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. [24]
In the view of police abolitionist Josie Duffy Rice blue flu is the result of: calls for police accountability 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. [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.
" Barney Miller", a sitcom about NYPD detectives in a Greenwich Village precinct, ran a two-part Blue Flu episode called "Strike" in March 1977.
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
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.
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.'