Unions threaten walkout of panel

Union allies are threatening to walk out of a state panel hearing today should Mayor Thomas M. Menino's last-ditch effort to achieve a police union contract before his Democratic National Convention kickoff parties Sunday night be raised.

Under the leadership of a new chairman -- appointed last week by Governor Mitt Romney after the panel rejected requests for an arbitrated settlement before the convention -- the state Joint Labor-Management Committee is meeting without an agenda. But a Menino ally on the panel, Mayor Dean J. Mazzarella of Leominster, plans to resurrect the arbitration issue.

If the new chairman, Samuel E. Zoll, allows the motion to be considered, the labor representatives on the committee will walk out of the meeting, bringing all business to a halt, said Paul J. Birks, chairman of the three-member police contingent on the committee. Under committee rules, at least one of the three police representatives and at least one of the three fire representatives must be present for any action to be taken, he said. "There's going to be no vote taken of any kind," said Birks, a retired Springfield police officer. "This is going to be a battle."

It's not clear what steps Menino's allies could take in the event of a walkout. State law allows the governor to remove committee members for "neglect of duty" or "malfeasance in office."

Romney aides declined to comment on how the governor might react. But a prominent Boston labor lawyer said the committee's rules could allow a vote, even if the police representatives walk out.

"I know the statute well," said Harold Lichten, who has appeared frequently before the Joint Labor-Management Committee. "I don't know of anything that says they have to participate. They have to be afforded the opportunity."

Romney made it clear last week when he appointed Zoll that he would like the dispute sent to expedited arbitration. Zoll, the retired chief of the district courts, said yesterday the governor "did not impose that obligation on me."

He declined to say whether he would allow the issue to come to a vote. "I need to be brought up to date on the issues, the status of the negotiations and the issues," he said, adding that he will be briefed before the meeting by the Governor's Legal Counsel.

The stakes are high for Menino politically. The patrolmen's association is planning pickets at all 30 of the mayor's delegate welcoming parties Sunday night, and a smattering of state party chairs are promising that their delegations will stay away.

Menino has argued police officers who picket in their off-hours would be too tired to perform well during their 12-hour convention-week shifts, jeopardizing public safety. Romney echoed the argument when he appointed Zoll.

"There is a real concern here," said Mazzarella, himself a former Leominster police officer. "I honestly think an arbitrator really could come up with something that might be beneficial to both parties."

The clock is ticking down to the start of the convention with the two sides far apart on salary provisions. The patrolmen's association is asking for 17 percent raises over four years, and Menino is offering 11.9 percent. The welcoming parties will be held six days from today at sites around the city. The arbitration process typically takes several months, with both sides presenting reams of documentation to an arbitrator before a judgment is made.

A six-day deadline would be "unprecedented," and would deny the police union a full opportunity to make its case, said Thomas J. Nee, the union's president.

"It's unreasonable and unfair," Nee said. "It denies us the appropriate time to prepare a case in something that affects the livelihood of our members."

But city officials argue that both sides have had ample opportunity to make their cases known over the period of several months, and have already provided testimony to a state-appointed mediator.

With the convention looming, each side should be given two days to make its case, and the arbitrator could hone his or her judgment on a fifth day, said Merita A. Hopkins, Boston's corporation counsel. She said the only reason most arbitrations take months is that there's no reason for them to be completed more quickly.

The convention, designated a National Special Security Event by the federal government, presents a rare case that should be recognized by the labor-management committee, Hopkins said.

Despite the city's efforts to persuade delegations to attend parties so far, many remained resolute to boycott. However, the South Dakota Democratic Party chairwoman, Judy Olson Duhamel, said her delegation is divided. "I have friends who say they never ever cross a picket line, but I have something I'll label basic manners," she said.

Donovan Slack of the Globe staff contributed to this report. Rick Klein can be reached at rklein@globe.com.