The president of the Seattle Police Officers Guild (SPOG) is accusing Mayor Bruce Harrell of “weaponizing public safety” by stripping collective bargaining rights from labor unions.

House Bill 1816 proposes creating civilian-staffed crisis response teams (CRTs) in areas with populations over 200,000. These teams would handle 911 calls related to mental health crises and nonviolent emergencies, allowing police to focus on other threats. The sponsor, State Rep. Shaun Scott (D-Seattle), is a police abolitionist.

Supporters argue the approach is more compassionate and effective, citing data showing quick, unarmed responses without incidents. However, SPOG is concerned the bill is intended to limit collective bargaining rights for first responders.

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A threat to collective bargaining?

In an interview on “The Jason Rantz Show” on KTTH, SPOG President Officer Mike Solan criticized the bill for bypassing union negotiations. With support from Mayor Bruce Harrell’s office, Solan believes they’re trying to circumvent collective bargaining, as removing duties from police is subject to negotiation.

The SPD already operates THE CARES (Community Assessment, Responsive Engagement, and Support) model, similar to the legislation, after negotiation with SPOG.

“We’ve already agreed to CARES. It’s currently a pilot project that will be viable to the end of this calendar year. If you look around the city of Seattle, you’ll see some CARES personnel providing services to people in need,” said Solan. “The problem with House Bill 1816 is it subverts our ability to bargain it at the table, the concept of CARES.”

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Eroding union rights

Solan expressed concern that this bill could set a slippery slope precedent for eroding union rights across the state.

“What they’ve done is pull in other unions and firefighters as a way to remove our collective bargaining rights. If we go first, then unions in the public sector are next,” Solan explained. “The target of these radical activists in Olympia, these anti-police haters, is they’re going to continue to push the needle and try to remove policing as a whole.”

Solan called out Mayor Harrell and Representative Scott for their roles in the issue.

“Where this gets interesting is that this bill was authored by 43rd legislative district representative, an anti police abolitionist, Shaun Scott,” said Solan. “We know that Shaun Scott bragged that Mayor Harrell supported his candidacy while he was running for the representative spot in Olympia. What they’ve done is give us the inability to bargain, which is what the bill calls for.”

If passed, the bill would take effect 90 days after the legislative session ends.

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