That Giant Rat Balloon Is Protected by the Constitution

The towering rat balloon—six to 25 feet tall, often dubbed “Scabby the Rat”—is a common and sometimes contentious sight. It’s a gimmick used most frequently by unions to protest employers, but the inflated rats have occasionally been used by unions to protest other unions and, in an ironic gesture, by a business group protesting a hearing at the National Labor Relations Board. The rat has seemed a bit worn-out: Last year the AFL-CIO’s Building and Construction Trades Department announced it was officially retiring the balloon rat because it “symbolizes intimidation tactics of 30 years ago.”

Individual unions have kept deploying rogue rats, anyway. As a way to pressure companies and get attention from customers, a giant rodent offers obvious advantages. The symbol is memorable, immediately recognizable, and much cheaper and easier (if less effective) than the hard work of mobilizing a critical mass of human protesters. A federal judge’s decision this week illustrates a further reason that unions resort to the rat: It’s less likely than a picket line to get shut down.