Mayor Brown nailed on Ports: a recipe for a one-term mayor.

I worked for the election of Mayor Brown, as did so many of my friends, many of whom are in the union movement. If this report is true, and a doubling of return has been demanded over a five year period, then Mayor Brown is substantially culpable for the escalation of what should have been a normal CEA negotiation into a contracting-out crisis.

Moreover, the transcript of the meeting makes it clear that Mayor Brown and his egg-breaking CEO are in cahoots on the "brinkmanship" model for the Ports - in employment relations terms a quite irresponsible model.

I write in all seriousness. Mayor Brown will forfeit a vast layer of his popular support if he is seen to continue on this track. This is a point of principle. He is, to all intents and purposes, condoning and encouraging union-bashing. If he wants to be re-elected, he should think again.