Posted on 10/09/2008 6:26:48 AM PDT by steve-b
About 50 off-duty police officers surrounded civilian flaggers directing traffic around a road project, heckling the workers as part of continued protests of the governor's new rules curbing paid police details at road projects.
"I hope you sleep at night," shouted Stoneham Patrolman Joe Ponzo at the workers in neon vests and hardhats. "You should be ashamed of yourself -- you're union. This is a travesty."
Off-duty officers from Arlington, Medford, Everett, and Woburn lined Lexington Street, a two-lane road where traffic backed up in both directions because of the protest. At one point, the workers for Mass. Highway had to stop cleaning catch basins because of the demonstration.
Several uniformed Woburn officers responded to the scene after one of the off-duty officers drove the wrong way between traffic cones, saying the civilian flagger sent him in the wrong direction.
New regulations enacted by Governor Deval Patrick allow the use of civilian flaggers at some road projects instead of paid police details. The administration estimates that the new policy will save the state between $5.7 million and $7.2 million.
Police union officials are angry over what they say was unfair treatment during the administration's drafting of the law. Last week, police union members protested two work sites, forcing state workers to abandon the projects on the first day under the new regulations.
(Excerpt) Read more at boston.com ...
I hate unions.
But this line confused me: “You should be ashamed of yourself — you’re union.”
LOL - perfect response.
Maybe they were explaining to her that only proper way to do the job was to be sitting in her car with Dunkin Donuts coffee in one hand and jelly cruller in the other.
As much as $40 an hour.
http://www.capecodonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080814/NEWS/808140329/-1/NEWS01
But Governor Patrick is a Dem.
The police are just made because they didn’t get what they paid for when they supported the governor.
$40 an hour for a job you could probably train a monkey to do. Even for Massachusetts, that’s a bit much.
Ha! Well stated...
ditto.
bad combo with police and sheriffs,
corruption.
Mass is the only state I’ve driven in that has a cop for every little bit of road maintenance. I always wondered why they need these high paid cops for the safety of the road workers. Here in NC we have no such thing. They guys put out some cones for traffic direction and that’s it.
As much respect I have for law enforcement, I have little sympathy for the cops losing their “easy money” duty, sitting in a car watching men work!
Then you probably don’t want to know how much the Mass Pike toll workers make.
Take it from a former MA resident. Cops in MA often make 6 figures. Every road project has a cruiser sitting there with a cop doing a crossword puzzle for mandated double pay. You can drive past them at 100. They wont move.
we got the unions protesting the unions filling union jobs with union labor....this is like a starbucks across the street from....a starbucks
After the Big Dig what’s a mere $40/hr.?
“As much respect I have for law enforcement, I have little sympathy for the cops losing their “easy money” duty, sitting in a car watching men work!”
Forgive my ignorance, but what’s to respect?
IIRC, the following are correct:
1. Cops neither can prevent crime nor are expected to
prevent crime. If a cop does not leave his donut to
stop a robbery, he can’t be sued or held liable in any
way.
2. The job description, according to the US Dept. of
Labor, is NOT even in the top 10 Most Dangerous Jobs.
3. Construction workers, lumber jacks, and commercial
fishermen daily take much more risks than does the
DoNut Muncher sitting in the patrol car, running the AC
while he contemplates the real risk takers sweating
outside.
If I have erred in any of the above, perhaps someone might provide such data to refute the above points.
I live a half mile from the site. Woburn has many many police officers who make over $100k, primarily from these “side” jobs. My father needed to have a backhoe dig a small hole in front of his house on a quiet side street for a plumbing job. The backhoe was there for 15 minutes. My father had to pay for a city required 4 hour minimum police detail at $90/hour.
The locals are not happy with Deval and I doubt he will get a second term. He is Obama lite.
The WO makes the Freerepublic.com site!!!!
As a union man himself, the highway worker should realize that eliminating another union's featherbed hurts all unions.
The policeman would make time and a half for the job that the highway worker is only getting paid regular time to do.
So you vote democrat?
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