I was running some errands the other day and passed a group of protesters in front of a plumbing supply store. They held a large (probably 4’ high x 20’ long) banner that said “[name of store] UNFAIR!” with the words “Labor Dispute” printed at an angle in the upper-left and -right corners.
I didn’t think anything of it until a mile or so down the road I saw a group of protesters in front of a restaurant (part of a national chain). They held a large banner that said “[name of restaurant] UNFAIR!” with the words “Labor Dispute” printed at an angle in the upper-left and -right corners.
I"m not sure I understand how labor unions work, but it seems odd to me that two businesses in completely different markets were being protested by (apparently) the same organization.
Is there a protest kit that you can buy, complete with banner?
Is there a hired organization that will protest for you, thus saving you from the onerous task of sitting in the hot sun for hours at a time?
What’s up?
This is going back around 15 or 20 years, but where I lived someone had a dispute with a car dealer, and picketed his dealership carrying a sign that said something a lemons or thieves or some such. He didn’t get a satisfactory response, and having a life of some sort, decided to hire someone to picket for him.
The picket was arrested for it, and when it went to court the judge said that the right to protest was not transferable, that the disgruntled buyer could picket all he wanted, but that he couldn’t hire someone else to do so.
However, this news story deals with pickets hired to protest at a Wal*Mart store. It may be that a union dispute falls under a different statute than a purely commercial dispute, or the jurisdiction may be different, or the first judge could have been wrong.
Probably wasn’t the same union protesting both. May have just been similar signs, printed by the same union printer.
You can buy political campaign signs all ready made; just inserting your name (and maybe office). They come cheaper, because the design work is already done.
Same thing is probably true for union picket signs; buying the generic ‘unfair!’ sign with the company name added is probably cheaper than printing custom-made signs for your strike.
There are some unions that only organize within a certain industry like International Association of Fire Fighters and even with an industry, only organize a particular sector such as the Association of Flight Attendants. But. There are unions that organize different industries such as SEIU which organize hospital employees, janitors, security, bus drivers, etc. So. It is possible that it is the same union doing the organizing. The common demonitor in the restaurant and plumbing store is that you have “service providers” such cashiers, waiters, cooks, etc. Also, though a long shot, both business are owned by the same owner/corporation.