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NEW YORK, NY August 12, 2004 —In New York , labor tensions are reaching the boiling point between Mayor Michael Bloomberg and the city's police and firefighters. Their unions have been without a contract for two years. With the Republican National Convention opening at the end of the month, police and firefighters are doing all they can to get attention. Beth Fertig of member station WNYC reports.

It's a scene that's become familiar in recent weeks. Mayor Michael Bloomberg shows up for some speaking engagement at a community group, and he's greeted by a noisy crowd of police and firefighters.

PROTESTERS: The mayor said never forget. Already forgotten! The commissioner said never forget. Already forgotten!

The unions aren't shy about reminding the mayor of their sacrifices during the September 11 th attacks, as they chant for higher pay. Police officer Joseph Abbruzzese is among a group of regulars who protest during their off-hours.

ABBRUZZESE: We don't only police the city for crime we have the terrorism threat, the guys are working their days off every week to provide for this because we need to.

Police and firefighters are hinting these protests are just the tip of the iceberg. With the Republican National Convention just around the corner, union leaders say they won't rule out anything - including sickouts or even a strike, which is illegal under state law. Stephen Cassidy is president of the city's Uniformed Firefighters Association.

CASSIDY: The level of frustration among firefighters and police officers is so high, I can't account for what might happen. We protect these citizens every day, we take this job seriously. We're without a contract for 2 years. Who else risk their lives without having a contract for 2 years? The answer is no one.

The unions have taken out ads in local newspapers and the Washington Post, showing their members in the rubble of the World Trade Center . But while aides to the mayor are fuming behind the scenes, publicly Bloomberg says he isn't rattled.

BLOOMBERG: Anybody that thinks that there is pressure on the administration because the convention is coming just doesn't seem to understand what New York 's all about. The only pressure that exists here is that I think it's in the interest of the municipal workforce of this city to negotiate contracts so they can get the maximum raises that we can come up with.

Bloomberg says the city is offering firefighters and police about 8 percent over three years, a package that includes longer work days and a thousand dollar lump sum payment. Other city workers accepted a similar deal. But the police and firefighters say they deserve a bigger raise because of the risks of their jobs. They also say their starting salaries - which are less than 40 thousand dollars before overtime- are lower than what they can make in nearby suburbs.

In Boston , police and firefighters used the threat of pickets to settle their contract disputes right before last month's Democratic National Convention. Delegations from several big labor states even pledged in advance not to cross any picket lines. The New York unions have sent letters to all the Republican delegations saying they'd rather be inside the convention supporting the President than outside protesting the Republican mayor. But it's not clear if that strategy will work. Matt Davis is a spokesman for the Michigan Republican Party.