Boy Scout 1, SEIU Minus 7

And that's the way it should be:

Allentown union official Nick Balzano has been a political punching bag all week because he threatened to file a grievance against the city for allowing a Boy Scout to clear a walking path in a city park.

Three days of taking body blows nationally from conservative pundits, a rebuke from the Lehigh Valley's congressman and even a lashing from his own union led Balzano to voluntarily resign his position Thursday as head of the local Service Employees International Union.

Balzano said he and seven other executive officers of the local SEIU stepped down.

''I am proud of the work I and the rest of the executive board have done over the years,'' he said.

He had ''nothing against Boy Scouts'' and was just ''trying to protect my jobs,'' said Balzano, who had served as union president for nearly a decade.

The controversy began last week when Balzano warned that the union may file a grievance against the city after officials allowed a local Boy Scout to clear a 1,000-foot walking path in Kimmets Lock Park.

"We'll be looking into the Cub Scout or Boy Scout who did the trails," Balzano said, and told council that given the layoffs of 39 union members, no one except union members may pick up a hoe or shovel, plant a flower or clear a walking path.

Kevin Anderson, 17, is doing the volunteer work to help earn the rank of Eagle Scout. He said he'd already toiled for more than 200 hours on the project, which he said will keep people from having to traverse a busy road.

Anderson could not be reached for comment Thursday.

Don't mess with an Eagle Scout candidate. Not only did he clean up a trail in the local park, but he took out the trash too.