San Antonio police union responds after Coach Pop pops off about Prop B
Hours after Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich threw his support behind Proposition B, the San Antonio Police Officers Association issued a scathing press release, accusing the famed coach of “throwing a brick.”
During a press conference on Wednesday, April 21, Coach Pop was asked about San Antonio’s Prop B, which if passed, would repeal the San Antonio Police Department’s collective bargaining power.
The Prop B question came less than 24 hours after Derek Chauvin was found guilty of second-degree murder in the death of George Floyd, a verdict the Spurs’ head honcho called “a victory” but was quick to note that “justice has not been realized yet.”
“Proposition B looks like a step in the right direction, so a yes vote on that, I think, is prudent,” Popovich said during the press conference. “But it doesn’t get you where you need to be … We have to go further. People can’t be intimidated. There has to be accountability… An organization that seeks as little accountability as possible should be a problem.”
RELATED: ‘Justice has not been realized yet’: Gregg Popovich calls for passing of Prop. B
Within hours, Danny Diaz, president of SAPOA, issued a press release admitting that Pop is indeed “the greatest coach in the world,” but taking issue with his comments and asking for a sit-down discussion.
“Coach, you’re the greatest coach in the world, but on Prop. B, you threw a brick,” the union begins. “Prop. B is not about discipline, it’s about repealing collective bargaining, which is what ensures our police officers have the same say in their pay, benefits, and working conditions…”
The statement then goes on to point to the NBA Players Association, the NBA’s union, as an example of union bargaining power. And while, yes, the player’s association does represent players at the negotiating table, comparing policing in the country’s seventh biggest city to basketball is hardly, ahem, a slam-dunk analogy.
Diaz also points out that police bargaining has support from many city leaders, including mayoral candidates and Gov. Greg Abbott.
If Prop B passes, it would repeal Chapter 174, which would remove “collective bargaining” for SAPD when it comes to salary, health care, leave, and other policies such as the rehiring of officers who were fired for misconduct.
As the San Antonio Report points out, if Propostion B passes (early voting underway now before the general election on May 1), negotiations between the city and the San Antonio police would likely go to a style known as meet-and-confer. Currently, San Antonio is the only major city in Texas that does not use a meet-and-confer style of negotiations.
Local leaders aside, Prop B has garnered support from statewide politicians, including former mayor Julian Castro and former Texas Rep. Beto O’Rourke.
