Union raises stakes for July
Police group eyes convention boycott
Boston's largest police union is asking Democrats nationwide, including presumptive presidential nominee John F. Kerry, to boycott the Democratic National Convention in July, a dramatic escalation of tactics in the union's quest for a contract.
Police union allies across the country have already begun phoning local delegates and party officials, telling them that entering the FleetCenter will be seen as crossing a picket line if Boston police do not have their contract settled by then. Thousands of police from at least nine states and 18 unions are ready to stand beside Boston officers to show their solidarity.
"There will be an expectation that the line not be crossed," Thomas J. Nee, president of the Boston Police Patrolmen's Association, said at a news conference yesterday at the union's Roxbury headquarters. "I know Democrats do not do that. That's the protocol."
The union has widely proclaimed its plans to use the convention as leverage in its public battle. But until now, tactics have largely targeted Mayor Thomas M. Menino. Several unions recently ran an ad in the
Asking delegates to stay away from the biggest Democratic political event of the year would embarrass hundreds of Democratic elected officials, particularly if officers from their hometowns are on the picket line.
A picket line outside the convention could also embarrass Kerry, who will formally receive his party's nomination at the convention. A public display of disharmony among Democrats, who have traditionally had close ties to organized labor, could send a negative message as the party tries to present a unified front against President Bush.
"Senator Kerry hopes all of these matters are worked out to the satisfaction of all the parties," Kerry spokesman David Wade said yesterday.
Other Democratic officials and Menino, who said he is hoping the patrolmen's association contract will be settled soon, played down the move, saying that labor troubles are not unique to Boston and that progress on other labor contracts should be enough to convince even die-hard labor friends that Boston treats its public-employee unions fairly.
Nee "is making a statement here, and it's more important to nominate a candidate for the presidency," Menino said. "We've been a labor-friendly city, for the most part."
Don Fowler, a former chairman of the Democratic National Committee, said that local labor disputes are common in the months before a convention, but that they have been smoothed over in time to prevent disruptions. While many delegates would be sympathetic to a picket line, he said, a local dispute is unlikely to keep droves of delegates away.
"Every convention in my memory has had this kind of matter pending prior to the convention," Fowler said.
Ninety-four percent of the city's 17,000 employees are working without tentative agreements with the city, but most unions appear unlikely to join the police picket line. Several labor leaders kept their distance from Nee's remarks yesterday, saying they are confident that contracts will be settled in time to avoid a demonstration. They said it is important for organized labor to keep its attention focused on the bigger Democratic picture.
"No one in the labor movement wants the convention to be anything but the beginning of the end for George Bush," said Robert J. Haynes, president of the Massachusetts AFL-CIO.
Rich Rogers, executive secretary treasurer of the Greater Boston Labor Council, said he would not comment on the police union's tactics. But he said that recent preliminary settlements between the city and three smaller unions, including two representating Boston police detectives, leaves him hopeful that labor talks are moving in the right direction.
"If the Menino administration begins serious negotiations, we anticipate that contracts will be settled in this immediate future," Rogers said. "It's the defeat of George Bush that's the number one priority of the labor movement, and the convention is a launching pad for Senator Kerry."
The patrolmen's association made its announcement as several unions turned up the heat on Menino. The Boston Teachers Union is scheduled to vote today on whether to hold a one-day strike later this month, and it plans to launch a cable television ad campaign tomorrow. The teachers have been blitzing Democratic National Committee leaders and members of the Massachusetts congressional delegation with e-mails in recent days. Terry McAuliffe, chairman of the Democratic National Committee, asked Menino about those negotiations at a meeting in Washington Monday.
Menino said he assured him that things are moving along well. Peggy Wilhide, a convention spokeswoman, said McAuliffe left that meeting confident that contract negotiations are moving "in the right direction."
Senator Edward M. Kennedy of Massachusetts, a strong labor ally, declined to comment on how he would handle a picket line at the convention, saying only that he is sure it will never come to that. "I'm confident that both sides will be able to find a satisfactory resolution of the issues," said a prepared statement Kennedy issued.
But Nee said he holds out little hope that the patrolmen's association will settle its contract by summer. The two sides have not held a bargaining session since November, and Nee said his union and the city remain stalled on a number of issues, particularly salary.
At Menino's urging, the state's Joint Labor-Management Committee has taken over negotiations between the patrolmen's association and the city.
Nee stressed that the protests will have nothing to do with Kerry. He noted that the patrolmen endorsed Kerry in his 1996 US Senate race against Governor William F. Weld and that many members want Kerry to become president.
Nonetheless, officers from around the country are rallying to support the patrolmen in Boston. Yesterday, more than 150 officers in Illinois asked for vacation time in late July so they can join the Boston protest, said Sean Smoot, director of the Illinois Police Benevolent and Protective Association.
"If they cross a picket line, they'll be doing it through us or over us," Smoot said.
Rick Klein can be reached at rklein@globe.com.
