lucky wilbury
06-08-2004, 01:13 PM
http://www.boston.com/dailynews/160/region/Union_protests_lead_to_convent:.shtml
Union protests lead to convention project delays
By Jennifer Peter, Associated Press, 6/8/2004 12:15
BOSTON (AP) Union pickets prevented construction from getting started Tuesday at the site of next month's Democratic National Convention, as hundreds of union members surrounded the FleetCenter and North Station in a show of solidarity with the city's police union.
Faced with crossing the picket line, many subcontractors who were scheduled to report to work for day one of the FleetCenter's $14 million pre-convention overhaul turned back instead, including a fleet of moving trucks driven by Teamsters.
A convention organizer told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity that with seven weeks left before the convention's July 26 start, no work was taking place inside the FleetCenter.
Earlier in the day, about a dozen workers crossed the line to shouts of ''scab'' and ''shame on you.'' Thousands of commuters streaming out of North Station were given leaflets decrying Boston Mayor Thomas Menino's failure to reach an agreement with the police union.
After more than a year of protest and threatened dispruption of the four-day convention, Tuesday marked the first time that union unrest has translated into logistical problems for the Democratic National Convention Committee.
''The message is being sent that we're serious,'' said Thomas Nee, president of the Boston Police Patrolmen's Association, which has been operating without a contract for two years. ''Solidarity is alive and well in Boston.''
Talks between the city and the 1,400-member police union broke down on Monday, with each side blaming the other for the impasse.
About 30 members of the police union began picketing at midnight. By midmorning the group had grown to around 300, with union firefighters, electricians and other trade workers joining police officers outside the busy commuter rail station.
Around 8:30 p.m., 18 trucks from Owens Movers arrived at the FleetCenter, only to return to their Everett terminal after seeing union members picketing outside the arena's truck entrance.
''We've been Teamsters for 43 years,'' said Ed Owens, the company president. ''We don't cross picket lines. Our guys were excited. It's the biggest move in Boston. It was disappointing.''
The delay in the FleetCenter's conversion from a sports arena to a convention center presents problems for DNC organizers, who may now be forced to hire nonunion workers an unthinkable prospect for a Democratic Party built on a foundation of organized labor.
Telecommunications workers have already said they won't cross the police pickets to install thousands of miles of telephone and data lines.
And on Monday night, the Greater Boston Labor Council overwhelmingly rejected a project labor agreement that promised no union strikes in exchange for an agreement from convention organizers to use only unionized labor on construction projects at the FleetCenter.
The dispute could also extend beyond the unions and to the party itself. The head of Maine's Democratic Party said Tuesday that she thinks her state's delegates many of whom are union members will refuse to cross the picket lines during the convention.
''The Maine Democratic Party has very close ties to organized labor,'' chairwoman Dottie Melanson said. ''A great many members of our delegation would absolutely not cross a picket line.''
Outside the convention site, union members handed out leaflets to commuters. Some held signs reading, ''Friends Don't Let Friends Cross Picket Lines.''
''It's an easy position,'' Jerry Leary, vice president of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 2222. ''This is what unionism is all about. Hopefully, it will show them that we're serious.''
Richard M. Rogers, head of the Greater Boston Labor Council, which represents 90,000 workers in 93 local unions, said he hopes the protests will convince other unions to boycott work on the convention site.
''The Democratic Party shouldn't be very happy with this,'' Rogers said.
The pickets are expected to continue until July 23, the Friday before the convention starts, or until there is an agreement, union officials said.
Rogers hoped the labor council's rejection of the labor agreement prompts renewed efforts to settle contract negotiations between the city and a number of employee unions, including police, firefighters, service workers and school bus drivers. Intervention from the Democratic Party itself may be needed, he said.
''If I'm head of the DNC, if I'm Terry McAuliffe, I'm thinking maybe it's time to get involved and push this process along,'' Rogers said. ''In my mind it sends a very strong message to the mayor that he needs to get back to the table and resolve this.''
