In response to allegations that North Adams Mayor John Barrett forced a union representative looking for information about the city's health insurance company to leave City Hall, five unions are filing intimidation charges. The conflict stems from a disagreement between the Mayor and unions over the city's health insurances carrier. Union officials argue a new carrier would save money, but the Mayor claimed the opposite, indicating he would let any union member "see the real figures." This statement apparently led a union official to visit City Hall seeking those figures where she was told to leave as the Mayor threatened to call the police.
See "Unions in W. Mass city clash with mayor", Gabrielle T. Dunn, The Boston Globe, December 4, 2008