The striking workers of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette got a visit Friday from a furry friend.
Scabby the inflatable rat came down to the North Shore picket line, where striking workers inflated him just outside the PG newsroom.
For decades, inflatable cartoon rats have been a symbol used by unions to protest employers’ use of nonunion workers during labor disputes. Scabby was created in 1990 by a Chicago bricklayers union and gets his name from the term “scab,” sometimes used to describe workers who cross picket lines.
The version of Scabby that arrived at the picket line Friday sits atop a large wedge of cheese and wears a shirt that reads, “This rat’s not for you!”
Despite snow squalls that swept across the region, Newspaper Guild of Pittsburgh members were able to inflate Scabby on the sidewalk Friday afternoon.
Scabby is expected to make an appearance Saturday when guild members, union allies and members of the community leaflet outside the wedding reception of PG publisher John Robinson Block.
That event was previewed Friday by the Pittsburgh Independent, which interviewed guild PG unit chair Andrew Goldstein.
“Until [the Blocks] come to the bargaining table in good faith, we’re prepared to make sure that they know while we’re out here in the cold in the street, they can no longer sit at home in their warm homes and feel comfortable,” Goldstein told the Independent.
Meanwhile, striking workers on the line Friday enjoyed Taco Bell for lunch, plus some stuffed peppers brought by striking sports copy editor Randy Stoernell.
Striking PG workers also began receiving Giant Eagle gift cards courtesy of the Communications Workers of America (CWA), of which the Newspaper Guild of Pittsburgh is a member.
The gift cards are intended to lighten the financial load on striking workers, especially with the holidays rapidly approaching.
Alex is a digital news editor at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, but he's currently on strike.
