FOR THE RECORD

NYPD Rant, the message board that offers a glimpse into what the "Mike and the Mad Dog Show" might be if it focused on the Police Department instead of sports, offered a lengthy string of impolite comments about the re-opener clause in the Uniformed Firefighters' Association contract last week.

Presumably most of the sentiments, which were heavily anti-firefighter and anti-Bloomberg, won't be featured in the Patrolmen's Benevolent Association's administrative challenge to the reopener, although key sections of the union's 1991 arbitration case could have come straight off the Rant board if it had existed then.

One poster wrote, "The City and rubber [meaning the fire union] are conspiring to hold down the salaries of Cops. Rubber has [bleeped] our contracts for decades."

Four minutes later, seized by a burst of inspiration, this poster followed up, "The City should get rid of them and get Vollies."

Another poster chimed in that "a City of this size would be ill-served by an all volunteer fire department though I wouldn't have a problem with seeing more volunteer companies in service."

Then there was the optimist about the PBA's arbitration case who wrote, "I just hope after the PBA obtains its 5+%s, the other unions file motions in [the Public Employment Relations Board] regarding said clauses quickly before Bloomberg has a chance to exit."

One poster seemed a bit confused about the body handling the PBA arbitration, writing that he was thankful that "we can go to PERP. We know we are undercompensated for the work we do and the conditions we work under and can risk PERP."

Perhaps that last assessment was the one that prompted another poster to question the overall logic on the topic, stating, "I am sure there is a Bloomy aid reading all this and laughing all the way to the bank."

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The State AFL-CIO has added a new term to the political lexicon, dubbing U.S. Sen. Hillary Clinton its "Favorite Sister" in a resolution urging the National AFL-CIO to consider her strongly when it makes an endorsement for President.

In taking that step, the state federation cited her "extraordinary body of work on behalf of the cause, values and principles of organized labor."

The resolution mentioned her support of an increase in the minimum wage, the Employee Free Choice Act and the Family Medical Leave Expansion Act among her key stands on national issues,

Closer to home, it identified her advocacy for the World Trade Center Medical Monitoring Health Care program and support for card-check recognition for local workers seeking to unionize.

The cliché for supporting local candidates is "favorite son," but the resolution stated that since unionists refer to each other as "brother" and "sister," it made sense to extend that terminology to Senator Clinton.

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Local 1320 of District Council 37, which represents the city's Sewage Treatment Workers, marks its 50th anniversary this year.

In 1957, men working in the plants made $2.30 per hour, with veterans raking in $2.37. The 140 staffers worked a 48-hour week and got no paid overtime or holidays, including Christmas. Local officials had to press the city for better safety measures after two men were killed that October in the newly constructed Bowery Bay Interceptor Sewer.

The plants, including the one at Wards Island, were not well-protected from external problems either. "During the big blackout in '65," then-President John Toto told The Chief in a 1983 interview, "the flooding was so bad that guys were going in here in row boats."

Two years later, the local signed its first written agreement with the city, which covered seniority and transfers, and set pay at $4.40 an hour.

In 1971, sewage workers effectively closed down the treatment plants, playing a key role in a strike by many blue-collar city workers, which left the city's draw bridges open for the morning rush hour.

The 1990s brought battles with former Mayor Rudy Giuliani over privatizing work and keeping wages flat. Scores of Local 1320 members helped out with recovery work at Ground Zero after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. A booklet detailing Local 1320's history from 1957 through 2007, much of it written by Mr. Toto, is now available from the union.