Posted on Aug 7, 2021
How A Beloved Giant Rat Won Free Speech Rights
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https://www.npr.org/2021/08/06/ [login to see] /how-a-beloved-giant-rat-won-free-speech-rights
Acy Wartsbaugh, an organizer from the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 150, and a couple of construction workers are protesting on a sidewalk in Chicago in late July. They're flanked by a 12-foot-tall inflatable rat named "Scabby." It has pointy teeth, red eyes and depictions of oozing, pus-filled scabs on its belly.
According to a recent decision from the National Labor Relations Board, this giant rat — and its brethren across the country — now have free speech rights, too. Giant inflatable rats have been used for decades as a widely recognized symbol of a labor dispute, but last year, the board signaled it could be persuaded to outlaw their use in certain situations.
Wartsbaugh's union, the Local 150, claims it invented Scabby to protest labor issues almost three decades ago. The term "scab" is slang used by unions to describe strikebreakers.
It started with a simple rat drawing on a protest sign. It elicited so many questions from passersby that the union started making rat costumes for members to scamper around in. The costumes were hot and impractical. So they commissioned giant inflatables, inspired by ones on used car lots surrounding the union hall.
Acy Wartsbaugh, an organizer from the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 150, and a couple of construction workers are protesting on a sidewalk in Chicago in late July. They're flanked by a 12-foot-tall inflatable rat named "Scabby." It has pointy teeth, red eyes and depictions of oozing, pus-filled scabs on its belly.
According to a recent decision from the National Labor Relations Board, this giant rat — and its brethren across the country — now have free speech rights, too. Giant inflatable rats have been used for decades as a widely recognized symbol of a labor dispute, but last year, the board signaled it could be persuaded to outlaw their use in certain situations.
Wartsbaugh's union, the Local 150, claims it invented Scabby to protest labor issues almost three decades ago. The term "scab" is slang used by unions to describe strikebreakers.
It started with a simple rat drawing on a protest sign. It elicited so many questions from passersby that the union started making rat costumes for members to scamper around in. The costumes were hot and impractical. So they commissioned giant inflatables, inspired by ones on used car lots surrounding the union hall.
How A Beloved Giant Rat Won Free Speech Rights
Posted from npr.org
Freedom of Speech
1st Amendment
Protest
Posted >1 y ago
Responses: 2
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PO1 William "Chip" Nagel,SGT (Join to see) Scabby the Rat has been deployed many times here in NYC
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PO1 William "Chip" Nagel
PO2 Bill Reardon From what I hear He is a Wounded Warrior, Veteran of Many Battles.
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PO2 Bill Reardon
PO1 William "Chip" Nagel he was used on a job by the Javits Ctr in the Hudson Yards new construction. The owner of the Dolphins was trying to use scans along side union members.
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PO1 William "Chip" Nagel
"Inflatable rat as "the iconic symbol of a labor dispute"
Wartsbaugh says his union members are proud of those scars. It's why they request this particular inflatable animal, even though the union also deploys inflatable cats and pigs. No matter the character, they have the same goal: to draw attention to a company with which the union has a dispute.
"It's the iconic symbol of a labor dispute," Wartsbaugh says. "When they see the rat, without even knowing what's going on, most people understand that it's a labor dispute."
But in this case, Scabby the Rat had been positioned in front of a business, LG Construction, that has little to do with the union's main dispute.
A banner in front of the rat shows the union's real issue is with an entirely different business called Brophy Excavation. The Local 150 wants to shame LG Construction for doing business with Brophy Excavation.
For years, firms have been crying foul about using giant inflatable animals in that way. They say it's unfair and puts them in the crossfire between the union and a totally different company."
"Inflatable rat as "the iconic symbol of a labor dispute"
Wartsbaugh says his union members are proud of those scars. It's why they request this particular inflatable animal, even though the union also deploys inflatable cats and pigs. No matter the character, they have the same goal: to draw attention to a company with which the union has a dispute.
"It's the iconic symbol of a labor dispute," Wartsbaugh says. "When they see the rat, without even knowing what's going on, most people understand that it's a labor dispute."
But in this case, Scabby the Rat had been positioned in front of a business, LG Construction, that has little to do with the union's main dispute.
A banner in front of the rat shows the union's real issue is with an entirely different business called Brophy Excavation. The Local 150 wants to shame LG Construction for doing business with Brophy Excavation.
For years, firms have been crying foul about using giant inflatable animals in that way. They say it's unfair and puts them in the crossfire between the union and a totally different company."
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