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In reply to the discussion: 'DE BLASIO, OUR BACKS HAVE TURNED TO YOU' Cold war between NYPD cops, de Blasio takes to skies [View all]branford
(4,462 posts)although the mayor will still have to comply with the terms of the commissioner's contract. The mayor would still not have any arbitrary authority over individual officers, and any new commissioner would still be bound the the relevant constitutional and statutory labor imperatives and the express terms of the collective bargaining agreement. DeBlasio is not king of NYC, he is only the mayor More importantly, Commissioner Bratton is one of the few people that is respected among all sides, and his open lines of communication is probably what's preventing the situation from becoming much, much worse. Bratton's job is secure for the foreseeable future.
The police unions' (I believe there are around five in the NYPD) purpose is to solely advocate for and represent the interest of their police officer members. Whether you or I agree with them (and I've already noted that I don't), is entirely irrelevant.
The police unions are (legally) acting like any other union, particularly in a large city, involved in heated and extended contract negotiations and with an all to common dispute with the mayor. However, may here believe that some exception to free speech and related labor conduct exists when the union happens to be conservative or the police. There are no such exceptions, and to imply there might be acts to the detriment of all public employees and their unions.