The PBA will run this ad in a New Orleans newspaper to coincide with Mayor de Blasio's trip to the city Friday. (PBA)
The Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association will take its anti-de Blasio show on the road yet again — following him to New Orleans to troll him in person, in print and on billboards about their ongoing contract negotiations.
The union is taking out a full-page ad in Friday’s edition of the New Orleans Times-Picayune featuring Mayor de Blasio wearing a Mardi Gras hat and cuddled up in bed, union officials told the News. The same message will be emblazoned on mobile billboards that’ll circle the Netroots Nation conference Hizzoner is attending.
"NYC police officers are 365 days out of contract…because Mayor de Blasio has checked out of running NYC and checked into a NEW ORLEANS hotel,” the ads read. “Mayor de Blasio… WAKE UP & DO YOUR JOB! Pay NYC cops fairly NOW!”
The union has employed similar tactics before — it followed de Blasio to Iowa in December, where it demonstrated against him outside a speech he delivered and crashed his hotel. This time, they’ll also reach out to attendees of the conference on Twitter with messages about their contract fight.
The PBA, which represents rank-and-file cops, has been without a contract for a year and on Wednesday took to the steps of City Hall to demonstrate. They have previously balked at accepting the same contract deal other municipal unions got — and in 2015 went to arbitration rather than accept it, only to wind up with the same deal in the end.
The union and city did agree in January 2017 to a 2.25% increase for the neighborhood policing program. That deal covered years 2012 through 2017. They next sat down at the bargaining table in April 2017, but talks have stalled.