. However, police are prohibited from striking, so unions and associations have adopted alternative tactics including picketing, flyering and
work-to-rule
Work-to-rule, also known as an Italian strike or a slowdown in United States usage, called in Italian a ''sciopero bianco'' meaning "white strike", is a job action in which employees do no more than the minimum required by the rules of their co ...
campaigns.
History
The first police union formed in Australia was the Police Association of South Australia in 1911, representing Australia's
oldest police force.
This was followed by the establishment of the following regional unions:
* Western Australian Union of Police Workers (1912)
* Queensland Police Union of Employees (1915)
*
Police Association of Victoria (Victoria; 1917)
*
Police Association of New South Wales (1920)
* Police Association of Tasmania (1923)
* Police Association of A.C.T (1933)
*
Northern Territory Police Association (1945)
The Police Federation of Australia and New Zealand was also formed in 1945, which was later renamed in 1998 to the modern day
Police Federation of Australia and is affiliated with the
ACTU
The Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU), originally the Australasian Council of Trade Unions, is the largest peak body representing workers in Australia. It is a national trade union centre of 46 affiliated trade union, unions and eight t ...
.
Canada
The first Canadian police union was formed on September 5, 1918 in
Saint John,
New Brunswick
New Brunswick is a Provinces and Territories of Canada, province of Canada, bordering Quebec to the north, Nova Scotia to the east, the Gulf of Saint Lawrence to the northeast, the Bay of Fundy to the southeast, and the U.S. state of Maine to ...
. The
Canadian Police Association is a Canadian advocacy organization for police officers, with membership of over 60,000 police personnel serving in 160 police services across Canada.
There are 27 regional chapters at municipal, provincial, and federal levels.
These include the
Toronto Police Association
The Toronto Police Association (TPA), founded in 1944, is a labour organization representing the approximately 8,000 civilian members of the Toronto Police Service in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. While police officers in Ontario are prohibited by ...
and the
Vancouver Police Union.
A
police strike in Montreal in October 1969 led to the
Murray-Hill riot, named for the company that held a monopoly on taxi traffic at the Dorval Airport, now the
Montréal–Trudeau International Airport. Amid a background of ethnic tensions, six years of steady bombings of the
Front de libération du Québec, rioting by separatists, a coincidental gangland war for control of the city, and a record high murder rate in the city, the
Montreal Police Service called for a daylong "study session" at the
Paul Sauvé Arena. They were joined by militant cab drivers, who chose the Murray-Hill building as a target. Two persons were killed, several injured, six banks were robbed, vandalism, looting and arson common, and millions of dollars of damage done during the 16-hour walkout. The police did not legally strike as a union. The contractual right to a "study session" as written into the , allowed for such a work stoppage, which is technically not considered a strike.
Until 2015, federal law prevented the members of the
Royal Canadian Mounted Police
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP; , GRC) is the Law enforcement in Canada, national police service of Canada. The RCMP is an agency of the Government of Canada; it also provides police services under contract to 11 Provinces and terri ...
from forming a union. This prohibition was
struck down by the
Supreme Court of Canada
The Supreme Court of Canada (SCC; , ) is the highest court in the judicial system of Canada. It comprises nine justices, whose decisions are the ultimate application of Canadian law, and grants permission to between 40 and 75 litigants eac ...
. In 2019 the
National Police Federation's members voted 97% in favour of a motion to certify as a union after having filed an application with the
Federal Public Service Labour Relations and Employment Board (FPSLREB) in April 2018. Another group called the Quebec Mounted Police Members Association had also applied, but only to represent the approximately 900 RCMP members in Quebec; that application was dismissed by the FPSLREB. In 2021 the first collective agreement between the National Police Federation and the federal government was announced on June 28. On July 27 it was officially ratified by a vote of the Federation's members, and was signed on August 6 to enter into force on April 1, 2022. The agreement include a retroactive pay raise going back to 2017. Municipal governments in several provinces that use the RCMP for "contract policing" complained that the new agreement added costs to their budgets without having had a seat at the bargaining table, and launched a campaign calling on the federal government to absorb the higher costs.
Finland
The
Finnish Police Union
The Finnish Police Union (, SPJL, formerly Finnish Police Federation) is a trade union representing police and associated workers in Finland.
The union was founded in 1923. In 1945, it affiliated to the Finnish Federation of Trade Unions (SAK), ...
(
Finnish: ''Suomen Poliisijärjestöjen Liitto'', SPJL) was established in 1923. According to the union as of 2020, it has 11,000 members.
France
The union represent French police officers. One of their well-known national delegates is
Linda Kebbab.
