the ph is silent. ([info]kpht) wrote in [info]b0st0n,
@ 2007-05-08 15:29:00
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Speaking of protests, does anyone use RT 1 to commute in the AM? Today and yesterday, at the lot where the Diplomat was (on the Northbound side), there's some kind of protest going on (Their signs are too small, all I can read is "PITT PIPELINE"). There's been an extra 15 minutes of traffic both days because the protesters have two giant inflatable 10 foot rats. WTF?

It's almost better than the orange dinosaur's return to glory, except the rats have beadier eyes.

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[info]ron_newman
2007-05-08 07:41 pm UTC (link)
Route 1 in Norwood? Dedham? Saugus? Newburyport?

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[info]kylegirl
2007-05-08 07:59 pm UTC (link)
I believe the former site of the Diplomat is in Saugus (as is the resurrected orange dinosaur).

And Pitt Pipeline, according to Google, is a construction company out of Waltham, which doesn't exactly clear anything up. Why can't more protesters recognize the importance of a web presence and Google bombing?

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[info]krzdweasel
2007-05-08 08:03 pm UTC (link)
they better not slow down the traffic on friday night when i'm trying to get to maine.

it can only result in pure anger.

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[info]kpht
2007-05-08 10:10 pm UTC (link)
they're gone by 7:30 PM.

they're union! they don't even protest after 4PM.

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[info]thetathx1138
2007-05-08 08:06 pm UTC (link)
The inflatable rats and the fact that it's a construction company means it's probably some form of union protest. They use the rats to mark companies that use non-union labor or break contracts.

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[info]mperrotti76
2007-05-08 09:42 pm UTC (link)
Indeed.

Yeah, earlier in the season, and through the winter, when the lbor gets slow due to weatehr and slow economy, unions pay member a minimi wage to go protest non union jobs. LIke ANY ENVIRONMENTAL CONSTRUCTION PROJECT!!! UGH!!!

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[info]thetathx1138
2007-05-09 02:11 am UTC (link)
Well, it's only reasonable. It's not like saving the environment and reversing years of damage is going to take SACRIFICE or anything!

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[info]mperrotti76
2007-05-09 02:17 am UTC (link)
I'm not sure what this means.

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[info]thetathx1138
2007-05-09 02:27 am UTC (link)
I was making a joke. I've often found that dedicated unionists don't really get why environmental projects can't afford union labor. You can explain it would bust the budget until you're blue in the face and they'll just look at you blankly or ask you if you're some kind of Communist.

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[info]mperrotti76
2007-05-09 01:20 pm UTC (link)
Are you in the environmental field, too?

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[info]thetathx1138
2007-05-09 01:38 pm UTC (link)
Nah, I just know a few union employees and I keep up with the news.

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[info]freakmdw
2007-05-08 08:06 pm UTC (link)
It could be a protest of the proposed Pit Bull ban, but I have no idea.

http://www.thebostonchannel.com/news/13248866/detail.html

(i r teh suk at lj cuts)

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[info]thetathx1138
2007-05-08 08:09 pm UTC (link)
Huh, thanks for the link. I hate it when animals are banned because owners are assholes. Gee, the dog that's starved and beaten is dangerous? Really?

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[info]freakmdw
2007-05-08 08:11 pm UTC (link)
Der... not sure what that has to do with two giant inflatable 10 foot rats or the fact that "pit bull" only has one T and "Pitt Pipeline" has two. So for the most part ignore me. I'm sick and heavily medicated.

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[info]truepixie
2007-05-08 08:45 pm UTC (link)
I'm sick and heavily medicated.

And most b0st0n poster/commenters aren't?

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[info]mperrotti76
2007-05-08 09:43 pm UTC (link)
Umm... No.

Rats symbolize union protests.

http://www.jrn.columbia.edu/studentwork/cns/2002-04-03/374.asp

http://www.laborradio.org/node/1653

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[info]xiphias
2007-05-08 08:14 pm UTC (link)
Those are the Anti-Scab Rats. You may have noticed that the rats have scabs on them. The message is that people who hire non-union labor, and people who work non-union, are rats. And scabs.

I've seen the same rats outside other non-union job sites, too. I mean, the same ones. The local unions have a couple inflatable rats that they cart around from non-union site to non-union site.

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[info]kpht
2007-05-08 10:13 pm UTC (link)
*rolls eyes*

i choose not to ever take a union job because i want to be judged by the quality of my work and not my length of tenure, and i'd rather not send more jobs overseas because my overinflated paycheck is taxing the economy.

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[info]xiphias
2007-05-08 11:33 pm UTC (link)
I am in favor of unions in some circumstances.

Unions are useful in jobs in which there really ISN'T a distinction between quality of work between one person and another, and people are basically disposable.

I am not 100% convinced that construction in one of those circumstances. And I also agree that unions can get silly.

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[info]roachmckrackin
2007-05-09 12:53 pm UTC (link)
Thank you! :)

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[info]kpht
2007-05-09 05:18 pm UTC (link)
Detroit in 2007: Because unions r teh awesome!

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[info]nowah
2007-05-08 10:18 pm UTC (link)
sounds like asbestos

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[info]wish_the_worst
2007-05-09 12:45 am UTC (link)
i'm bakin these muffins asbestos i can!

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[info]kpht
2007-05-09 01:09 am UTC (link)
i just snorted a little. hee.

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[info]xlerb
2007-05-09 02:18 am UTC (link)
Only 10 feet? “‘Every member on a picket line gets mad if the rat isn't up,’ said Esemplare. ‘And if it's a hard fight and you only have the 10-footer, they always ask you, “Why'd you bring the baby. Where's the big guy?”’”

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[info]kpht
2007-05-09 02:22 am UTC (link)
LOL, anything larger might take out passing cars.

I'm imagining a hilarious 17-foot-inflatable rat vs CRV scene.

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[info]thylasusan
2007-05-09 01:40 pm UTC (link)
I saw this Monday morning around 8:30 on Rt. 1 in Saugus; inflatable rats and protesters and signs. Since I was driving, I couldn't read the signs very well. I was also curious as to what it was and didn't see anything on the news.
I think it probably was a non-union thing. They are starting to do some construction on that site, but I don't know what they are building.
No protesters there this morning though. And I was all excited to see those angry-looking inflatable rats again. Aw.

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