Edward A. Kelly proved his mettle long ago as a fighter, an in-your-face, with-me-or-against-me warrior who is Dorchester to the core.
And fight Kelly has since 2005, when, at 31, he became one of the youngest union presidents in the history of the Boston Fire Department. Fighting a series of scandals, from bogus disability claims to drug and alcohol use. Fighting perceived smears in the media. Fighting the reelection of Mayor Thomas M. Menino. Fighting, for better or worse, for respect for his firefighters.
This afternoon, when he goes before the City Council, Kelly faces what may be his most difficult battle. He is pushing for approval of an arbitration award that grants firefighters five raises over the past four years, a period that saw the biggest economic collapse since the Great Depression. Mounting opposition has put passage of the contract in serious jeopardy. Kelly is being pressured to ease up and compromise.
“I’m confident that there is a way for him to come out of this as a victor,’’ said City Council president Michael P. Ross, who has promised to vote against the award unless Kelly offers a concession. “He has a real opportunity here to demonstrate the ability to be a true leader. Not just a union leader, but a true leader.’’
But Kelly, at least publicly, has not budged, leading the charge for what he describes as a “fair’’ award for firefighters who “played by the rules.’’ His tireless and unapologetic advocacy has made him the public face of a bitter four-year dispute, prompting a talk show host on Fox 25 to introduce him recently as perhaps the most hated man in Boston.
“Bring it on,’’ said Kelly, who did not respond to the Globe’s request for an interview. “I’m loved by my firefighters, and that’s what is important to me.’’
The 1,400 active members of his union, who have not had raises since 2005, seem to be firmly behind their leader, a man with the Boston Fire Department entwined with his heritage. Kelly — the son, grandson, nephew, and brother of firefighters — ran for reelection unopposed and won his fourth term last week as president of the International Association of Fire Fighters Local 718.
“One hundred percent of the union comes back to me and says, ‘Tell Ed to keep up the fight,’ ’’ said Rich Paris, Local 718’s vice president. “Eddie is standing strong on the ruling of the arbiter.’’
Kelly’s bluster may reinforce his public persona as an old-school union boss, but his confidence plays differently to people who know Kelly. They see a man willing to scrap and battle to the end for his brethren.
“I see the little glint in his eye. The little devil in his smile. To me, he’s still Eddie Kelly, my little quarterback from Dorchester,’’ said Bill Maradei, who coached him in football at Dom Savio High School in East Boston in the 1990s. “But if I were in a jam, if I were in a fight, I’d want Eddie Kelly on my side.’’
That absolute, unyielding attitude could come with a cost, though. If the council rejects the contract, bargaining with the Menino administration begins from scratch. Victories in the arbiter’s award would be moot.
Firefighters took a blow yesterday when the Boston Municipal Research Bureau released a report urging the City Council to reject the arbitration award, saying the cost going forward would be too great. The analysis by the watchdog group also confirmed the Menino administration’s assertions that the award would amount to an average pay increase of 19 percent; the union disputes that figure.
City officials anticipate a large crowd at this afternoon’s council hearing at City Hall, where the public is encouraged to offer comment. A prolabor rally been planned for noon at City Hall Plaza. A vote on the award is expected next week.
At 36, Kelly has jet black hair just starting to show flecks of gray, but he still answers to the childhood nickname “Edzo.’’ His Dorchester credentials run deep: He lives in St. Ann’s parish, is a familiar face at the Eire Pub, and has a father, Jack Kelly, who retired after 35 years in the fire department. He grew up tugging at his father’s bunker pants and sliding down the pole at his father’s firehouse.
“I’ve wanted to be a fireman for so long I don’t remember why I wanted to be a fireman,’’ Kelly told the Globe in 2005.
But before Kelly joined the department, he went to Dom Savio, a now-closed Catholic high school in East Boston. Kelly stood out as the character from Dorchester, a cocky kid who used a quick wit to build friendships with his classmates from East Boston.
“Ed was sort of like the galvanizing factor from the two sides of the city,’’ said Ed Silva, who played starting quarterback in 1991 ahead of Kelly. “Cordial, comical. He could make you laugh.’’
After high school, Kelly worked in demolition, joined the US Air Force, and served overseas. He fulfilled his childhood wish on Oct. 29, 1997, when he was hired as a Boston firefighter and assigned to Ladder 17 in Park Square. He joined Local 718’s executive board and in 2005 ran a long-shot bid for union president, unseating an incumbent with a firehouse-by-firehouse campaign fueled by youthful energy and his affable Dorchester demeanor.
Kelly remains assigned to Ladder 17, but as part of the contract works full-time as union president. He earned roughly $107,000 last year, which included about $77,000 from the city and $30,000 from the union, according to payroll data and financial filings.
Over his five-year reign, Kelly has grown on the job, union members and other labor leaders said, mastering the minutiae of the issues firefighters face and stepping comfortably into a hot spotlight.
“He certainly has had a baptism by fire as a young union leader,’’ said Rich Rogers, executive secretary treasurer of Greater Boston Labor Council.
Some say Kelly has mellowed slightly over time, backing away from his initial no-holds-barred style of diplomacy. City officials say, however, they have not noticed any significant softening of his hard edges, saying he gets angry quickly and can’t see past it.
“I think he’s been unfairly vilified,’’ said Brian Dasey, a 34-year-old firefighter from Dorchester. “The Eddie I know is a hard worker who would fight for his firefighters to the end. I wouldn’t want anybody else running the union right now. The fact that somebody would vigorously defend his membership and advocate for them and won’t budge, I don’t think equals thug.’’
“For his members, he’s doing a great job,’’ said Chris Costigan, 35, who played offensive center at Dom Savio. “But as a resident of Boston, I can see both sides with the way the economy is today.’