Amid the nationwide protests against police brutality following the killing of George Floyd, a debate has sprung up — not necessarily about whether policing in the U.S. needs reform, but rather what that reform should look like.
Some people are calling for incremental changes, others for abolishing police departments completely, and many more land somewhere in between with a focus on reducing police funding, fundamentally restructuring law enforcement, and diverting resources to other community needs like housing and education. Regardless, all sides would likely face some resistance from police unions.
For those with progressive leanings who support the larger labor movement, like Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), singling out police unions may seem antithetical to their normal ideology. But Omar told MinnPost in an interview published Tuesday that she believes there's a "disconnect" between police unions and the rest of the movement. "The kind of protection that police unions have fought for is one I don't believe is in lockstep with what the rest of the unions fight for," she said.
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Other unions, she explained, aim to protect workers in a vulnerable position and "advance more humane and dignified" workplace policies. As the congresswoman sees it, police unions differ in that have fought for "the ability to function with impunity and cause harm to the community." Read more at MinnPost.
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