A blue flu is a type of strike action undertaken by police officers in which a large number simultaneously use sick leave. [1] A blue flu is a preferred strike action by police in some parts of the United States where police strikes are prohibited by law. [1] [2] [3] [4] At times, the matter goes to court, [5] such as when officers need to undergo medical examination to prove genuine illness. [6] A 2019 opinion piece in The New York Times contrasted blue flu with a strike, calling it "a quiet form of protest, with no stated principles or claim for public attention or sympathy." [7] Unlike most strikes, blue flu tends to be focused and of short duration. [6] [8] [9]
The term itself [10] and similar terms [11] have been used where unions could be heavily penalized. Alternatives to these terms include "slowdown" and "virtual work stoppage." [12]
In the United States, one of the first cases of what was then legal, a strike by police officers, was stopped in 1919 by then-Governor Calvin Coolidge using the state's militia. [12] President Ronald Reagan fired 11,345 air traffic controllers in 1981 in response to a strike. During the 1960s, ’70s and ’80s, the blue flu was a ubiquitous and highly effective tactic in Baltimore, Memphis, San Francisco, Cleveland, New Orleans, Chicago, Newark, New York and many other cities. [13] [12]
Between January 14 and January 19, 1971, around 20,000 New York City police officers refused to report for regular duty partly in response to dismissal of a lawsuit that would have increased pay for both police and fire fighters, and entitle them to back pay up to the point of their last negotiated contract. From December 23 to December 24, 1981, officers of the 1700-man Milwaukee Police Department abandoned their posts, citing disregard they claimed city officials showed for the police. From June 17 to 20, 2020, an undisclosed number of officers of the Atlanta Police Department staged a sick-out to protest the criminal charges brought against the officers involved in the killing of Rayshard Brooks. [14] [15]
In the Republic of Ireland on 1 May 1998, 5,000 Gardaí (police) reported sick; public order was maintained by putting the Irish Army on standby and removing Gardaí from training and administrative work. [16] It is illegal in Ireland for police to strike or form unions. [17] [18]
Some of the common reasons for these actions are:
Sometimes the proclaimed reason masks something else, such as when enforcing an unpopular decision is claimed to be a contract violation. [25]
In Mr. Monk and the Blue Flu , a novel based on the TV series Monk , the main character is given a chance to return to his city's police force during a labor dispute. It's distasteful to him that "he'll be a 'scab'." [26] A blue flu strike was also a background premise to "The Party's Over", a season 5 episode of CSI NY , aired in 2009; as well as an eponymous episode of Brooklyn Nine-Nine in 2021.
The idea of the Blue Flu was referenced in the Babylon 5 episode By Any Means Necessary in 1995, with respect to a labour strike.
Strike action, also called labor strike, labour strike, or simply strike, is a work stoppage caused by the mass refusal of employees to work. A strike usually takes place in response to employee grievances. Strikes became common during the Industrial Revolution, when mass labor became important in factories and mines. As striking became a more common practice, governments were often pushed to act. When government intervention occurred, it was rarely neutral or amicable. Early strikes were often deemed unlawful conspiracies or anti-competitive cartel action and many were subject to massive legal repression by state police, federal military power, and federal courts. Many Western nations legalized striking under certain conditions in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
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An Garda Síochána, more commonly referred to as the Gardaí or "the Guards", is the national police service of Ireland. The service is headed by the Garda Commissioner who is appointed by the Irish Government. Its headquarters are in Dublin's Phoenix Park.
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The Baltimore Police Strike was a 1974 labor action conducted by officers of the Baltimore Police Department. Striking officers sought better wages and changes to BPD policy. They also expressed solidarity with Baltimore municipal workers, who were in the midst of an escalating strike action that began on July 1. On July 7, police launched a campaign of intentional misbehavior and silliness; on July 11 they began a formal strike. The department reported an increase in fires and looting, and the understaffed BPD soon received support from Maryland State Police. The action ended on July 15, when union officials negotiated an end to both strikes. The city promised police officers a wage increase in 1975, but refused amnesty for the strikers. Police Commissioner Donald Pomerleau revoked the union's collective bargaining rights, fired its organizers, and pointedly harassed its members.
The Police Benevolent Association of the City of New York (PBA) is the largest police union representing police officers of the New York City Police Department. It represents about 24,000 of the department's 36,000 officers.
Mr. Monk and the Blue Flu is the third novel by writer Lee Goldberg based on the television series Monk. In this novel, in response to a blue flu, the mayor of San Francisco reinstates several police officers who suffer from debilitating mental issues, including Adrian Monk. The squad of half-crazy detectives must contend not only with each other's eccentricities and a series of murders linked only by missing left shoes and shared birth dates, but their former friends on the other side of the labor dispute. Like the previous two books, the book is narrated by Natalie Teeger, Monk's assistant.
The Garda Public Order Unit – commonly known as the Garda Riot Squad – is a unit of the Garda Síochána, Ireland's police force, that deals with public disorder, including riots and protests.
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Police brutality is the repression by personnel affiliated with law enforcement when dealing with suspects and civilians. The term is also applied to abuses by "corrections" personnel in municipal, state, and federal prison camps, including military prisons.
The 1971 NYPD work stoppage occurred for five days between January 14 and January 19, 1971, when around 20,000 New York City police officers refused to report for regular duty. While officers maintained that they would continue to respond to serious crimes and emergencies, they refused to carry out routine patrolling duties, leading in some cases, to as few as 200 officers being on the street in the city.
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planning to take part in a 'sick-out' on Wednesday
mysterious ailment that strikes police officers suddenly, overnight, during times of labor disagreements, causing them to miss a shift.
returning to their jobs after two days of the blue flu.
caseworkers get 'blue fever'
police get 'blue flu,' fire fighters the 'red rash,' and teachers 'chalk-dust fever.'
angered by .. city's Police Chief ... disciplinary proceedings against two officers involved in the killing of a drug suspect .. had been cleared of any criminal wrongdoing ..the police officers' union voted .. to ask the chief to resign.
working without a contract or pay raise since 1991 .. the last three years
the issue of station closures ... is an emotive issue
'From the police point of view, they are working a very, very dangerous job,' Thompson said
Calls for accountability are often met with indignance and threats to desert those most affected by crime. The practice of officers, at the slightest sign of public critique, calling in sick en masse and refusing to do their jobs has long been called 'blue flu.'
contention that the contract has been broken by a change of shifts and overtime orders ... Night shift officers have complained .. will lose their night differential if they work overtime during the day.