Rat Row 4 Favorite 

A fat cat, a pig wearing a top hat and five rats. All seven inflatables faced the 34th Street entrance of the Empire State Building last Thursday, two weeks into a protest by members of Laborers Local 79 who rallied, hundreds strong, in the afternoon shadow of the props.

The union members were there to voice their anger at Empire State Realty Trust, the holding company that manages the Empire State Building, whose officials, they say, have engaged in a lengthy pattern of hiring non-union contractors for various types of work within the building. According to Local 79 officials, the contractors pay their workers substandard wages and don’t provide them with similar benefits afforded union laborers.
Sean Mackell at the New York City AFL-CIO Central Labor Council reports the Empire State Realty Trust - the owners/operators of the iconic Empire State Building, claims to be "committed to a healthy, diverse and equitable workplace that actively promotes Employee growth and development and provides positive social impact for the well-being Employees, tenants, & the communities we serve." But if the Empire State Realty Trust is committed to the communities they serve, why have they now taken the stance of putting profits over people? Every Construction Worker working in their building should be paid a living wage so they can actually invest in the community, Union Officials say. Instead, the Empire State Realty Trust has adopted a practice of hiring sub-standard contractors to work in their buildings, a Building Trades Union says. These contractors don’t pay area standard wages and benefits that every Worker deserves, they contend. That’s why Members of Laborers Local 79 set up a row of inflatable Scabbies (the Rats and one Greedy Pig!) outside the building to let the public know how management is treating their Workers.

"We are here protesting the use of non-union general contractors and demolition contractors across the board,” said Oona Adams, the union’s organizing director, told The Chief-Leader. There are multiple “irresponsible” contractors hired by Empire State Realty Trust who “exploit labor at this building” and have done so for years, she said. Workers and union officials have been stationed outside of the iconic building with the inflatables since the new year’s first week and they’ve periodically held after-work rallies, turning out hundreds of union members to name and shame Empire State Realty Trust.