ORANGE COUNTY PERSPECTIVE : Stopping a Recurrence of ‘Flu’

Last week’s 24-hour sickout by Anaheim police certainly was effective in sending a message to city officials. It also appears to have been illegal. And it should not be repeated.

State courts have ruled that “blue flu” job actions are illegal, and given the special position held by public safety workers like police and firefighters, it’s easy to see why. The city said the absence of nearly all of the 205 Anaheim officers scheduled for duty on the day of the sickout also violated the police union’s contract with the city as well as department policies. However, the city chose to not seek an injunction to force officers back to work immediately; it’s now up to police to make a similar gesture of goodwill toward the city.

No one disputes the difficulty of police work or the officers’ right to be frustrated over not having a contract to replace the one that expired 18 months ago. The union has said the police force is underpaid and understaffed. Union members also complain that the City Council seems more interested in expanding Disneyland, keeping the Rams football team and enjoying the new Anaheim Arena than in negotiating with police.

However, the city correctly has been watching the bottom line in negotiating with Disney and the Rams, and it must do the same in contract talks with the police. Anaheim’s budget cannot be helped by shelling out unnecessary sick pay for police and forking over extra money for the replacements the city was forced to call in from nearby police departments.

The ultimate labor weapon, the strike, is usually prohibited for police because of the special nature of police responsibility. In recent years, only one other police department in the county, Santa Ana’s, has staged a sickout, and that one ended quickly when the city won an injunction. But cities, knowing there is no possibility of a job action, must not use the strike ban as a negotiating weapon against their police departments.

Anaheim and its police do not appear to be far apart in the lengthy talks. Both sides should be prepared to make concessions to be sure the blue flu does not strike again.