NCJ Number
106865
Date Published
1987
Length
409 pages
Annotation
The passage of State interest arbitration laws covering negotiating disputes involving police officers is a function of police strike activity and the characteristics of the employment relationships between police officers and cities.
Abstract
The study used data on more than 1,000 police-city employment relationships across the United States for the 1971-1983 period. The analysis controlled for all city characteristics that are fixed over time. It found that the availability of arbitration was positively associated with police officer salaries and nonwage contract provisions. Differences in expenditure, revenue collection, and employment patterns were also found among cities that did not bargain with police officers, cities that bargained without the availability of arbitration, and cities for which arbitration was available. Overall, arbitration availability had effects different from those reported in previous analyses. The benefits to arbitration's availability seemed to be (1) the reduction of strike activity and thus a protection of the public interest and (2) the protection of employee interests through improving outcomes and influencing city resource allocations. Costs vary according to those affected, but appear to include reduced discretion for the city manager and fewer resources available for other city services. Whether the benefits exceed the costs cannot definitively be determined. Recommendations for further research, data tables, appended tables and study background, and 67 references.