Union protests lead to convention project delays
By Jennifer Peter, Associated Press, 6/8/2004 12:15
BOSTON (AP) Union pickets prevented construction from getting started Tuesday at the site of next month's Democratic National Convention, as hundreds of union members surrounded the FleetCenter and North Station in a show of solidarity with the city's police union.
Faced with crossing the picket line, many subcontractors who were scheduled to report to work for day one of the FleetCenter's $14 million pre-convention overhaul turned back instead, including a fleet of moving trucks driven by Teamsters.
A convention organizer told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity that with seven weeks left before the convention's July 26 start, no work was taking place inside the FleetCenter.
Earlier in the day, about a dozen workers crossed the line to shouts of ''scab'' and ''shame on you.'' Thousands of commuters streaming out of North Station were given leaflets decrying Boston Mayor Thomas Menino's failure to reach an agreement with the police union.
After more than a year of protest and threatened dispruption of the four-day convention, Tuesday marked the first time that union unrest has translated into logistical problems for the Democratic National Convention Committee.
''The message is being sent that we're serious,'' said Thomas Nee, president of the Boston Police Patrolmen's Association, which has been operating without a contract for two years. ''Solidarity is alive and well in Boston.''
Talks between the city and the 1,400-member police union broke down on Monday, with each side blaming the other for the impasse.
About 30 members of the police union began picketing at midnight. By midmorning the group had grown to around 300, with union firefighters, electricians and other trade workers joining police officers outside the busy commuter rail station.
Around 8:30 p.m., 18 trucks from Owens Movers arrived at the FleetCenter, only to return to their Everett terminal after seeing union members picketing outside the arena's truck entrance.
''We've been Teamsters for 43 years,'' said Ed Owens, the company president. ''We don't cross picket lines. Our guys were excited. It's the biggest move in Boston. It was disappointing.''
The delay in the FleetCenter's conversion from a sports arena to a convention center presents problems for DNC organizers, who may now be forced to hire nonunion workers an unthinkable prospect for a Democratic Party built on a foundation of organized labor.
Telecommunications workers have already said they won't cross the police pickets to install thousands of miles of telephone and data lines.
And on Monday night, the Greater Boston Labor Council overwhelmingly rejected a project labor agreement that promised no union strikes in exchange for an agreement from convention organizers to use only unionized labor on construction projects at the FleetCenter.
The dispute could also extend beyond the unions and to the party itself. The head of Maine's Democratic Party said Tuesday that she thinks her state's delegates many of whom are union members will refuse to cross the picket lines during the convention.
''The Maine Democratic Party has very close ties to organized labor,'' chairwoman Dottie Melanson said. ''A great many members of our delegation would absolutely not cross a picket line.''
Outside the convention site, union members handed out leaflets to commuters. Some held signs reading, ''Friends Don't Let Friends Cross Picket Lines.''
''It's an easy position,'' Jerry Leary, vice president of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 2222. ''This is what unionism is all about. Hopefully, it will show them that we're serious.''
Richard M. Rogers, head of the Greater Boston Labor Council, which represents 90,000 workers in 93 local unions, said he hopes the protests will convince other unions to boycott work on the convention site.
''The Democratic Party shouldn't be very happy with this,'' Rogers said.
The pickets are expected to continue until July 23, the Friday before the convention starts, or until there is an agreement, union officials said.
Rogers hoped the labor council's rejection of the labor agreement prompts renewed efforts to settle contract negotiations between the city and a number of employee unions, including police, firefighters, service workers and school bus drivers. Intervention from the Democratic Party itself may be needed, he said.
''If I'm head of the DNC, if I'm Terry McAuliffe, I'm thinking maybe it's time to get involved and push this process along,'' Rogers said. ''In my mind it sends a very strong message to the mayor that he needs to get back to the table and resolve this.''