Three. That's how many alcohol or disturbance-related incidents were reported in the Boston College area by Boston Police officers during the first two weekends of school - one fewer than in each of the past two years. So if the "new" policing policy has you worried, don't fret.
And if you happened to be one of the unlucky three, just think: at least you weren't arrested by a Teamster.
Earlier this year, Boston College's human resources department denied a request by the Boston College Police Association, the union that represents the 37 patrol officers in the BCPD, to join the house that Jimmy Hoffa built: the Teamsters Local 25 Union.
After filing 50 grievances with the University in late 2006 - which the BCPA would not elaborate on other than to say only one had been resolved thus far - the BCPA considered several unions, such as the International Brotherhood of Police Officers, which represents the University of Massachusetts police, among other campus police departments.
The BC officers eventually settled on a union known mainly for representing truck drivers and that had not previously represented any private police forces.
"The University keeps getting bigger and bigger, and we're just 37 people," said one officer and member of the BCPA, who asked not to be named. "We liked the way the Teamsters approached our situation."
But BC wasn't quite as enamored with the Teamsters approach. In a letter to the Teamsters dated Feb. 15, 2007, BC's Associate Vice President for Human Resources Bob Lewis pointed to Section 9(b)(3) of the National Labor Relations Act, which says that "guards" cannot be represented by an organization such as the Teamsters that also represents non-guards.
But under the federal law, BC could still voluntarily recognize the Teamsters. So, why not throw the patrolmen a bone?
The rationale is simple, if a bit of a stretch. Say that local DHL or UPS employees - both Teamsters members - got fed up with the huge number of Grey's Anatomy DVDs they had to deliver to BC students and decided to strike, burning effigies of Fr. Leahy in front of St. Ignatius Church.
This would leave the BCPD patrolmen in a pickle: good officers, and University employees, would ensure that campus business goes on as usual; good Teamsters would join in the picket line, leaving the campus to fend for itself.
"We're trying to avoid any conflict of interest," said Lewis, who represents the University in its negotiations with the BCPA and made the decision not to recognize the Teamsters. "[The officer's] job is to protect the University, and sometimes that can put them in a different position than what other members of the union want."
The BCPA is just one of two major unions on campus, the other being SEIU Local 615, a branch of the country's second-largest labor union (the Teamsters are the fourth-largest) that represents all of BC's facilities workers. There are also a handful of telephone operators represented by the Communications Workers of America. Lewis said that in his eight years at BC, no other group of workers had made a substantial effort to unionize.
The current contract between BC and the BCPA, which went into effect in June 2005, is up for renewal next May in a negotiation where the BCPA would like to have the Teamsters on its side of the table.
The agreement deals with everything from hourly wages (currently $20.65 for a patrolman with one year's experience) to a non-discrimination hiring policy (which does not, in its current version, include sexual orientation) to clothing allotments (BC will replace an officer's uniform boots or shoes each year, but not both).
One BCPA member insists that pay isn't the biggest issue, but that the officers are more interested in field training, manpower, and other issues related to an officer's work, but declined to give specifics.
BC probably won't budge on the Teamsters issue, but there could be some grumblings from both the BCPA and other workers possibly looking to unionize.
Until then, if you're looking to keep a party from getting busted, it might not hurt to stick a Teamsters sign in the window.
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