A Misguided Ticket Blitz

A brief battle of the badges erupted when it appeared that Correction Officers Benevolent Association President Norman Seabrook was going to testify this week at the Patrolmen's Benevolent Association arbitration hearings.

Mr. Seabrook was due to appear not in support of his PBA counterpart, Pat Lynch, but as a witness for the Bloomberg administration. We would presume that among other topics covered, city officials wanted him to assure the arbitrators that if they granted a wage award that exceeded the already-established pattern for uniformed unions, he and other labor leaders would use the re-opener clauses in their contracts to try to make up the difference, further adding to the city's tab.

That Mr. Seabrook was prepared to be a management witness is a testament to the hard feelings that still exist between Mr. Lynch and some of his uniformed colleagues over the last PBA arbitration, which resulted in an award that forced them to cut starting salary and other benefits for their future members.

Mr. Seabrook had a change of heart late last week and opted not to appear before the panel. It is possible and even likely that he was influenced by what appears to have been a campaign by Police Officers to ticket Correction Officers in retaliation after a text message circulated through more than a few police commands falsely stating, "The Corrections PBA President testified against us at PERB saying we don't deserve a raise. No courtesy for COs as per the PBA. Hammer them."

Despite the "as per the PBA" notation, it is not certain that the message was authorized or approved by Mr. Lynch, and the misidentification of Mr. Seabrook's union gives the PBA leader what is called plausible deniability.

There is no question, however, that some cops responded with ticket blitzes for Correction Officers' cars. The tensions that resulted fueled one confrontation between cops and COs at the lower Manhattan booking facility at 100 Centre St. last Friday night that required the intervention of top NYPD officials.

Whether the ticket blitz was sanctioned by the PBA or not, we have to question the logic behind it. Undoubtedly there was some thought that squeezing his members would put pressure on Mr. Seabrook to back away from testifying. But if this sort of scorched-earth policy had been practiced by cops in higher ranks when Mr. Lynch's previous pay award made their contract bargaining more difficult, Police Officers would have been screwed and perhaps just as frustrated as the COs at 100 Centre St. were in what could have turned into an explosive situation.

That's why it is dangerously irresponsible for any group of employees, and/or their union, to use a beef with another union's leader as an excuse for dubious actions against those he or she represents.