• LandedGentry@lemmy.zip
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        1 hour ago

        When did I say get rid of labor rights? Show me, I really don’t understand how you got that from what I said.

        I said end police pensions (because they are choking city budgets), require better/more training, and pay them more. If we’re not going to get rid of police we should at least hold them to a higher standard and make the job more desirable. As it is it’s just a job for washed out bullies to go beat up minorities.

        Calling for a reduction or end to poorly thought out pensions is not the same as destroying labor rights. It’s a different form of compensation. You are beingvery myopic about this

        • infinitesunrise@slrpnk.net
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          1 hour ago

          Police pensions are protected by police unions. Abolishing police pensions would almost certainly require kneecapping their labor rights. Sorry, I realize now that I left explanation of this logic step out of my first comment. What I am essentially asking is, how would you undermine police unions without also undermining all unions, and thereby all labor?

          • LandedGentry@lemmy.zip
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            58 minutes ago

            Here’s something crazy: they could negotiate an end to pensions. You’re the one using the word “abolish.” Not me. I said “end.” That’s a very open-ended word.

            I also do not agree that the fate of all labor unions rests with the fate of police unions. That is a very convenient excuse to never enter a tough negotiation or compromise. Police unions enjoy all kinds of benefits that other unions do not as it is - I don’t see that shit trickling down to other ones, so why would the inverse apply?

            • infinitesunrise@slrpnk.net
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              32 minutes ago

              This has definitely been attempted, in fact I would reckon that the majority of police contract negotiations begin on the topic of pensions as it is one of or possibly the largest cost associated with running a police agency. But as no union worth it’s salt would ever budge on the one thing that is most important to it’s members - Teachers, longshoremen, delivery people, factory workers, none of them have ever given up pensions because it would be wildly against their primary interest - It hasn’t happened yet. What would you do differently to convince police unions to abandon their retirement plan (Or replace it with something that can be deducted from or penalized conditionally)?

              • LandedGentry@lemmy.zip
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                12 minutes ago

                As somebody who has actually worked in municipal government, I can tell you that these conversations are dead on arrival because police unions start refusing to police the moment it’s even uttered. It’s a Trump card they don’t mind playing in the slightest and it needs to stop.

                There cannot be any major changes until there are major revisions to or the total elimination of police pensions.