Giant Rats
I walk in front this fancy downtown hotel on my way to work everyday. Over the past month, there has been a labor strike going on the sidewalk in front of the entrance. I'm not certain, but I don't think it has anything to do with the hotel. My guess, is that it's probably in conjunction with the construction of the Trump Tower across the river.

The first day I saw this little scene was a few weeks ago during an especially brutal cold snap. Two union guys were walking clad in work overalls, Carthartt coats, and sign/apron thing with "ON STRIKE" printed on them in red letters. Underneath this was written "Demolition Contractors" in black marker.

The "picketers" were shivering and pacing in front of the hotel with the hands in their pockets (which they couldn't do if they had the old fashioned picket signs.)

Also pacing with them was a guy dressed in a dark gray rat outfit that made him look like a malevolent college mascot. Even though the suit seemed heavy, he was clearly freezing.

I could be missing the point here but my best guess is that he was supposed to represent the management "rats" who are treating the workers poorly. But if the rat was supposed to represent "the man", why was he marching lockstep with the union guys? Maybe it's something else, managament was so bad that even the rats were marching in protest. Maybe there was some tie-in with demolition of buildings and a rodent problem. "I will implode buildings for you, Mr. Trump, but I will not kill innocent rats in the process."

I could be reading too deeply in the "meaning" of this gesture. It's main motive is to probably get peoples attention.

That same day during lunch, I saw the guy dressed in the rat suit with the rodent head off. He was clearly suffering from the cold and was drinking hot coffee. His two associates were huddled around him and seemed to be discussing the merits of using a vermin costume to get their point across.

Next day, the rat guy was gone and it was just two guys marching up and down with their signs. He must have simply got fed up with wearing it.

I also thought that maybe renting a rat suit just too expensive. This notion was disabused a few days later as I saw the two guys putting the finishing touches on a six-foot tall rat that was inflated by a gas generator. It was right in front of the hotel-- greeting hotel patrons who by the cab stand.

You could say it's ironic that a union who stands up for the rights of individual workers would replace a able-bodied worker with an inflatable rodent during a strike. Just a thought.

I don't know where they get these inflatable rats (Are they exclusively for strikes? Who else would need them?) but then a few days later: an even larger inflatable rat with it's own generator was installed next to the first one. It was roughly twice as big. This is sending a loud and clear message to the union: "if you don't meet our demands; there is no telling how large of a inflatable rat we will get!"

They have clearly raised the stakes. Will managment cave? I will try to keep you posted.