Arbitrator proposes settlement of Boston police dispute
BOSTON, Massachusetts (CNN) -- A state arbitrator has proposed a settlement of a thorny pay dispute between the city of Boston and its police union, which had raised the specter of picketing at next week's Democratic National Convention.
Mayor Thomas Menino told CNN's Judy Woodruff that he would accept the arbitrator's ruling, which calls for a 14.5 percent pay increase over four years, and submit it to the city council for approval later Thursday.
"It's a little bit more than I thought they would get, but I agreed to live by the arbitration decision," Menino said. "To my mind, it's resolved."
There was no immediate word from the police union on whether it would accept the decision.
The city had been offering a 12 percent pay increase over the next four years, while the police union had pushed for 17.5 percent.
The union had been threatening to put up informational pickets at the convention, which could have forced Democratic officials and delegates to cross a picket line to get into the Fleet Center where the Democratic convention will be held. A number of officials sympathetic to organized labor said they would not cross a picket line.
Union officials who objected to arbitration have said they still might picket the convention.
