This has been going on for 35 years, since I was first elected. I was elected on a Saturday. On Sunday morning, two FBI agents were at the doorstep of the guy I beat, asking all kinds of questions about me. And they start pointing fingers at the guys from Local 91. Police officials in Niagara County hope the investigation helps them learn who is behind intimidation tactics that have caused at least one developer to surround his work sites with 8-foot fencing, barbed wire, armed guards and police dogs.
Unions have every right to picket, but it has to be done legally.
We've seen cases where people have been threatened or beaten up if they cross a picket line. These guys play rough. They even flattened the tires on one of my deputies' cars at a picket site out in Wilson. They threw metal 'stars' under his car while it was moving. The deputy could have been injured.