October 7, 2008
By Boston Herald editorial staff | Tuesday, October 7, 2008 | http://www.bostonherald.com | Editorials
It is difficult to imagine any group more tone-deaf to the commonwealth’s current economic predicament than its public employee unions.
First we had the MBTA carmen’s union threatening a work “slow-down” if the penniless T didn’t immediately fork over back pay awarded by an arbitrator.
Delaying service - now that’s a winning formula to boost ridership and the T’s finances!
But when it comes to blissful ignorance of budget woes - not to mention public opinion - the top prize this week goes to the union cops who are so threatened by the potential loss of lucrative paid details, that they chased a couple of MWRA employees in Day-Glo vests away from projects in Everett and Revere on Friday.
They ought to be ashamed.
But of course, these guys specialize in shamelessness.
The Patrick administration’s new rules allowing civilians to direct traffic at construction sites went into effect on Friday, and the MWRA used that opportunity to start saving ratepayers a few bucks. The agency deployed a crew to a sewerage maintenance project in Everett - where they were confronted by a group of angry off-duty police officers. The crew decided to move on, and who could blame them.
At their next assignment in Revere 10 cops were lying in wait - munching on pizza in a private driveway - when the crew arrived. A Revere police captain called the project’s safety into question (“half-assed,” was his professional opinion) and refused to allow it to proceed.
What a coincidence - that police captain just happens to be the head of the city’s police union!
These incidents represent a grotesque abuse of power - power that is granted to these officers by the taxpayers whose wallets are the emptier for it. Any officer, on-duty or not, who interferes with a civilian safety team in the future ought to have his badge and gun taken away.
Meanwhile, the administration is sticking to its guns. Today it plans to deploy civilians on highway projects around the state and officials said they are prepared for protesters.
If those protesters interfere with the public’s business then someone should arrest them.
But who?
[Article URL: http://www.bostonherald.com/news/opinion/editorials/view.bg?articleid=1123872]
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