Boston Labor Case Sent to Arbitration

City-Police Dispute Has Clouded Convention

BOSTON, July 19 -- Seeking to prevent a dispute between the city and its police union from disrupting the Democratic National Convention, government mediators voted unanimously Monday to send the case to binding arbitration and called for a ruling to be made by Thursday afternoon, four days before the convention begins.

An arbitrator's decision could render moot one of the union's major grievances -- that it has been working without a contract for two years. The proposal was backed by a union representative to the Joint Labor-Management Committee, signaling a split in the labor movement over how the dispute should be resolved.

"I'm delighted. We finally have a decision," said Merita Hopkins, an attorney for the city. "We're ready to go to the table, and I think we can get the job done by Thursday."

But the president of the Boston Police Patrolmen's Association (BPPA), which along with a local firefighters union said it will picket city-sponsored welcoming receptions and called for a walkout when Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino (D) addresses the convention, said the decision left insufficient time to prepare its case.

"This is a political scandal," said BPPA President Thomas J. Nee, adding that the picket lines, which at least six state delegations said last week they will not cross, will be "worse now than before" and that the union would reconsider its pledge not to picket outside the FleetCenter, where the convention will be held.

The push for settlement came with time running out on those who hoped the long-simmering stalemate might be broken before the convention opens July 26. Menino and Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney (R) had argued that picketing by emergency personnel would compromise security.

With the nation on heightened alert, security will be extremely tight in Boston next week, and in New York a month later, when Republicans hold their convention. A federal judge Monday ruled that New York police cannot arbitrarily close streets, set up metal pens and search protesters' bags, and that these policies are probably unconstitutional.

U.S. District Court Judge Robert W. Sweet held that random searches at political demonstrations discourage free speech and that the police department "has not shown that the invasion of personal privacy entailed by the bad search policy" is justified. But Sweet added that terrorist threats surrounding the convention would allow police to carry out searches based on specific intelligence about a pending attack.

Sweet's decision came as New York Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg (R) faces off with organizers of several massive rallies planned during the Republican convention. Organizers had demanded use of Central Park, which the city denied.

Monday, however, leaders of United for Peace and Justice, said they would consider the city's offer to hold their rally on the West Side Highway. But the organization's director, Leslie Cagan, said that the city has backed away from the negotiating table and has refused to discuss any of the logistics until the group agrees to the site.

In Boston, hope for a settlement of the labor standoff had all but faded last week when mediators rejected a plea from Menino for speedy arbitration. But Romney replaced the committee's temporary chairman, hoping to move the process forward.

On Monday Paul J. Birks, a committee member and representative of the International Brotherhood of Police Officers (IBPO), who had earlier said he opposed immediate arbitration, gave his backing to the proposal. "After two years without a contract and with a national security event looming, it is time to force both parties to act responsibly," he said.

Birks's change of heart, which was endorsed by IBPO President David Holway, was the first sign of division among national labor leaders, who have publicly stood beside the Boston unions, while hoping for a settlement that would avoid any embarrassment for a party closely aligned with organized labor. A statement from the AFL-CIO, a federation of unions including both the BPPA and the IBPO, strongly denounced the arbitration decision.

"We think its outrageous that the police are being railroaded by the city and the governor," said Suzanne Ffolkes, a spokeswoman for the AFL-CIO. "This is not a responsible way to settle a contract."

Police are pushing for a raise of 17 percent over four years; the city has offered 11.9 percent. Last week, the unions wrote to convention delegates asking them to boycott picketed events. Over the weekend, Menino and the city's host committee wrote their own letters asking delegates to participate fully.

At least one of the state delegations, North Dakota, which had said it would honor the picket line, is reconsidering. But Art Torres, chairman of the California Democratic Party, said he still planned to encourage his delegation to walk out at the start of Menino's Monday night speech and to boycott any functions hosted by the city. "Whether they are forced to sign a contract or not doesn't mean that it is fair," he said.

Staff writer Michael Powell in New York contributed to this report.