The historical review of police unions focuses on the roots of unionism in the St. Louis Police Relief Association (1867), the Boston police strike (1919), police unionism between World War I and World War II, and the post-World War II years ending with an examination of three police strikes in the 1970's (San Francisco, Tuscon, and New Orleans). Union-management issues deemed important for the 1980's include the timing of negotiations, the development of competent police managers, defining police management for the purposes of labor negotiations, and unions' involvement in selecting police chiefs. Other topics covered are union efforts to limit management in the labor contract, union alliance with other municipal employees, grievances, media relations, public pressure to resolve strikes, and tension between police unions and minorities. Municipal fiscal crises are noted to be a major threat to police unions in the 1980's, with the introduction of the use of volunteers, police auxiliaries, and the prosepect of layoffs. The author concludes that police unions and managers can become formidable and socially useful combatants when neither tries to usurp the legitimate interests of the other and both engage in adversarial bargaining in a cooperative and trusting manner. Seven notes are provided.