Firefighters, Police and Politics

[Cow Poke]

A friend of mine told me that firefighters, generally, are politically left, while policemen, generally, are politically right.

I've been looking for any kind of study that would address this. The rationale was that firefighters tend to be unionized, and that's somehow indicative that they would be "left".

This was aggravated by the fact that the International Association of Firefighters has just endorsed Biden. (Many people don't realize that the vast majority of American firefighters and fire departments are volunteer! (70 and 85% respectively, from one source)

(Since it would be the bigger - in the minority - firehouses that are unionized, that could well distort any survey)

There's currently a battle in Houston where the firefighters have been voted a raise to equivalency with police pay and benefits, and there are a lot of politics involved in that.

The overwhelming unscientific 'survey' (opinions) I'm seeing tends to show that police and fire members are largely republican and/or conservative.

I'd like to know if there's any actual study out there on this.



And... THIS IS NOT AN "I HATE TRUMP" THREAD - take that somewhere else.

[seer]

A friend of mine told me that firefighters, generally, are politically left, while policemen, generally, are politically right.

I've been looking for any kind of study that would address this. The rationale was that firefighters tend to be unionized, and that's somehow indicative that they would be "left".

This was aggravated by the fact that the International Association of Firefighters has just endorsed Biden. (Many people don't realize that the vast majority of American firefighters and fire departments are volunteer! (70 and 85% respectively, from one source)

(Since it would be the bigger - in the minority - firehouses that are unionized, that could well distort any survey)

There's currently a battle in Houston where the firefighters have been voted a raise to equivalency with police pay and benefits, and there are a lot of politics involved in that.

The overwhelming unscientific 'survey' (opinions) I'm seeing tends to show that police and fire members are largely republican and/or conservative.

I'd like to know if there's any actual study out there on this.



And... THIS IS NOT AN "I HATE TRUMP" THREAD - take that somewhere else.

I don't know, I was a Firefighter for ten years, and personally they were all rather conservative, mostly ex-military. The union thing though tended to push us towards the left.

[Cow Poke]

I don't know, I was a Firefighter for ten years, and personally they were all rather conservative, mostly ex-military.

That seems to be a common theme, Seer --- that firefighting is a lot like the military. You take a job with high risk, service to others, really not compensated accordingly -- it's a LOT like the military. And a bleeding heart liberal would seem to prefer to tax and spend OPM to get that protection, rather than jump into serving themselves.

The union thing though tended to push us towards the left.

When I was police, there was a major push to unionize us -- by the TEAMSTERS UNION!!!!

[seer]

When I was police, there was a major push to unionize us -- by the TEAMSTERS UNION!!!!

We were Teamsters, and I was the treasurer, so I was in on the contract negotiations.

[Cow Poke]

We were Teamsters, and I was the treasurer, so I was in on the contract negotiations.

Interesting! And did the union endorse liberal candidates and causes? Further reading seems to indicate that the rank-and-file of both police and fire will be overwhelmingly conservative, but the upper echelon tends to be more liberal.

[Cow Poke]

I don't know, I was a Firefighter for ten years....

Locally, there's a fierce but FRIENDLY rivalry between police and fire. There are often "guns and hoses" charity baseball games and events and causes.

Two of the favorite 'standing jokes' from the firefighters:

A) God invented firefighters because policemen needed heroes.

2) The police are referred to, particularly at hazmat scenes, as "blue parakeets". Since they're generally on the scene first, when the firefighters roll up, they look for the blue stripe up the side of the police officers' uniform pants --- if the stripe is vertical, it's safe to enter -- if the stripe is horizontal, extreme caution is warranted. (yeah, sick humor, but you know how that goes)

[seer]

Interesting! And did the union endorse liberal candidates and causes? Further reading seems to indicate that the rank-and-file of both police and fire will be overwhelmingly conservative, but the upper echelon tends to be more liberal.

Like I said they were personally conservative, but the Dems were much more supportive of the unions. So, it was more of a bread and butter issue.

[seer]

Locally, there's a fierce but FRIENDLY rivalry between police and fire. There are often "guns and hoses" charity baseball games and events and causes.

Two of the favorite 'standing jokes' from the firefighters:

A) God invented firefighters because policemen needed heroes.

2) The police are referred to, particularly at hazmat scenes, as "blue parakeets". Since they're generally on the scene first, when the firefighters roll up, they look for the blue stripe up the side of the police officers' uniform pants --- if the stripe is vertical, it's safe to enter -- if the stripe is horizontal, extreme caution is warranted. (yeah, sick humor, but you know how that goes)

Just remember, firefighters have longer hoses! And yes, we used a lot of gallows humor. I remember my first bad accident, when we got back to the barn the guys were taking about ordering pizza with extra sausage. But it was four in the morning and nothing was opened! I finally figured it out - that was how they were coping... I did not care for it, I had a 17 year old kid die in my arms that night.

[Cow Poke]

Just remember, firefighters have longer hoses! And yes, we used a lot of gallows humor. I remember my first bad accident, when we got back to the barn the guys were taking about ordering pizza with extra sausage. But it was four in the morning and nothing was opened! I finally figured it out - that was how they were coping... I did not care for it, I had a 17 year old kid die in my arms that night.

Yup - that's how you can tell when something is REALLY worrisome - when police and fire do NOT joke about it. Like when a baby is killed in a car wreck.

[seer]

Yup - that's how you can tell when something is REALLY worrisome - when police and fire do NOT joke about it. Like when a baby is killed in a car wreck.

Right, or when one of your own died...

[Cow Poke]

Right, or when one of your own died...

That, too.

[Sparko]

I wouldn't put too much into thinking because a job is unionized that means the members are liberal. A lot of jobs are unionized historically and that means if you want to work in that area, you have to join the union whether you like it or not. My sister-in-law is a teacher so she has to belong to the state Teacher's Union. But she is anything but a liberal.

And aren't a lot of police unionized too? isn't the FOP effectively a union?

[seer]

I wouldn't put too much into thinking because a job is unionized that means the members are liberal. A lot of jobs are unionized historically and that means if you want to work in that area, you have to join the union whether you like it or not. My sister-in-law is a teacher so she has to belong to the state Teacher's Union. But she is anything but a liberal.

And aren't a lot of police unionized too? isn't the FOP effectively a union?

During my time in the Teamsters we had a couple of visits from the big wigs. Black limos, black suits, they were right out of the God Father movie.

[Cow Poke]

I wouldn't put too much into thinking because a job is unionized that means the members are liberal. A lot of jobs are unionized historically and that means if you want to work in that area, you have to join the union whether you like it or not. My sister-in-law is a teacher so she has to belong to the state Teacher's Union. But she is anything but a liberal.

And aren't a lot of police unionized too? isn't the FOP effectively a union?

The FOP is a weird duck - its local chapters can either be unions or fraternal organizations - Labor Lodges and Fraternal Lodges - it's just a blanket organization that is supposed to work on behalf of member police officers.

[Christianbookworm]

That, too.

Did y'all ever wish Jesus was here so there would be no need for firefighters, paramedics, police, military, the entire medical field, and any other job that counters the Curse and evil? What would Jesus do ifhe were in a situation that police are in?