The Seattle Police Officer’s Guild has paid $6,000 for advertisements on 12 Metro buses that will call attention to the stalemate they are at with City Council over their contract negotiations. “The ad, unveiled Thursday, points out that Seattle’s City Council is one of the highest-paid in the country, while its officers have no contract. It also declares, “There are fewer officers protecting you than in the 1970s [PI].”" The officers have been without a contract for 10 months.

It seems that they say that the city doesn’t offer enough wage and benefit incentives to bring in enough new recruits and keep veterans around, although the council points out that they added 30 more officers in 2005 than the mayor proposed. The guild has taken out these ads as a way of expressing their frustration, as public safety employees aren’t allowed to strike, and the details of the negotiations are not available to the public.

What I want to know is, has anyone seen one? Does complaining on the sides of public transit help their cause or hurt it?