In 1918, it was decided that the Order should become a national organization.
The Order's constitution stated that "Race, Creed or Color shall be no bar". The constitution also had a no strike pledge, but this has not been enforced since 1967 when FOP police in
Youngstown, Ohio refused to work during a salary dispute. In 1974 and 1975 the FOP stated that it would take no action against members who violated the anti-strike clause until all efforts were exhausted on the local and state level.
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During the 1960s the FOP opposed the creation of police review boards, spearheaded by Robert F. Kennedy, at one point describing them as a "sinister movement against law enforcement". The FOP also clashed with the
American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) on the issue of
police brutality, seeing it as a "liberal attempt to discredit law enforcement".
The Order was "heartened by Richard Nixon's emphasis on law and order", though it claimed to remain strictly apolitical.