Police Strikes - Causes and Prevention

• NCJ Number: 71088
• Author(s): W D Gentel; M L Handman
• Editor(s): M Menaker
• Date Published: 1979
• Length: 277 pages
• Grant Number(s): 76-NI-99-0097
• Sponsoring Agency: US Dept of Justice; US Dept of Justice NIJ Pub
• Corporate Author: International Assoc of Chiefs of Police
• Sale Source: Superintendent of Documents, GPO; National Institute of Justice/
• Publication Type: Bibliography
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

Police strikes in five different cities were studied in an effort to find reasons for their occurrence and methods to prevent them.

Abstract

After determining that the case study approach was the most suitable method for this study, researchers established a number of criteria for selecting the strikes to be studied. Among these criteria are that the strike had to have occurred within the past 2 years (1975-76), the size of the police department, geographic location, major issue of the strike, duration of the strike, and whether employees other than police were involved in the strike. The five sites selected were San Francisco, Calif., Tucson, Ariz., Las Cruces, N. Mex., Oklahoma City, Okla., and Youngstown, Ohio. The police department in each of these cities agreed to participate in the study. Preliminary site visits were made to each of the sites to meet the key people directly involved in the strikes and gather data, primarily through structured personal interviews with strike participants. Data covered the perspectives of the city government, the police administration, and the unions. Using data collected from each site, a case study was developed which described events leading to the strike, during the strike, and following the strike. The five case studies are presented in separate chapters followed by a concluding section of recommendations. Recommendations for police administrators include the following: recognize that police employees have the right to form and be represented by labor organizations of their choice, open and maintain formal and informal channels of communications with union leaders, and act and speak as part of management since administrators are no longer part of the rank and file. For city officials, management must be adequately prepared for negotiations, negotiators should be given the authority to conclude an agreement, and labor negotiations should not be open to the public or the press. Union leaders should be open and maintain formal and informal channels of communication with police administrators; union negotiators should be trained, experienced professionals; and union leaders should avoid rash, emotional statements during a labor dispute. Tables and selected bibliography are included.