In this month’s edition of Bargaining in Blue:
- On the beat: Voters in Lafayette, Colorado consider ballot measure to allow police collective bargaining
- Around the table: Should state law restrict or prohibit police officer collective bargaining?
On the beat
Voters in Lafayette, Colorado consider ballot measure to allow police collective bargaining
Voters in Lafayette, Colorado, will decide on a ballot initiative on November 5 determining whether the city’s police officers should be allowed to engage in collective bargaining.
If voters approve the measure, the city council would be directed to issue an ordinance by April 1, 2025, requiring the city and Lafayette police officers to engage in collective bargaining.
Lafayette Sergeant Tyler Maynard argued Colorado cities that allow police to engage in collective bargaining have experienced improvements in officer recruitment and retention.
Ballotpedia’s CBA Dashboard covers agreements in two Colorado cities: Aurora and Denver.
The background
Colorado state law grants public employees the right to collectively bargain. Municipalities in Colorado can choose whether or not to participate in collective bargaining with public employee unions. Colorado Revised Statutes § 8-3-106 (2023) states:
In accordance with the provisions of this article, employees have the right of self-organization and the right to form, join, or assist labor organizations, to bargain collectively through representatives of their own free choosing, and to engage in lawful, concerted activities for the purpose of collective bargaining or other mutual aid or protection. Each employee also has the right to refrain from any of such activities. The rights of each employee are essential rights, and nothing contained in this article shall be so construed as to infringe upon or have any operation against or in conflict with such rights.
The city of Lafayette has an initiative petition process outlined in its charter which states the following:
An initiatory petition shall be signed by not less than ten (10) percent of the number of persons who were registered electors of the city, as of the date the notice of an initiatory petition is filed with the clerk.
Lafayette police on May 21 submitted a petition signed by voters to the city council requesting the city to establish a collective bargaining agreement (CBA) with commissioned police officers.
The city council had three options to consider regarding the signed petition:
- approve the initiative and draft an ordinance allowing police to engage in collective bargaining;
- refer the question to voters by putting forth a November 5 ballot question; or
- take no action, in which case the initiative would go to voters regardless.
The city council issued a resolution on July 16, putting the question to voters as a ballot measure at the November general election. The text of the ballot question reads:
Shall the city council of the city of Lafayette enact an ordinance by April 1, 2025, obligating the city to engage in collective bargaining with the designated exclusive representative of Lafayette police officers, including provisions for non-binding arbitration with impasses to be submitted to the electors of the city for final resolution?
Lafayette firefighters gained the right to collective bargaining in 2015 through a ballot measure with 68.6% of voters approving the measure. The city council is following the same process used for firefighters in 2015 to consider whether police officers can engage in collective bargaining.
Want to go deeper?
- Police hiring, training, and disciplinary requirements by state and city
- Ballotpedia’s Police Collective Bargaining Agreements Dashboard
- See the Insights section below for relevant CBA dashboard queries and analysis
Insights
Ballotpedia CBA Dashboard takeaways on statutes prohibiting police collective bargaining
- Featured dashboard query
- Scope: all states and the top 100 largest cities
- Topic: statutes or regulations that prohibit collective bargaining with police unions
State statutes and municipal codes can include regulations governing or prohibiting the right of police unions to engage in collective bargaining. State statutes can require municipalities to engage in collective bargaining with public employees, prohibit collective bargaining for public employees, or allow municipalities to decide whether or not to engage in collective bargaining.
According to our Police CBA Dashboard:
- Five states have statutes or regulations prohibiting collective bargaining with police unions.
- Ten of the 100 largest cities in the U.S. have statutes or regulations prohibiting collective bargaining with police unions.
- Eight of the ten cities are prohibited from collective bargaining by state statutes. Two of the cities are prohibited by city-specific policies or regulations.
- Click here to view the dashboard query showing details.
- Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee prohibit collective bargaining for public employees at the state and local levels.
- Texas prohibits collective bargaining for state employees but allows it for city employees.
- Virginia state law was amended in 2020 to allow collective bargaining with municipal and public safety employees:
- Following the state law’s change, the city councils in Norfolk and Virginia Beach rejected petitions to allow police officers to engage in collective bargaining. Norfolk City Council voted against collective bargaining in 2023 and Virginia Beach City Council voted against it in 2024.
- Some cities such as Memphis, Tennessee, and Nashville, Tennessee, are prohibited from engaging in collective bargaining under state law; they have instead established a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with a police union. MOUs are not legally binding, but they represent both parties coming to an agreement on certain standards and procedures for law enforcement.
Around the table
Should state law restrict or prohibit police officer collective bargaining?
Professor William P. Jones published a report in September 2023 with the Harvard Law School Center for Labor and a Just Economy about the relationship between police collective bargaining and violence. The report argued about the importance of the right to collective bargaining but recommended reforms to improve transparency and disciplinary procedures covered by CBAs. Jones contended collective bargaining is an essential right, but it has been misused by “police unions in shielding officers from accountability for misconduct.”
[S]ome have proposed changes to state laws governing the collective bargaining process. Connecticut and Vermont recently prohibited agreements that restricted the disclosure of personnel and disciplinary records, and Hawaii overturned a 1995 law that exempted records of most police misconduct from the state’s open records law. Those changes have survived legal challenges from police unions. The ACLU of Connecticut recommends further changes in state law to require public notice and comment on police contracts; tracking and reporting of all complaints; investigations and discipline against police officers; a centralized system of complaints against police officers; empowerment of local review boards with subpoena power; expanded power of the state Attorney General to reduce pension benefits for police who are convicted of crimes related to police violence or civil rights violations; and legislative review of police contracts for conflicts with state law.
The Police Officers Association of Michigan (POAM) published an article in October 2023 arguing in support of union representation for law enforcement officers. POAM contended police unions give officers the power to negotiate for better pay and job protections, as well as protect their legal rights:
Unions offer strength in numbers. By joining a union, law enforcement officers position themselves to be represented by union officials and empower their elected union leaders to negotiate for them. The collective power for union members thus lies in their amplified voice. Alone, one member likely won’t be able to obtain a pay raise, job protections, or better equipment. Acting together, unions can do just that, as the strength given to unions by their members allows them to obtain real benefits.
Union representation means more than better pay: It also means access to resources to help stave off legal attacks. Michigan police officer unions allow officers access to professional and competent representation if there are ever disciplinary issues or concerns. These services and the ability to file grievances against any government violating contracts or creating unsafe working conditions are a cornerstone of union involvement.
Want to go deeper?