Mayor James Sottile claims that city residents are feeling intimidated by police officers who are asking for signatures on petitions that oppose police department layoffs.
Union members of the Police Benevolent Association are going door to door to explain to residents that cuts to the police force will adversely affect the ability of their peers to protect the people of Kingston.
The blatantly anti-union Sottile, who always seems to relish having issues with unions in general, runs to the paper and claims there is intimidation going on.
Mayor Sottile is the perfect example of why local political endorsements and decisions by Organized Labor CANNOT BE MADE STRICTLY BY PARTY AFFILIATION. He is the poster boy for that as an ANTI-UNION DEMOCRAT.
This is an EXAMPLE OF WHY many union political funds WILL NOT SUPPORT THE DEMOCRATIC COMITTEE. We wouldn't want any of our HARD EARNED dollars supporting another anti-union candidate through the DEM pipeline.
Sottile stated that “My office has received calls that people felt intimated to sign a petition, and that is a wrong tactic to take.” What he doesn't say is that there is ALSO MUCH SUPPORT FOR THE POLICE.
He is trying to spin this his way because he is against unions in general and it is now the police unions turn in his barrel.
He also said he hopes members of the Police Benevolent Association are not pressuring people into signing. Cut it out Mayor. Just say you hate the unions because they give their members a voice that you have to listen to. They prevent you from being a little Hitler.
The Police Benevolent Association absolutely denies that ANYONE has or would intimidate a resident and if they come upon a resident who does not want to sign they thank them and move on. Remember- they protect the people. It is ridiculous to even say that they have intimidated one of the residents.
So kiddies, when you recieve your union endorsements in the mail and you see a larger mix of Republicans and Democrats - you will understand why we ENDORSE THE PERSON AND NOT THE PARTY. Sometimes even a Donkey turns out to be a pig or a nasty elephant.
8 comments:
The mayor's comments in the paper today are stunningly awful. He's claiming that the same people charged with protecting the citizens of Kingston are also somehow strongarming them to sign a petition?...WOW!!!!
The people of Kingston are eagerly and happily signing the PBA's petition.
On a side note, I truly believe that the good people who live in the City of Kingston would be just as eager to sign a petition supporting their family members, neighbors, and friends who are CSEA members. Please try it Bart, please!!!
If you read between the lines of today's Freeman article, it's obvious to me that the mayor has already lost this arguement with the PBA. It's only a matter of time before the cuts the mayor proposed to the Kingston Police budget are restored.
This Mayor is as anti-union as any official can be... his incompetence has hurt the city of kingston that will feel the effects long after that fat asshole is gone! He is hurting his own Party everytime he pulls stupid shit that is aimed at hurting the unions.
Sensitivity to the needs of working people has never been a republican or democrat trait. The only reason democrats keep getting union endorsements is because the national democratic party has done a better job at courting national union leaders.
Politicians will only be pro-union as long as they don't have to negotiate on the management side. Sottile is a perfect example.
The question working people have to ask is what is better for labor? Democrats who raise taxes and destroy jobs? Or republicans who cut taxes, grow the economy and create more jobs?
When you get to the point where you have more jobs than people who want them, wages go up. Supply and demand works just as well in the job market as in any other economic sector. It's pretty clear that, long term, republicans do more for the needs of working people than democrats. And they do it without incompetent bureaucrats making up irrelevant rules.
It is unfortunate that the democratic council has done nothing to check this out- of- control Mayor. They claim he is a problem , yet aldermens Reynolds, Hoffay, Madsen, Landi do very little to oppose his counterproductive activities in kingston.
The same goes for the mayor's boy, new superintendent Mike Schupp.That asshole was brought in from as far away as Highland to do the Mayor's bidding. He too is an ex-alderman, a democrat that was CLEARLY hired because of his friendship with Sottile. He too is an anti-union dept. head despite the fact that he claims to be other wise. He is off to a terrible start, bumping heads with union leaders and implamenting his bogus "restructuring" plan for DPW. I have observed him in the field and he is fucking cluless.
Lumpy Sottile tries to intimidate everyone. Only problem the unions are not intimidated anymore, except the firemen. The only ones he can intimidate now are women, and even they are kicking his ass now.
To 12:00.. Bring on the Republicans. Time for a new city council. It would seem that the Democrats who switched to be the Republican candidates have seen the light!! And it is telling when the CSEA endorsed more Republicans than Democrats.
We understand that times are very bad right now and there are issues with every budget in every city and town. We know that jobs willbe lost and people will be hurt.
But - Please don't be under the misconception that the Mayor was called "anti union" just because of the stint work issue.
It is every issue that has to do with working people that he is on the wrong side of. He has a long and shitty history when it comes to not being fair pertaining working peoples issues.
Just flew into town, huh?
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