Well technically and legally, the union is correct. The cops’ names are not on the title, they don’t pay the insurance, repairs, taxes/tags/registration. And tickets are issued to the owner of the car. If they find that it was truly not an emergency, they should set up some way to be reimbursed by the officer assigned to the car.
I’ll be honest, I’ve never seen a LEO speeding without having lights flashing. I’m not saying it doesn’t happen but I’ve never seen it. I would bet that the majority of the time they are on their way to a call but didn’t turn their lights on.
I routinely see Montgomery County (MD) cops doing 80 or so on I-270 without their lights on.