Whenever I am in the subway during a quiet part of the day or night, the rats that run along the rails always catch my eye...those are the "bad" rats. The good ones are the giant inflatable rats that sit outside various buildings around the city. In case you don't know, those rats are symbols that unions use to call out developers and other companies that refuse to hire union workers. Have you ever wondered who puts them up and how effective they are?
From The New York Times:
For eight years, Mr. Rynkiewicz, 37, has been a rat wrangler for Local 79. He was there when a rat was threatened with arrest. He was there when a rat was stabbed by a person opposed to the construction of a Staples store in Brooklyn.
“They gutted it,” he said, eyes downcast. “Right in the belly.”
Rats are the most ubiquitous tool of shame, but not the only one used by Mr. Rynkiewicz’s union. There is also a cigar-smoking pig, a gorilla and a skunk. The balloons are never left alone when on public display. Two union men, earning roughly $30 an hour, keep watch over them. Sandwich boards featuring quotes by Abraham Lincoln, George Washington or Gandhi are propped at the foot of the rat. Leaflets are distributed.
Local 79 came up with the idea of placing the balloons outside job sites 11 years ago. On Third Avenue, the rat loomed in front of offices belonging to Extell, one of the city’s larger developers. The union was upset that Extell was using nonunion workers to build extra office space on East 46th Street for the United Nations. Mr. Rynkiewicz said he received a call from Extell executives, who agreed to a meeting that afternoon. A week later, he said, it became a union job site. When contacted, Extell would not respond to questions about that site.
Just another day in the life of an inflatable rat.
|