By Adam Pagnucco.
During my career of working on union organizing campaigns, one of our greatest (and most dreaded) allies was Scabby the Rat. Often depicted with razor-sharp claws, blood-dripping fangs and a looming posture poised to strike fleeing victims, the inflatable rat appeared at many picket lines to terrorize anti-union bosses. Scabby now has many rodent children located in cities across the U.S. and unions often share their services. (Believe me, it costs a lot to feed a 12-foot rat!)
The last time I remember Scabby coming to MoCo was in 2010, when UFCW Local 1994 MCGEO faced a raid by an independent union. MCGEO President Gino Renne discovered the raiding union meeting at a local hotel and summoned the rat to clear them out. (It’s hard to say whether Gino or the rat is the bigger intimidator!)
Scabby the Rat joining forces with MCGEO in 2010.
Now Scabby has been hired by UNITE HERE Local 25, which has been seeking a union contract at the county-owned Montgomery County Conference Center for a year. The union’s boycott of the facility provoked passage of county legislation mandating that the county require a labor peace agreement at the conference center as part its vendor operating contract. However, the law won’t take effect until the county negotiates a new contract with the operator (currently Marriott) and that may take several years.
Accordingly, UNITE HERE’s boycott continues and it has escalated its campaign by joining forces with Scabby. The giant rat has graced the union’s Facebook page as shown below.
Will Scabby prey upon unwitting conference goers? Or will the union get a deal with Marriott, thereby sending Scabby back to his dungeon to await his next opportunity to strike?