Unions are designed to protect their members — and when it comes to officers charged with wrongdoing or excessive force, that means police unions are too often protecting bad cops and saving their jobs.
Signs outside the boarded-up entrance to AFL-CIO headquarters in Washington, D.C., read"AFL-CIO Supports Black Lives Matter" and"Criminal Justice Reform Now!"Signs outside the boarded-up entrance to AFL-CIO headquarters in Washington, D.C.
The labor federation also said the local police union president in Minneapolis, where George Floyd was killed, should be forced to resign. Further, the AFL-CIO said its own 2013 findings must be acted upon, which the statement said could allow for a crackdown on such brutality while protecting due process rights of all public service workers.
One of those unions that represents police officers is the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees. AFSCME President Lee Saunders,"No union contract is or should be construed as a shield for misconduct or criminal behavior." Saunders, who is African American, also condemned the actions of the Minneapolis police officers in the Floyd case as"heinous," saying there is no justification for what they did.
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