Blue flu

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 New York Times opinion piece 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][10]

History

The term itself[11] and similar terms[12] have been used where unions could be heavily penalized. Alternatives to these terms include "slowdown" and "virtual work stoppage."[13]

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.[13] The first "police job action" by the largest police force in the USA[14] was in 1971,[15] in which six pre-selected days were announced for use as future sick days.[13] Years before Ronald Reagan fired an entire workforce (PATCO) New York City mayor John Lindsay reportedly "having Coolidge's unyielding legacy in mind" attained via "vowed he would fire the entire police department if it came to that" that "the Blue Flu had passed." During the 1980s, there were similar major occurrences in Baltimore, San Francisco, Cleveland, and New Orleans.[13]

In 2020, many officers of the Atlanta Police Department went on strike to protest the charges brought against the officers involved in the killing of Rayshard Brooks.[16][17]

Reasons

Three of the common reasons for these actions are:

  • discipline actions that they feel are unjust,[18] such as in 2011, when NYC reduced numerous police officers' vacation days by ten when tickets they had issued were tossed as being incomplete. The police blamed the situation on having to fill out a form while amidst confronting the person being ticketed. Technology solved much of this by having scanners reduce the amount of information that had to be recorded manually.
  • deadlocked contract talks,[19][5] or frustration due to extended periods of working without a contract.[20] These are sometimes made worse when mixed with ongoing budget cutbacks.[21]
  • work conditions perceived as unsafe.[22]

Sometimes the proclaimed reason masks something else, such as when enforcing an unpopular decision is claimed to be a contract violation.[23]

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'."[24] A blue flu strike was also a background premise to The Party's Over, a season 5 episode of CSI New York, aired in 2009.

References
  1. Spears, Richard (2008). McGraw-Hill's Essential American Slang. McGraw-Hill. p. 235. ISBN 0071589341.
  2. Cox, Steven (2013). Introduction to Policing. SAGE Publications. ISBN 1483321894.
  3. "blue flu". Legal Information Institute. Cornell University. Retrieved December 30, 2017.
  4. Rampell, Catherine (January 8, 2015). "NYPD should go ahead and strike". Washington Post. Retrieved December 30, 2017.
  5. "Injunction ends a police strike". The New York Times. January 28, 1971.
  6. Jeremy W. Peters (June 26, 2002). "Michigan: Preventing 'Blue Flu'". The New York Times.
  7. Barbara Ehrenreich; Gary Stevenson (January 14, 2019). "Opinion: It's Time for T.S.A. Workers to Strike". The New York Times.
  8. George Vecsey (May 7, 2010). "Walking Tentatively in Protesters' Shoes". The New York Times. mysterious ailment that strikes police officers suddenly, overnight, during times of labor disagreements, causing them to miss a shift.
  9. "planning to take part in a 'sick-out' on Wednesday"
  10. "Around the nation: Safety Officers End Columbus Job Action". The New York Times. February 25, 1983. returning to their jobs after two days of the blue flu.
  11. "Client violence toward children and youth services social workers". November 18, 1992. caseworkers get 'blue fever'
  12. "It's time for Federal Workers to get sick". January 14, 2009. police get 'blue flu,' fire fighters the 'red rash,' and teachers 'chalk-dust fever.'
  13. Clare Sestanovich (January 6, 2015). "A Short History of Police Protest: From Calvin Coolidge to Bill de Blasio". The Marshall Project.
  14. David Firestone (January 13, 2015). "The rise of New York's police unions". The Guardian.
  15. "Blue flu cops strike". New York Daily News.
  16. https://www.boston.com/news/national-news-2/2020/06/18/atlanta-police-call-out-sick-rayshard-brooks
  17. https://www.cnn.com/2020/06/17/us/rayshard-brooks-atlanta-police-not-answering-calls/index.html
  18. Kirk Johnson (September 23, 1991). "Three Killed in New Haven During a Sickout by Police". The New York Times. 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.
  19. "'Blue Flu' Hits Policemen". The New York Times. January 14, 1971.
  20. "'Blue Flu': Expensive Epidemic". The Los Angeles Times. June 1, 1994. working without a contract or pay raise since 1991 .. the last three years
  21. The closure of "nearly 100" Irish police stations due to budgeting reasons even as the murder of a Detective was still an open matter: Hugh O'Connell (February 4, 2013). "'It's not on' - Garda Commissioner critical of work-to-rule, 'blue flu' threats". the issue of station closures ... is an emotive issue
  22. German Lopez (December 31, 2014). "New York City police officers are protesting by refusing to work. It's not the first time". Vox Media. 'From the police point of view, they are working a very, very dangerous job,' Thompson said
  23. John Kifner (September 8, 1975). "Guardsmen in Boston for Busing Today". The New York Times. 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.
  24. Lee Goldberg. "Mr. Monk and the Blue Flu".
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