Local 2870 of the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America is concerned.
"Our rats are tucked away in storage," reported William Peters, an organizer with the local. "We probably have four or five on hand." He said the rat was a turnoff from the point of view of the general public. "As soon as they saw the rat, they'd throw their hands up. They don't want to know what the problem is."
So the men (they're all men on Local 2870's picket line) have resorted to an even more attention-getting—and some might argue obnoxious—tactic to draw attention to their targets' infamy: They show up at job sites and blow whistles for two hours straight.
I first encountered them a couple of weeks ago in front of a building on Park Avenue in the 80s, where they claimed a dentist moving into a ground-floor office was using a contractor who was paying below area standards. "Gotta love the First Amendment," Mr. Peters shouted over the deafening decibels of his workers' whistles, audible blocks away.
According to the union organizer, the tactic was first employed by their brethren in the Southwest, and only made it to the New York metropolitan area a few months ago. He said it's already showing success. "So far we've turned 23 jobs in the short time we've been doing it," Mr. Peters boasted.
I asked him whether he had any concern about his workers' hearing. I'd been at the rally only five minutes and was starting to lose mine. "We give earplugs to all our members," he explained. "Carpenters are very safety-conscious."
City residents, who haven't been supplied with earplugs, may not be instantly charmed. But, Mr. Peters said, those who take the time to ask what the commotion's about learn the Carpenters' cause is righteous. "If it's going to get attention and make a person listen and stop for a second, why not?" said Sharon Barr, who was waiting for a bus on Friday morning steps away from the protest in front of an Urban Outfitters under construction on Third Avenue between 85th and 86th streets. Local 2870 contends the clothing chain is using a subcontractor that is paying below union wages and no health benefits.
Indeed, the super at that Park Avenue address said that he sympathized with the protesters, being a union man himself. "You guys have to do what you have to do," he told them diplomatically. But he also told me, "I don't understand their protesting in front of the building. The dentist is around the corner."
Remember "The Rat," that giant, inglorious inflatable rodent who appeared at construction sites throughout the city to taunt and humiliate companies that were using nonunion labor? Well, the rat is deflated, deceased. Gone. Finished. Kaput. At least as far as
good for them. down with the rat.
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