SilverNRed Posted February 1, 2006 Share Posted February 1, 2006 Careful when clicking on this link as it may cause you to roll your eyes so hard that you go blind. Link The highlights: WASHINGTON -- You've heard the panhandler's common refrain, "Will work for food." How about: "Will picket for food?" In Washington, Baltimore, Atlanta and elsewhere in the country, union organizers are scouring shelters and recruiting homeless people to staff their picket lines, paying just above minimum wage and failing to provide health benefits. The national carpenters' union, which broke from the AFL-CIO four years ago in a bitter dispute over organizing strategies and other issues, is hiring homeless people to stage noisy protests at nonunion construction sites. But the new strategy of placing homeless in picket lines disturbs some labor experts. Neil Bernstein, a law professor at Washington University in St. Louis who specializes in labor and employment law, said unions that use such a tactic are guilty of practicing a double standard. "They're basically doing what they're criticizing the employers for doing -- getting the cheapest people to do the job," he said. The grand finale: A demonstrator in Washington, Nicey Howards, said the temporary protesters earn $8 an hour -- just a dollar above the legal minimum wage in Washington -- with no benefits. While she felt the job wasn't ideal, Howards was glad she could earn a little money while looking for something better. Each week, Howards said, she works 20 hours, the maximum time allowed by the carpenters' union, bringing home $160. The union organizers allow the hired protesters to take two-minute breaks, Howards said, but dock their pay for the time off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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