Union Hires Nonunion Workers for Picketing

Greg Mankiw tipped me off on this one and I about fell out of my chair when I read it. It’s seems completely paradoxical to hire non-union workers to protest for union rights. Read more at To Protest Hiring of Nonunion Help, Union Hires Nonunion Pickets.

Some classic lines:

• Reason for using nonunion folks: “For a lot of our members, it’s really difficult to have them come out, either because of parking or something else”
• Indifferent protestor: “Mr. Raye says he’s grateful for the work, even though he’s not sure why he’s doing it.”
• Reaction to protestors: ”I don’t blame them—they need the money, but they look like they are drunk or something.”
• Union response for hiring nonunion workers: “By hiring the unemployed, ‘we are also giving back to the community a bit.’”

Frankly, I loathe most unions. No surprise since I see little benefit in what they provide people. However, I think it’s completely ridiculous that some unions can’t even find members to protest.