Menino douses union firestorm
12 January 2001
In battle, if you use your most powerful weapon and your opponent is still standing, you're in trouble.
That now may be the case with
Hundreds of firefighters set up a raucous and invective-filled picket line around Mayor Thomas Menino's State of the City speech Tuesday night. Their protest marked the culmination of weeks of mounting pressure, pressure that was designed to make the mayor cave to the union in its contract negotiations.
Many who have followed this mayor's administration predicted
that was exactly what would happen. They had seen it before. Earlier this year,
for example,
Undoubtedly, that's what the firefighters hoped for in this case. Sure enough, as the date of the speech approached, the administration restarted negotiations. The mayor on Monday personally sat down with John McKenna, head of the firefighters local. Yet again, it looked like the mayor would back off.
But he didn't.
As a consequence, firefighters swarmed around John Hancock Hall, blocking traffic, cursing and even spitting on any who dared enter. Twelve of the 13 members of the City Council - some snubbing the mayor, others just petrified of antagonizing the union - refused to attend. Menino and his wife, looking frightened (and probably for good reason), entered the building under a torrent of abuse.
For Menino, who has made the annual State of the City speech into a prime-time occasion that not only touts himself and but also showcases the city he leads, it must have been an acutely embarrassing moment.
And now what? A
few observations. First, Menino, having survived this trial by
firefighters, is in a much better negotiating position than he was before. He
took the worst that the union could dish out and still delivered a decent
speech. Moreover, the firefighters made few friends for themselves with their
boorish protest. One is reminded of the mistake made by the patrolmen's
union in 1993 when police officers handed out leaflets proclaiming
The second is that the mayor is fighting for the right issues.
A year ago, a commission chaired by former Public Safety Secretary Kathleen O'Toole issued a scathing report about the fire department, concluding it wasted millions of dollars through antiquated work rules and a cumbersome management structure. Moreover, the commission accused the department of an unresolved legacy of sexism and racism that has kept it a largely white, old-boy's network.
And while traditional matters such as compensation have been on the table in this round of contract negotiations, the sticking points have been over the issues the O'Toole Commission identified. The union argues its demonstration was a demand for respect for firefighters. Hardly. The real agenda here is to stop reform. That makes the behavior of the City Council even more disturbing. Indeed, the only councilor who showed up at the speech was Chuck Turner, one of the city's two African-American councilors, whose black constituents understand well just how archaic the department is.
Third observation: Menino's willingness to stand up to the firefighters is a welcome change. For years the mayor has enjoyed extraordinarily high popularity ratings. Yet the circumstances under which he has been willing to risk that political capital have been few. Plainly, this issue - and those close to the mayor say that he is particularly upset by the department's racism and sexism - is an exception. It would be good if there were more such exceptions.
Finally, it is impossible to look at this conflict without seeing it in a political context. This is an election year, after all. At first glance, that fact makes the mayor's refusal to bend to the firefighters all the more surprising. There's little question that Menino could have finessed issues such as the department's antiquated paid-leave policy, paying lip service to some tougher restrictions while leaving the underlying abuses untouched. That would have made his night a lot easier.
But Menino is a political animal. As such, he probably figures that his position on the firefighters plays to his long-term benefit. Menino's greatest danger as a candidate for another term is the almost inevitable malaise that settles like dust over long-term incumbents. By standing up to the union and by demonstrating his mettle as he walked through the picket lines, Menino is showing voters that, eight years into his administration, he still has fire in his belly.
Tuesday was a tough night for the mayor. Yet he endured. And having done so, he is probably the stronger for it.