Labor unions drew fire from supporters for joining Saturday's march in Staten Island protesting police brutality. The march was held in the wake of the choking death of Eric Garner last month by police. Police unions were particularly critical of United Federation of Teachers president Michael Mulgrew for publicly throwing his union's support behind the march, charging that teachers would in effect be protesting their relatives and friends in many cases, setting worker against worker. The union's Facebook page was overrun with angry posts from members imploring the union to stay out of the protest. Mulgrew and representatives from other unions have been careful to stress that they are not protesting the NYPD, but police brutality that has become more frequent in recent months.
See "Unions Face Backlash for Joining March on Staten Island", Nikita Stewart, The New York Times, August 24, 2014