Mayor's Ball is On. Will Unions Back Down?

As a Fundamental Doctrine of the Faith, honoring a union picket line, for the Democratic Party, is on a par with the Immaculate Conception in the Roman Catholic Church.

So it will be interesting to see what happens this Saturday at the Mayor's Ball, the Monroe County Democratic Party's principal annual fundraiser.   The Genesee Valley Labor Federation, on behalf of the teachers union and other unions, has said it will boycott and picket the event.   The unions are unhappy with Mayor Duffy's proposal to take control of the City schools, and of Democratic Chairman Joe Morelle's support of the Mayor's plan.

Last week we wondered whether the union picket would force cancellation of the Mayor's Ball.   Would our local politicos have two balls this year -- the Democratic Mayor's Ball and the Republican County Exec's Ball -- or just one?

The Mayor's Ball is a go.   Apparently they're laying on some security in case there's trouble.   We don't think there will be.   We think the unions will punt.

It's easy for the unions to punt and save face.   If they picket outside the main doors of the Convention Center on Main Street, nobody has to cross anything.   People going to these big events at the Convention Center don't enter through the street-level doors.   They enter from the parking garage next door.   It connects to the Convention Center by an enclosed pedestrian bridge across South Avenue.

So unless the unions are planning to picket the entrances to the South Avenue Garage, they'll be putting on a show by the front doors on Main Street that doesn't make anybody cross a picket line.

Which makes sense, because it's not in their interest to interfere with their own party's big fundraiser.