``No contract, no work!'' the crowd chanted as it marched through lower Manhattan. The demonstration was the latest in a series of protests by the Patrolmen's Benevolent Association and the Uniformed Firefighters Association in their labor dispute with the city.
``What you're seeing here is the frustration of the New York City PBA and UFA,'' said Patrick Lynch, head of the police union. ``The firefighters and police officers of this city are tired of accepting zeros (for pay raises), and they're tired of being disrespected by City Hall.''
Several in the crowds waved signs: ``If you can't pay us what we're worth, at least pay us what's fair,'' read one, while another announced, ``We can't afford to live in the city we protect.''
The demonstrators, who marched without incident, hung their signs on the fence around City Hall before departing. Bloomberg, speaking to reporters after the demonstration, urged both unions to focus on the bargaining table rather than public demonstrations.
``This policy of following me around and yelling and screaming is counterproductive,'' Bloomberg said. ``There's no way we can allow that type of behavior to set labor policy.''
Leaders of the unions for firefighters and police have threatened to picket parties for the delegates at next month's Republican National Convention. Contracts with the two unions expired in July 2002, and union leaders are pressing for a resolution.
The unions seek higher wage hikes than those recently ratified by the city's largest municipal labor union, District Council 37. Their contract provided 3 percent annual wage hikes, along with $1,000 cash payments in return for money-saving changes in work rules and other operational savings.
The Bloomberg administration cited that contract as a model for negotiations with other unions, and the mayor encouraged both unions to generate cash for their contracts through ``productivity savings.'' Union officials said there was more involved.
``All city workers deserve a fair contract, but we also deserve respect,'' said UFA President Stephen Cassidy. ``We want the city to negotiate fairly, or go to arbitration.''
Among the demonstrators was James Stewart, 38, an 18-year veteran of the NYPD. With retroactive contracts and negotiations that routinely ignore expiration dates, ``I've been working without a contract for most of my career,'' he said.
