Nothing annoys me more than people who are willing to disrupt traffic to make their own political statement. On the TV news we see shots of Boston cops and firemen mugging inanely for the cameras, while they carry signs declaiming the lack of a contract. They are threatening to prevent work on the Fleet Center to get ready for the DNC in July if they don't get satisfaction.
Mayor Menino says he has offered over 11% in pay raises. This is apparently not enough for the municipal Patrolmen's Association extortionators. They are picketing even though they are too cowardly to actually go on strike themselves. (Ronald Regan set the very effective precedent as to how you deal with municipal employees who strike.) So instead of laying their jobs on the line, they intimidate electricians and truck drivers to risk their jobs. They call it solidarity, but it is really blackmail.
Don't get me wrong, I am not anti-union. I just think that the union should only exist to protect the workers from being exploited by rapacious management - not to blackmail the citizenry for unreasonable pay raises and benefits.
If I was emperor the rule would be: People who are unhappy with the working conditions do not have the right to block traffic or to harrass others. Shut up and get back to work, or quit and make room for someone who wants to work.
Funny how quickly the Hero status of Cops and Firemen fades when you see them, just like the rest of us, greedy and selfish.
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