Pennsylvania: Unions Big Rat Joins Keystone Protest
By The Morning Call.com
According to The Morning Call.com:
A $200 million upgrade at Keystone Cement, one of the biggest construction projects in Northampton County, has reopened years-old conflicts between unions and nonunion contractors -- and drawn out a local union's giant inflatable rat.
Three weeks ago, the beady-eyed rat that Lehigh Valley Carpenters Union Local 600 has toted to dozens of Lehigh Valley construction projects, showed up at Keystone's East Allen Township plant. The group routinely pickets when union officials believe contractors are paying below-market wages to out-of-state or foreign workers.
''It hurts,'' said union representative Jose Cruz of Tamaqua. Out-of-state contractors ''come into this area and lower the standards and the wages,'' he said, standing on the picket line next to Route 329...click to continue.
