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Police have a level of solidarity that puts the average worker to shame (reddthat.com)
submitted 3 days ago* by to c/unpopularopinion@lemmy.world
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If a police officer does something wrong. It does not matter what the evidence shows or what happens. All police everywhere stand firmly together and protect their brethren. We literally have police offers who have undeniably murdered people and yet other police still stand with their class and demand better treatment.

If workers had that level of solidarity things would be so much better. Instead we cheer when someone gets fired who "deserved" it.

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[–] 8 points 3 days ago* (6 children)

I disagree with this take, so take your upvote. I’m all for unions, and I agree that more unions would help improve the world for more people. But if the police unions teach us anything, it’s the dangers of an overly powerful union.

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  • [–] 2 points 2 days ago (2 children)

    But if the police unions teach us anything, it’s the dangers of an overly powerful union.

    Yes and No.

    1. The FOP has tremendous political pull (because Ds and Rs both generally are pro-police, whether at literal or metaphorical gunpoint or not).

    2. Not every agency has a union, let alone one that's affiliated with the FOP.

    It's kinda like saying the guy who does your plumbing has a stupidly overpowered union because some plumbers are affiliated with the Teamsters.

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  • [–] 2 points 2 days ago (1 child)

    Ok, but there’s plenty of evidence in the news of objectively bad police officers either escaping punishment for crimes or simply moving to a department in a different state. Between the unions and the “brotherhood mentality,” police in the US have become almost untouchable. That’s definitely a Bad Thing, and the union certainly plays a part in that. I never said it was only the union. I was simply replying to the OP.

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  • [–] 0 points 2 days ago

    That's got little to nothing to do with the power of police unions and everything to do with the power of unions and defense attorneys.

    Either an employee should or should not have a defense against an accusation of wrongdoing from their employer.

    Either a defendant should or should not have a defense against an accusation of wrongdoing from the state.

    If you answer "should not" to both, I would argue you are authoritarian, including if your excuse is, "Well, we should be able to peel back certain legal protections for certain groups I don't like."

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  • [–] 2 points 2 days ago (2 children)

    The police aren't working class...

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  • [–] 2 points 2 days ago (1 child)

    They aren’t “management,” either. If you’re argument is that they’re employed by the municipality, so are teachers. What about their union? I would argue my point still stands.

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  • [–] 1 point 1 day ago

    Police is the strong arm of the bourgeoisie. They are the weapon wielded against the working class. That is why (even though they work for a wage) they can not have class solidarity and should not be considered part of the working class. They are de facto agents of capital and their "unions" are usually used to shield them from being held responsible by the working class instead of class struggle against the bourgeoisie.

    Other municipal workers are usually not de facto agents of the bourgeoisie and can therefore be considered part of the working class. Their unions are real unions because they are part of the class struggle.

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