"Labor Disputes Loom Over GOP Convention"

[GreenPartyVoter]

NEW YORK (AP) - The Republican National Convention is more than three weeks away but an unlikely group of demonstrators has already turned up to protest: off-duty police officers and firefighters agitating for a new labor contract.

One officer outside Madison Square Garden held a sign that read: "Low pay (plus) fewer cops (plus) terrorism (equals) formula for disaster."

The demonstration last month was another reminder that a bitter labor dispute involving public safety unions could further cloud a convention already consumed by security concerns.

Delegates will arrive amid new warnings that terrorists have plotted to strike the New York Stock Exchange and other sites in Manhattan. But union officials say the heightened alert hasn't discouraged plans for off-duty protests.

http://apnews1.iwon.com/article/20040805/D8499V201.html

[NMDemDist2]

1. I think a few cops in the protesters is a good thing

it will give the protests some "gravitas" and keep things cooler

On duty cops won't kick ass on off duty cops

and you can be sure Bushco et al won't honor picket lines

[Sporadicus]

2. Scab Repugs Crossing Picket Lines

That's gonna go over like a lead balloon with organized labor.