Editor’s note: The following is an excerpt of an op-ed published by AFSCME President Lee Saunders in USA Today this week. The entire op-ed can be accessed here.
As an African American man who lived through the 1960s and now has two sons and three very young grandsons, the specter of systemic racism keeps me up at night. … There should be no controversy in declaring that the lives of my sons and grandsons matter. Black lives matter.
And as a union leader, I know the agony so many police officers feel when yet another senseless tragedy occurs. In denouncing the murder of George Floyd, Sgt. Jeffrey Reimer, who leads 2,000 AFSCME-represented police officers in Connecticut said, “What happened to Mr. Floyd was an absolute misuse of force. It never should have happened. The Minneapolis police officers involved in this heinous action put the rest of us at risk. There is no justification for what they did.”
Let’s be clear:
- No union contract is or should be construed as a shield for misconduct or criminal behavior. …
- While union contracts do not shield police brutality or other criminal behavior and while most officers understand that their sworn oaths demand a higher standard of conduct, it is incumbent upon law enforcement officers to work within our communities, along with politicians, prosecutors and police chiefs, to stamp out a culture among some that “anything goes” on the streets.
… Everyone should have the freedom to join a union, police officers included. Period. The tragic killing of George Floyd should not be used as a pretext to undermine the rights of workers.