The Labor Law Clinic recently took on a unique case involving public policy that combined labor law with civil rights and racial justice issues. Beginning in August 2023, the clinic advised Minneapolis community organization Minneapolis-1 on its proposed recommendations for revisions to the city’s police collective bargaining agreement, which are geared toward addressing issues like police accountability and transparency.
Police collective bargaining agreements have come under greater scrutiny because they can shield officers from accountability and undermine transparency for the communities involved even when police officers engage in excessive force. As the city of Minneapolis and the Police Officers’ Federation of Minneapolis are negotiating a new labor agreement, multiple community organizations, including Minneapolis-1, have weighed in on the ways in which the agreement can more broadly consider public safety and accountability. The Minneapolis police force has been under increased scrutiny since the 2020 killing of George Floyd by four of its officers. This is what brought concerned community members together to create Minneapolis-1 and to work for greater police accountability and racial justice.
Recognizing the link between labor and racial justice, the clinic reviewed Minneapolis-1’s recommendations and examined their labor law implications. The clinic compared these proposals with other U.S. cities’ agreements and explored whether Minneapolis could implement them without negotiating with the police union. While Minneapolis-1 is not involved in the negotiations, it provides crucial input to the city council.
Clinical Professor Angela Cornell, who founded the clinic in 2005, notes how this project has expanded students’ perspectives on labor law and social justice.
“Usually, we’re working with labor rights for the purpose of labor justice, but here we’re working with labor rights and trying to achieve racial justice,” says Daniel Bromberg ’24, one of three clinic students who worked on the project. “The impact of the work is going outside the workplace.”
