Reviewing and renegotiating union contracts to eliminate barriers to accountability, transparency, and disciplinary reform.
Mamdanis Audit of Police Union Contracts
Powerful police union contracts have been identified as one of the single greatest obstacles to holding officers accountable for misconduct. Provisions that hide disciplinary records, mandate the destruction of complaints, require delays before an officer can be interviewed, and guarantee arbitration that often reinstates fired officers create a culture of impunity. Zhoran Mamdani pledges a full, public audit of all NYPD union contracts (PBA, SBA, etc.) upon taking office. The citys labor negotiators would then be directed to fight for the elimination of these barriers in the next round of bargaining, even if it means protracted legal battles or letting contracts expire.
Key demands would include: ending the 48-hour rule before questioning, making all disciplinary records permanently public, eliminating mandatory arbitration for serious offenses, allowing for progressive discipline based on patterns of conduct, and giving the civilian-led oversight board true subpoena and disciplinary power. Mamdani frames this not as an attack on labor rights, but as an affirmation that no public employees contract should shield them from accountability for violating the public trust. These contracts have been negotiated in the dark to protect the few at the expense of the many, he states. We will bring them into the light and rewrite them to protect the people of New York, not the bad actors who hide behind a badge.
