Blue Flu
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A blue flu is a type of
strike action Strike action, also called labor strike, labour strike, or simply strike, is a work stoppage caused by the mass refusal of employees to Labor (economics), work. A strike usually takes place in response to grievance (labour), employee grievance ...
undertaken by
police officers A police officer (also called a policeman and, less commonly, a policewoman) is a warranted law employee of a police force. In most countries, "police officer" is a generic term not specifying a particular rank. In some, the use of the ...
in which a large number simultaneously use
sick leave Sick leave (or paid sick days or sick pay) is paid time off from work that workers can use to stay home to address their health needs without losing pay. It differs from paid vacation time or time off work to deal with personal matters, because sic ...
. A blue flu is a preferred strike action by police in some parts of the
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
where
police strike A police strike is a potential tactic when law enforcement workers are embroiled in a labour dispute. Sometimes military personnel are called in to keep order or discipline the strikers. Police strikes have the potential to cause civil unrest. Lis ...
s are prohibited by law. At times, the matter goes to court, such as when officers need to undergo medical examination to prove genuine illness. A 2019 opinion piece in ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' contrasted blue flu with a strike, calling it "a quiet form of protest, with no stated principles or claim for public attention or sympathy." Unlike most strikes, blue flu tends to be focused and of short duration.


History

The term itself and similar terms have been used where unions could be heavily penalized. Alternatives to these terms include "slowdown" and "virtual work stoppage." 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 Calvin Coolidge (born John Calvin Coolidge Jr.; ; July 4, 1872January 5, 1933) was the 30th president of the United States from 1923 to 1929. Born in Vermont, Coolidge was a History of the Republican Party (United States), Republican lawyer ...
using the state's militia. President
Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan ( ; February 6, 1911June 5, 2004) was an American politician, actor, and union leader who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He also served as the 33rd governor of California from 1967 ...
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. Between January 14 and January 19, 1971, around 20,000
New York City police The New York City Police Department (NYPD), officially the City of New York Police Department, established on May 23, 1845, is the primary municipal law enforcement agency within the New York City, City of New York, the largest and one of ...
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 The Milwaukee Police Department is the police department organized under the city of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The department has a contingent of about 1,800 sworn officers when at full strength and is divided into seven districts. Jeffrey B. Norm ...
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 The Atlanta Police Department (APD) is a law enforcement agency in the city of Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. The city shifted from its rural-based Marshal and Deputy Marshal model at the end of the 19th century. In 1873, the department was formed with 2 ...
staged a sick-out to protest the criminal charges brought against the officers involved in the
killing of Rayshard Brooks On the night of June 12, 2020, Rayshard Brooks, a 27-year-old African American man, was fatally shot by Atlanta Police Department (APD) officer Garrett Rolfe. APD officer Devin Brosnan was responding to a complaint that Brooks was asleep in a ...
. In the
Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ga, Éire ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 counties of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, on the eastern side of the island. A ...
on 1 May 1998, 5,000 Gardaí (police) reported sick; public order was maintained by putting the
Irish Army The Irish Army, known simply as the Army ( ga, an tArm), is the land component of the Defence Forces of Ireland.The Defence Forces are made up of the Permanent Defence Forces – the standing branches – and the Reserve Defence Forces. The Ar ...
on standby and removing gardaí from training and administrative work. It is illegal in Ireland for police to strike or form unions.


Reasons

Some of the common reasons for these actions are: * discipline actions that they feel are unjust, 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, or frustration due to extended periods of working without a contract. These are sometimes made worse when mixed with ongoing budget cutbacks. * work conditions perceived as unsafe. * calls for
police accountability Police accountability involves holding both individual police officers, as well as law enforcement agencies responsible for effectively delivering basic services of crime control and maintaining order, while treating individuals fairly and withi ...
or a perceived public critique of policing or police culture of any kind, of in an attempt to blackmail the public into abandoning attempts at police reform and/or removing public officials who advocate accountability. Sometimes the proclaimed reason masks something else, such as when enforcing an unpopular decision is claimed to be a contract violation.


In popular culture

In ''
Mr. Monk and the Blue Flu ''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 ...
'', a novel based on the TV series ''
Monk A monk (, from el, μοναχός, ''monachos'', "single, solitary" via Latin ) is a person who practices religious asceticism by monastic living, either alone or with any number of other monks. A monk may be a person who decides to dedica ...
'', 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'." 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 ''Brooklyn Nine-Nine'' is an American police procedural comedy television series that aired on Fox, and later on NBC. The show aired from September 17, 2013, to September 16, 2021, for a total of eight seasons and 153 episodes. Created by Dan G ...
'' in 2021. The idea of the Blue Flu was referenced in the ''
Babylon 5 ''Babylon 5'' is an American space opera television series created by writer and producer J. Michael Straczynski, under the Babylonian Productions label, in association with Straczynski's Synthetic Worlds Ltd. and Warner Bros. Domestic Tel ...
'' episode ''By Any Means Necessary'' in 1995, with respect to a labour strike.


See also

*
Dereliction of duty Dereliction of duty is a specific offense under United States Code Title 10, Section 892, Article 92 and applies to all branches of the US military. A service member who is derelict has willfully refused to perform his duties (or follow a given o ...
*
Desertion Desertion is the abandonment of a military duty or post without permission (a pass, liberty or leave) and is done with the intention of not returning. This contrasts with unauthorized absence (UA) or absence without leave (AWOL ), which ar ...


References

{{Reflist Labor disputes Police strikes