rich 1.0 Action Network https://actionnetwork.org <link href='https://actionnetwork.org/css/style-embed-v3.css' rel='stylesheet' type='text/css' /><script src='https://actionnetwork.org/widgets/v6/petition/afl-cio-stop-representing-cops?format=js&source=widget'></script><div id='can-petition-area-afl-cio-stop-representing-cops' style='width: 100%'><!-- this div is the target for our HTML insertion --></div> No Unions https://actionnetwork.org/users/no-cop-unions/profile https://can2-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/share_options/facebook_images/000/240/456/original/twitterpetition.png As members of the labor movement committed to fighting racial and economic injustice, we demand that the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO) terminate its affiliation with police unions. Historically and to this day, police unions defend state violence rather than support the interests of workers. The existence of police unions gives police false credibility as laborers and hides their true role as enforcers of capitalism, racism, and other forms of exploitation. Since their earliest days, police in the United States have repressed striking workers, brutalized marginalized communities, and fought against an array of efforts to create a more just society. American policing has always been on the opposing side of the struggle for freedom and liberation, from its roots in the night watches and slave patrols of the 19th century, to its continued terrorization of Black and Brown people. Today, police remain a militarized arm of the state created to protect the wealth and property of a powerful few. The material interests of police as they presently exist in the United States are antithetical to the values of our labor movement. While police actively endanger Black and Brown people around the country, their unions shield members from any semblance of accountability. Police union contracts contain provisions which limit independent oversight, facilitate the expungement of misconduct records, and minimize possibilities for discipline. With legal defense funds and representation, these unions work to ensure that officers face few to no repercussions for violence and brutality. Moreover, at all levels of government, police unions are a powerful lobby against community control over officer conduct and the demilitarization of police forces. On countless occasions, police unions have acted in opposition to the labor movement’s ideals. Below are a few examples: An International Union of Police Associations (IUPA) local represents a police department in Tacoma, Washington that has killed at least three Black men since 2019; Bennie Branch, Hashim Wilson, and Manuel Ellis. Philando Castile -- a Teamster for more than 14 years -- was shot dead by a union-represented police officer in Minnesota, who was later acquitted. The President of the unaffiliated Minneapolis Police Federation, Bob Kroll, has amassed dozens of internal investigations and at least 3 officer shootings, referring to Black Lives Matter as a “terrorist organization” in 2019. In Wisconsin, police unions supported 2011 legislation that stripped collective bargaining rights from most public-sector employees, while exempting police officers from the requirement. Border Patrol Agents represented by the National Border Patrol Council lock children into cages and subject them to inhumane treatment, among other abuses directed at migrants. As we have seen again and again around the country, police unions shield their officers from accountability -- and, on many occasions, actively facilitate officer misconduct. For a labor movement that professes a commitment to creating a just society, continuing to affiliate with police unions signifies cognitive dissonance at the highest level. We will no longer tolerate the status quo; we demand the following actions NOW: We call on the AFL-CIO to expel all unions representing police, correctional officers, or other coercive arms of the state, including the International Union of Police Associations and National Border Patrol Council. We call on unions that are unaffiliated with the AFL-CIO, including locals within SEIU and Teamsters, to move toward the termination of their relationships with police and correctional officer unions. We unequivocally state that Black Lives Matter and implore ourselves to address a history of anti-Black racism within the labor movement. https://actionnetwork.org/petitions/afl-cio-stop-representing-cops