Union raises stakes for July
Police group eyes convention boycott
By Rick Klein, Globe Staff, 3/10/2004
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 Washington Post aimed at party officials, and yesterday the police union unveiled a pro-union website that mimics the official DNC site. But the move to confront delegates raises the stakes for the Democrats.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.
http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2004/03/10/union_raises_stakes_for_july/