On street, police union tactics questionedOn their best days, they are courageous, intrepid, strong, and selfless. Protectors dressed in blue.
But as their protracted contract dispute with the city arrives at a critical stage today, the Boston Police Patrolmen's Association is feeling the sting of less flattering adjectives: Self-centered, divisive, greedy, disruptive. A union unwilling to reach common ground. Across the city yesterday, support for the 1,400-member officers' union, which is threatening protests during next week's Democratic National Convention, appeared to be decidedly soft. While some residents say that police officers earn their pay and more, many of those interviewed expressed envy over their salaries, concern over public safety, and impatience with the standoff. ''I have been hearing about what percentage the fire and police unions want; I don't see why they can't take what the mayor is offering," said Pat Howard, 74, a retired nurse who lives in the Back Bay. ''They could compromise, and it wouldn't be that much, and we'd have more respect for them. I think right now they're losing a little bit of respect. Besides, they make good money." Resting on a bench, soaking in the sun with friends on Carson Beach in South Boston, 71-year-old Albert Federico, a retired hauling engineer from Quincy, spoke more bluntly. ''The Boston police are embarrassing the city right now with their stupid antics," he said. ''In fact, I'd like to see how much they're making, what their salary is with all the overtime they got down at the Big Dig. They don't realize that the city of Boston can make money on this convention." With an arbitrator poised to impose a settlement today, the police union insists that its support, particularly among labor groups, remains energized and strong. It defended its plan to picket welcoming parties for convention delegates on Sunday and to protest at an unspecified number of other events that Mayor Thomas M. Menino will attend during the week. The patrolmen's union, which may also reconsider its earlier promise not to picket at the FleetCenter, said that other police unions remain without settlements and that it wants to show its support. The union blamed Menino for broken promises and for engineering an unfair process. ''Most police officers just want a fair shake," said James Barry, legislative agent for the patrolmen's association. ''If they think they're getting a fair shake -- even if they don't get what they feel they deserve, as long as it's on the level and fair -- they're going to go along with it. But this has been a railroading, a political railroading." The patrolmen's association is asking for 17 percent raises spread over four years, and Menino is offering 11.9 percent. Yesterday, the mayor said the people in the neighborhoods are with him and see the police union's demands as unreasonable. ''I get that in church; I get that on the streets and in the supermarkets," he said. ''People say: 'Mayor, stand your ground. You're right.' They say, 'We know you have to give a good contract, but you can't spend money you don't have.' " The average patrol officer's base pay was $53,700 last year. The average yearly pay was $83,700 with overtime, detail pay, and extra pay under the Quinn Bill educational program factored in, according to the Boston Municipal Research Bureau, a nonpartisan, business-backed group. ''The cops are not being fair," said Mary E. Maloney of Jamaica Plain, a former nurse. ''Menino is trying to do the best he can for the city. He cares a lot about the people." Maloney said the union's planned protest next week ''is going to be an embarrassment for them," referring to the police. Taking a cigarette break in the shade with her white chef's hat atop her head, Katherine Bland, a 48-year-old cook from Dorchester, said the union was putting its contract demands before public safety. ''I think it's unfair and the timing is really bad," she said. ''It doesn't really make people feel secure, what with the DNC coming to town next week and they're fussing about their contracts. I mean, I understand the contract is important and everybody needs their money and they need to get paid, but I think public safety should take priority with what's going on right now." Bland also said she is worried about the image Boston is projecting, as it prepares for an estimated 35,000 visitors. ''I think it's exciting with the DNC coming and we're hosting it. I think it's really cool and really nice for the people of Boston to get this," she said. ''And now they're coming with a bunch of controversy. It's like I don't want people on the outside to look at Boston like that." But Jack Parlon -- vice president of the Boston Police Detectives Benevolent Society, the union that represents 382 detectives and supervising detectives -- called the city's conduct during its negotiations a disgrace. ''We're locked out," said Parlon, whose members in March overwhelmingly rejected the city's offer of an 11.5 percent wage increase over four years. ''If I sound frustrated, it's because I am." But Parlon acknowledged that the protracted labor dispute is not a public relations bonanza for police officers. ''I don't think the public has too much sympathy for the police," he said. ''It's been that way for years and years. They publish our salaries based on overtime and details. ''There's no sympathy from the public," Parlon said. ''You see a fireman, and people cheer. You see a cop, and someone's in trouble. But that doesn't negate our need for a fair and equitable wage." One police supporter said city employees who risk their life by going to work every day deserve special consideration at the negotiation table. ''I wouldn't want to be doing that job," said Max Attar, a gasoline station owner in Brighton. ''You have people in the government doing nothing and getting paid more for it. Give them what they want and get it over with." Attar said he admired the tenacity of union president Thomas Nee, saying he would like an advocate like that to fight for his wages. ''I would, wouldn't you?" he said. Larry Leggett, a 52-year-old mechanic with Grove Hall Auto Repair in Roxbury, said that the police work hard and perform their duties well now, but that he worries about how effective officers will be if they are moonlighting at protest sites. ''If they picket all day and work all night, you begin to wonder whether it's going to be too much," Leggett said. ''After all, they're here for the public's protection." Colin Lim, a 20-year-old student at Boston University, said he could not sympathize with the police union. ''I think it's kind of selfish of the police officers themselves to place more emphasis on their contract, especially since this is a national security concern, with all the politicians and the high-profile people being in Boston," Lim said. ''It should be more emphasized on: 'We need to do our work.' I know it's a concern that both Menino and the union come to a resolution, but their primary concern should be shifted over to security."
Suzanne Smalley, Rick Klein, and Ralph Ranalli of the Globe staff and Globe correspondents Michael Levenson, Heather Allen, and Elise Castelli contributed to this report. Thomas Farragher can be reached at farragher@globe.com. © Copyright 2004 Globe Newspaper Company.
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