Bargaining With The Community, Not Against It

Rather than strip away bargaining rights from police unions, Malin said reform proponents might consider expanding the universe of what those unions bargain for.

Creating Alternative Unions 

Restricting police unions’ rights or ceding bargaining power to community groups would require a lot of political will.

Although change is coming fast to places such as  Minneapolis, where city council members recently pledged to disband the police department, both Democratic and Republican officials in most cities have historically been loath to challenge police unions on reform.

Both police unions and cities have been acting rationally in the way they bargain contracts, said Catherine Fisk, a professor at the University of California, Berkeley, School of Law.

Catherine Fisk, University of California, Berkeley, School of Law

Fisk said police unions employ sophisticated negotiators who will find ways to work around new limits on their bargaining powers.