Change to state's police arbitration system yields some results

Elected officials in Minneapolis and elsewhere have said police union contracts and arbitration requirements often tie their hands when it comes to police accountability.

On Monday, All Things Considered took a look at contract negotiations following the murder of George Floyd. On Tuesday, StarTribune columnist and commentary editor DJ Tice joined host Tom Crann to talk about arbitration.

The process for settling employment disputes outside of the courts is guaranteed for members of public-sector unions in the state. So when a police chief or sheriff moves to fire an employee, the officer or deputy can appeal that decision through a neutral arbitrator.

In roughly half of those cases, the arbitrator reverses the employee’s dismissal, Tice said. But a 2020 change may be changing that longstanding trend.

Tice said both parties no longer have a say in who hears their cases; the state legislature set up a rotation that automatically assigns arbitrators to each case. Tice said the new system appears to be yielding results, with more cases settling before they get to arbitration and at least two rulings in favor of police leadership.

To hear more about this, click play on the audio player above.

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