Hacker Newsnew | past | comments | ask | show | jobs | submitlogin

> most of the arguments against it are moot points or simply falsehoods

What are the falsehoods in complaints against police unions?



Police unions aren't the same thing as other unions. Most unions exist to equalize labor negotiation through collective bargaining, and police unions tend to include and align with the leadership in the organization that a union would traditionally be negotiating with. In practice they're a lot more like a military contractor than a union (in that their role is to prevent public accountability)


This is correct and the proof is that police do not strike with labor they fight labor on behalf of capital

The core premise of a union is that you have solidarity primarily across unions which is actually how you get collective-bargaining at larger scales


> core premise of a union is that you have solidarity primarily across unions which is actually how you get collective-bargaining at larger scales

Police unions in New York regularly join hands with other public-sector unions.


No

NYPD regularly arrests peaceful protestors and striking workers

https://x.com/SBWorkersUnited/status/1996650716686176576

ACAB


>This is correct and the proof is that police do not strike with labor they fight labor on behalf of capital

I thought it was because they couldn't strike because they were "essential"?


No, the core premise of a union is to represent the interests of its members. You've confused a union with global communism, and delegimitized the ones that don't serve your interests instead.

For an extremely salient example, the purpose of coal miners' unions is to serve coal miners. The interests of coal miners don't necessarily align with everyone else's interests, and if the the interests of their union did, it would be a bad union.

If police are racist, police unions are either racist or not representative. The purpose of unions isn't to serve the purposes of upper middle-class liberal arts majors. You don't steer workers through their union, that's evil. If you want coal miners to prioritize the climate, or police to prioritize civil rights, you have to do it the traditional way - by convincing them. You might have to convince them to quit.

The idea that the police don't deserve a union because police unions would support your enemy is repulsive. Change the laws, maybe you wouldn't have to hire scum to enforce them.


> Police unions aren't the same thing as other unions

What about California teachers’ unions? European notaries?


I'm sure there are other things that call themselves unions but don't serve the same function we expect of organizations using that word. I'm not really knowledgeable about either of the things you mention, so I don't know if I'd view them as fitting this description or not. Both seem unlikely to have the kind of broad negative impact police unions have, which is particularly egregious because they effectively make public oversight of a government function with a lot of potential to do harm impossible, which has the knock-on effect of making that harm more able to propagate, to the point where it's both quite severe and commonplace


> I'm sure there are other things that call themselves unions but don't serve the same function we expect of organizations using that word

No True Scotsman. All unions are unimpeachable. Because those that aren’t aren’t real unions.


I can see you're no fan of nuance. I pointed to what I believe is an important distinction between the general function of unions and that of police unions, this is hardly a claim of unimpeachability. Then when you for some non-sequitur reason started "what about"ing other unions, I said that I don't know enough about those to know whether they have a similar problem

I get the sense that you feel strongly about this subject, but it would do you some good to read the messages you're replying to, as not doing so makes you sound pretty foolish


lol. I typed ubi is and the autocorrect put “unions.” It has been corrected . But it is kinda funny anyway.


This reminds me of a trading incident decades ago. We were unwinding a portfolio of correlation trades. The trades basically bet on continued correlation between assets. Unwinding those trades means assets which typically correlate now correlate less. When we fucked we they sometimes anticorrelated. Anyway, some of these price movements were noticed and incessantly commented on by CNBC pundits. Theories abounded. All wrong. Most amusing.


lol. I can see the humor in that. I can’t say I have seen it IRL but it does strike me as entertaining to imagine. Sort of funny in that “haha didn’t happen to me” kind of way.




Consider applying for YC's Summer 2026 batch! Applications are open till May 4

Guidelines | FAQ | Lists | API | Security | Legal | Apply to YC | Contact

Search: