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June 16, 2010
Dirty rats
Giant Rat on 5th Avenue, originally uploaded by korobokkuru.
I was out at court in Wheaton yesterday, and as I puttered back to the Loop on Roosevelt Road, I saw a couple of guys in lawn chairs sitting next to a giant inflatable rat. Ah yes, the international symbol of non-union work sites, meant to bring shame to an employer who doesn't hire union workers.
I can only assume the men in lawn chairs were union men, letting the miscreants at the job site know exactly what they thought about them. For me, I never could get behind a protest where the protesters are sitting down. A protest conjures images of angry, passionate people. Angry, passionate people do not sit in fabric chairs they got for opening a checking account. With a cupholder! Obviously people who can't walk or stand for long will want to protest, too, but two guys in lawn chairs is hardly an angry mob. I really think they'll need something better to truly stoke the flames. You'd think two union electricians, or carpenters, or whatever they were would be more physically capable.
Now, I see these things on a fairly regular basis, and it leads me to wonder: where do these rats come from? Is there a company that makes and sells inflatable rats? How much to these cost? Do unions have a stockpile of inflatable rats they keep just for these occasions? Do they borrow from each other?
entry no. 1474
Posted at June 16, 2010 04:47 PM