JOAN VENNOCHI
The Democrats' labor problemJOHN KERRY has a plan for health care, the economy, and the war in Iraq. How about announcing a plan to stand up to organized labor when it acts like a spoiled bully?
"It's like the Mafia," said Thomas J. Nee, president of the Boston Police Patrolmen's Association. Nee was standing in front of the Fleet Center yesterday morning as he offered this description of what he contends it is like to deal with Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino in ongoing labor negotiations. A short time later, if anyone shared a resemblance to the Mafia, it was union members who blocked a crane driver from entering Fleet Center property. "Game's on," said Nee, as the driver started down Causeway Street then stopped before turning into the Fleet Center. A theatrical entreaty from Nee to the driver -- "Listen to your heart" -- quickly descended into expletives and threats from the rest of the pack. It all played out against the constant chant of "Do not cross, do not cross." The crane driver looked at the surging line of picketers, listened to what they shouted, shook his head and turned away. Victory for the union. That is the picture beamed from Boston. It is more than the picture of a showdown between one city mayor and unhappy union members. It is also the picture of the Democratic Party held hostage by organized labor. The picture is not pretty. I believe in unions, indeed belong to one. But belief in the organized power of many to negotiate fair wages and benefits for all workers does not go hand in hand with condoning the scene at the Fleet Center. That's a personal reaction. However, looking at the bigger picture, it's hard to understand how a scene like this benefits the Democratic Party and Democratic presidential nominee Kerry. It is a scene out of old Boston, old labor, old politics. You can smell the cigar smoke, even though no one is actually smoking one. You can imagine the leg-breaking, even if none actually takes place. It is the kind of old-fashioned, old-style labor politics that turns off young and independent voters. Could the timing be worse? At the very moment the nation is celebrating the memory of a president who stared down labor in the form of air traffic controllers, Democrats are celebrating union thugs? The stand-off between the Boston Police Patrolmen's Association and the City of Boston is not just a problem for Menino. It is a microcosm of a larger problem for Democrats. It showcases their longstanding genuflection to labor, no matter how bad labor makes the party look. Menino is standing up to the unions. It isn't easy, given his history of appeasement and recent past generosity to Boston firefighters. Rather than isolate this as a Menino problem, this is where party leaders and Kerry should stand behind him. Menino has an offer on the table -- 11.9 percent. "What is the problem with going to arbitration?" asks Menino. "I'm above board . . . I've always been upfront." Asked to respond to Nee's "Mafia" description, Menino said: "I'm not into soundbites. I'm not into grandstanding. I'm into getting a contract done." What about the party that Menino is hosting for the Democratic National Convention? Shouldn't the party and the party nominee stand up, too? Said Menino: "Mayors stand up and take heat. We're used to it. We are on the front lines every day. Other people, will they stand up? I don't know." He says the response from taxpayers, directly and via e-mail is "stand your ground . . . stand your ground." You can argue Menino created the problem, and to some degree he did. But he was just following standard operating procedure for Democrats. To change the big picture, standard operating procedure must change, from the top down. What if Kerry stood up to the picket line and asked them to let crane drivers and others in to do the work needed for the convention? How many votes would he pick up with a stand like that? Nee said he would "walk John Kerry in to be nominated." He says that "nothing going on in Washington serves working class people." If he believes Kerry is the nominee who can do something for working people, why stage photos that will undercut Kerry's cause? According to Nee, it is necessary to convey "a sense of urgency." There's a bigger urgency at stake: not just showcasing Boston, but the Democratic party. Show some collective courage, Democrats. If you can't stand up to Tom Nee, how do you stand up to Jacques Chirac, Yasser Arafat or Al Qaeda?
Joan Vennochi's e-mail address is vennochi@globe.com. © Copyright 2004 Globe Newspaper Company.
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