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Police union collective bargaining agreement
| Police hiring, training, and discipline |
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| • Police collective bargaining agreements (CBAs) • Ballotpedia CBA dashboard •Reform proposals •CBA areas of inquiry and disagreement •Arguments about police collective bargaining • Index of articles about criminal justice policy |
| Click here for more analysis of police hiring, training, and disciplinary requirements by state and city on Ballotpedia |
This article does not receive scheduled updates. It contains information researched in 2023 and was last updated in 2024. If you would like to help our coverage grow, consider donating to Ballotpedia. Contact our team to suggest an update.
What is a police collective bargaining agreement?
A collective bargaining agreement (CBA), in the context of police unions, is a contract between a governing entity and a union to establish rights and provisions for law enforcement officers. CBAs often establish officer wages and benefits, arbitration processes, training standards, and disciplinary procedures.[1][2]
Why does it matter?
CBAs create police department policies, allowing officers to negotiate with governing entities regarding their rights, standards, and procedures.
Twenty-six states and 79 of the 100 largest cities in the U.S. had police union agreements as of December 2023 according to an analysis of police union CBAs and related arrangements with police unions. Ballotpedia's Police CBA Dashboard contains information about CBA provisions related to police union authority, training, discipline, accountability, and more.
What are the key arguments?
CBAs are, in part, a facet of a larger debate about police officer rights and accountability. Opponents of police collective bargaining argue that CBAs hinder reform efforts and shield officers from being held accountable for misconduct. Supporters of police collective bargaining argue CBAs are a necessary tool to protect officers' due process rights, including providing representation and establishing grievance procedures to challenge certain decisions and policies.[3][4]
There is a wide range of arguments about the topics police CBAs should cover. This includes arguments about CBA provisions related to officer discipline, investigation procedures, arbitration, training standards, and more. Click here to explore these areas of debate further.
What's the background?
CBAs have become widespread due to the provisions of the National Labor Relations Act of 1935, which established the legal right for workers to join labor unions and enter into collective bargaining agreements with their employers.[5]
Some states and cities have statutes restricting collective bargaining, but they may still negotiate with police unions using other methods. After negotiating with the unions, those jurisdictions sometimes establish police standards through documents including memoranda of understanding or meet and confer agreements.
CBAs are typically renegotiated every few years, however, contracts that have reached an expiration date are still viewed as being in effect until a new agreement has been reached.
Dive deeper
- Background. This section includes background information about CBAs and other related agreements between police unions and governing entities.
- Maps. This section includes maps depicting the states and cities with police CBAs as of December 2023.
- Summary of findings. This section includes a summary of findings from Ballotpedia's analysis of police CBAs in the 50 states and top 100 cities by population.
- Results. This section includes a table with results from Ballotpedia's analysis of police CBAs in the 50 states and top 100 cities.
Background
Some of the hiring, training, and discipline standards for police officers not established by statutes or regulations arise from negotiations with police unions. Those negotiations are often codified in collective bargaining agreements. Those agreements are the contracts that states and cities sign following negotiations with police unions. Some states and cities restrict collective bargaining, but may still negotiate with police unions using other methods. After negotiating with the unions, those jurisdictions sometimes establish police standards through documents including memoranda of understanding or meet and confer agreements.
CBA expiration dates
Police CBAs typically include an expiration date, however, CBAs that have reached an expiration date are still viewed as being in effect until a new agreement has been negotiated. CBAs establish a set of legal standards for the parties involved, which often cannot be deviated from without an agreed-upon change in contract. When a CBA expires, according to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), “almost all the terms of the expired contract continue while the parties bargain.”[6]
Maps
Map of states with statewide police union agreements
Map of cities with citywide police union agreements
Summary of findings
Ballotpedia's analysis of state and city union policies produced the following key takeaways (as of December 2023):
- There are 26 state CBAs and 79 city have police CBAs
- There are 22 states and 21 cities that do not have police CBAs
- There are two states and one city in which the request for information on police CBAs was denied or information could not be verified
CBA expiration dates
Police CBAs that have reached an expiration date are still viewed as being in effect until a new agreement has been negotiated. Ballotpedia’s analysis of police CBAs in all 50 states and the top 100 cities by population featured the following information about CBA expiration dates, as of December 2023:
- There are 12 state CBAs and 23 city CBAs that remain in effect after the agreement’s expiration date (as of March 2024)
- There were five state CBAs and 24 city CBAs that expired in 2024
- There are eight state CBAs and 25 city CBAs that are set to expire in 2025
- There is one state CBA and seven city CBAs that are set to expire in 2026
Results
The tables below include each state and city in alphabetical order and indicate those that have police union agreements. To see the provisions Ballotpedia used to support these results, click here.
Results by state
| State | police-cba |
|---|---|
| Alabama | NO |
| Alaska | YES |
| Arizona | NO |
| Arkansas | NO |
| California | YES |
| Colorado | NO |
| Connecticut | YES |
| Delaware | FOIA DENIED |
| District of Columbia | YES |
| Florida | YES |
| Georgia | NO |
| Hawaii | YES |
| Idaho | NO |
| Illinois | YES |
| Indiana | NO |
| Iowa | YES |
| Kansas | YES |
| Kentucky | NO |
| Louisiana | NO |
| Maine | YES |
| Maryland | YES |
| Massachusetts | YES |
| Michigan | YES |
| Minnesota | YES |
| Mississippi | NO |
| Missouri | NO |
| Montana | YES |
| Nebraska | YES |
| Nevada | YES |
| New Hampshire | YES |
| New Jersey | YES |
| New Mexico | NO |
| New York | YES |
| North Carolina | NO |
| North Dakota | NO |
| Ohio | YES |
| Oklahoma | NO |
| Oregon | YES |
| Pennsylvania | YES |
| Rhode Island | YES |
| South Carolina | NO |
| South Dakota | NO |
| Tennessee | NO |
| Texas | NO |
| Utah | NO |
| Vermont | YES |
| Virginia | NO |
| Washington | YES |
| West Virginia | UNKNOWN |
| Wisconsin | YES |
| Wyoming | NO |
Results by city
See also
- States and cities with police union agreements
- Police hiring, training, and disciplinary requirements by state and city
Footnotes
- ↑ Manhattan Institute, "Enhancing Accountability: Collective Bargaining and Police Reform" January 2021
- ↑ National Labor Relations Board, "Collective bargaining rights" accessed January 28, 2022
- ↑ Wall Street Journal, "The Problem With Police Unions," November 14, 2024
- ↑ Manhattan Institute, "Enhancing Accountability: Collective Bargaining and Police Reform," November 14, 2024
- ↑ National Labor Relations Board, "Collective bargaining rights" accessed January 28, 2022
- ↑ National Labor Relations Board, "Collective bargaining rights," accessed March 27, 2024
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