The Arrogance of Boston area Police and Firefighter Unions

Even though unions are dying throughout the country, they are alive and well here in Eastern MA. These 2 items were in today's paper.

1. The Union representing the Framingham MA police department is angry because they were denied a 1.2% pay increase by the city council. The reason for the increase? To settle a grievance filed by the union because police officers are now required to file all police reports on the computer. The raise was to compensate the union members for being "forced" to use the computer. http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2008/07/10/saying_police_stipend_doesnt_compute_voters_scuttle_framingham_settlement/
2. A Boston Firefighter suffered a back injury in March and was requesting disability retirement (a tax free benefit for firefighters in MA). A few months later, he finished 8th in a national bodybuilding competition. http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2008/07/14/on_injury_leave_firefighter_stood_out_as_bodybuilder/

It takes some really big balls to to rip off the tax payers like this, especially with the current economy.