Germany
There are three police unions in Germany: the
Trade Union of the Police (), one of eight industrial affiliations of the
German Confederation of Trade Unions
The German Trade Union Confederation (; DGB) is an umbrella organisation (sometimes known as a national trade union center) for eight German trade unions, in total representing more than 6 million people (31 December 2011). It was founded ...
(DGB); the
Deutsche Polizeigewerkschaft, affiliated with the
German Civil Service Federation; and the
Bund Deutscher Kriminalbeamter, which is exclusively for members of the
Kriminalpolizei.
Ireland
In
Ireland
Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...
, it is illegal for members of the national police force, the
Garda SÃochána
(; meaning "the Guardian(s) of the Peace") is the national police and security service of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is more commonly referred to as the Gardaà (; "Guardians") or "the Guards". The service is headed by the Garda Commissio ...
, to form a union, and they are forbidden by law from
striking. The Garda SÃochana Act 2005 states that it is a serious offence (punishable by a fine of up to €50,000 and/or five years' imprisonment) to "induce
��any member of the Garda SÃochána to withhold his or her services or to commit a breach of discipline;" this law has been interpreted as meaning that anyone organising a police strike could be prosecuted. Senior gardaà make their views known through the
Association of Garda Sergeants and Inspectors (AGSI) and the rank and file have the
Garda Representative Association (GRA).
The closest to a
police strike was on 1 May 1998, when in the "
Blue Flu
A blue flu is a type of strike action undertaken by police officers in which a large number simultaneously use sick leave. A blue flu is a preferred strike action by police in some parts of the United States where police strikes are prohibited b ...
" incident, 5,000 gardaà reported sick; public order was maintained by putting the
Irish Army
The Irish Army () is the land component of the Defence Forces (Ireland), Defence Forces of Republic of Ireland, Ireland.The Defence Forces are made up of the Permanent Defence Forces – the standing branches – and the Reserve Defence Forces. ...
on standby and removing gardaà from training and administrative work. In 2017 the two organisations requested formal union status and the right to strike; in 2014 the
Council of Europe
The Council of Europe (CoE; , CdE) is an international organisation with the goal of upholding human rights, democracy and the Law in Europe, rule of law in Europe. Founded in 1949, it is Europe's oldest intergovernmental organisation, represe ...
's committee on social rights ruled that Ireland was in breach of the
European social charter in denying gardaà the right to industrial relations mechanisms.
The
Airport Police,
Dublin Harbour Police and
Dún Laoghaire Harbour Police are part of the
SIPTU union.
Japan
Trade unions by police officials (including ones working in the Japan Coast Guard and in penal facilities) is banned as per Article 108-2 of the National Public Service Act.
Sweden
The
Police Union
A police union is a trade union for Police officer, police officers. Police unions formed later than most other occupations, reflecting both a conservative tendency and relatively superior working conditions. The first police unions Police union#Un ...
() is a trade union in
Sweden
Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...
. It has a membership of 18,500 (including police academy students), and is affiliated with the
Swedish Confederation of Professional Employees, and
EuroCOP. It also maintains contact with the Swedish branch of the
International Police Association.
United Kingdom
The National Union of Police and Prison Officers was effectively forced to disband by the
Police Act 1919, in response to
police strikes in the preceding year, which banned police in Great Britain from being members of trade unions or taking industrial action. (The
Constabulary and Police (Ireland) Act 1919 did the same in Ireland.) Since then, labour disputes involving low-ranking police have been mediated by statutory police federations, which are regulated separately from trade unions: the
Police Federation of England and Wales, the
Scottish Police Federation, and the
Police Federation for Northern Ireland.
United States
Police unions in the United States encompass a variety of organizations. About 80% of police unions engaged in
employee contract negotiations are independent, operate in a municipality or a region of similar size, and are not affiliated with larger organized labor unions. The Peace Officers Research Association of California (PORAC) is the largest statewide organization in America. The national
Fraternal Order of Police is the largest single organization, which includes both labor union locals and fraternal lodges. The police union with the largest membership nationally is the
International Union of Police Associations, which is chartered with the
AFL–CIO since 1979.
For decades after the
Boston Police Strike of 1919, police and other public employees were
prevented by state laws from organizing. Only in the 1960s did those laws change to allow
public-sector employees the right to collective bargaining.
See also
*
Police strike
*
Blue flu
A blue flu is a type of strike action undertaken by police officers in which a large number simultaneously use sick leave. A blue flu is a preferred strike action by police in some parts of the United States where police strikes are prohibited b ...
References
{{Organized labor
Lists of trade unions