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Are police guilds inherently different from other unions?

caption: Members of the Seattle Police Officers Guild packed the Council Chamber before a vote on a union contract between the guild and the city in 2018.
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Members of the Seattle Police Officers Guild packed the Council Chamber before a vote on a union contract between the guild and the city in 2018.
KUOW PHOTO/CASEY MARTIN

Tonight, the labor council will decide. A citycouncilmember shares her vision of policing, and a journalist tells her own story.

Individual segments are available in our podcast stream or at www.kuow.org/record.

Nicole Grant, KCLC SPOG vote

When the Seattle Police Officers’ Guild joined the King County Labor Council in 2014, it was with the hope that membership in a union of unions might help with community relations. Times are different now, says executive secretary-treasurer Nicole Grant. She thinks it’s time to vote SPOG out.

City Councilmember Herbold on policing

City councilmembers have a variety of differing visions to reform, defund, and abolish the police. Lisa Herbold of West Seattle would like to reimagine policing; she joined Bill Radke to explain what that would entail.

Erica C. Barnett, Quitter

Many in Seattle know Erica C. Barnett from her news blog, The C is for Crank. But she’s written a memoir that looks at a part of her life that wasn’t public for a long time: her addiction to alcohol. It’s called Quitter: A Memoir of Drinking, Relapse, and Recovery.

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