The Star-Ledger, October 5, 2008, Sunday

Copyright 2008 Newark Morning Ledger Co.

All Rights Reserved

The Star-Ledger (Newark, New Jersey)

October 5, 2008, Sunday

FINAL EDITION

SECTION: NEW JERSEY; Pg. 33

HEADLINE: TOP COURT TO RULE: DOES 'RAT' HAVE RIGHTS?Inflatable rodent pits union vs. town

BYLINE: KATE COSCARELLI, STAR-LEDGER STAFF

BODY:

He's treated like any other member of the picket line.

When Mercer County electrical union workers line up to protest businesses paying nonunion wages, he holds a sign aloft and tries to get the word out to anyone passing by.

But nothing his sign says grabs people's attention more than his simple presence. He's The Rat, the union's 10-foot inflatable balloon with beady eyes, pointy claws, chewed-up ears, buckteeth and a festering pink belly.

"He's quiet. He doesn't say much," said Wayne DeAngelo, assistant business manager of International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 269 in Lawrence Township. "But he really gets our message out. Visibility is important. Without the rat, we're wasting our time."

The inflatable rat is synonymous with union protests, from the Statehouse in Trenton to the picket lines at the writers strike in L.A. The rodent has become a shorthand for showing the disgust workers have for the way they are being treated, part of a union tradition of employing theater to get the message across.

Fame has its price, however. The union rat has found itself at the center of legal battles around the country - most recently in New Jersey, where the state Supreme Court heard arguments two weeks ago about whether the one at DeAngelo's local is protected speech under the First Amendment.

The 5-year-old rat is at the center of the case because Lawrence Township prohibits the use of balloon signs, except for those used at store grand openings.

Union lawyer Andrew Watson argued the law bars the kind of protest that goes to "very heart and core of the constitution."

"There is no other way to reach a broader audience. This is a cheap and effective means of communication. It is a powerful, symbolic message," he said.

But John Dember, who represents the town, said the law doesn't stop anyone from handing out leaflets or protesting to get a message across.

"The ability to attract attention of passers-by is little affected by restrictions on using an inflatable rat," Dember said.

The case dates to April 2005, when the electrical workers local staged a protest outside a Gold's Gym when the business had electrical work done by nonunion laborers.

Four men took up positions on the sidewalk out front, handing out leaflets. The rat was anchored to a grassy spot considered part of the public right of way.

It got the attention of passers-by - and police. The rat was removed, and, when the union brought it back later, police gave DeAngelo a summons, saying he violated the ban on inflatable signs.

After a trial, DeAngelo was convicted and agreed to pay a $133 fee and court costs. A split state appeals court panel upheld the town's sign ban. The Supreme Court has yet to make a decision.

The Mercer County controversy is the latest in a string of attempts to exterminate inflatable rats from public displays. Elsewhere, businesses sued unions, arguing the rodents shouldn't be considered protected speech. First Amendment scholars counter they fall into the category of "pure speech" that deserves protection akin to political and religious speech.

BIRTH OF THE RAT

The inflatable rat idea was first pumped up in 1990, when a Chicago union asked an outdoor advertiser to come up with a flashy way to catch the attention of nonunion employers. The owners of Big Sky Balloons and Searchlights, of Plainfield, Ill., which made the first rodent, called it "Scabby the Rat." Today, they sell rats up to 25 feet tall, charging as much as $8,950.

The rat in New Jersey's debate gets out about 50 times a year. It is inflated by a small electric blower that can be hooked into a car's cigarette lighter. When not on the picket line, it deflates to a storage bag that resides - fittingly - in the union's boiler room next to an inflatable pig that goes out when the rat is double-booked.

Union officials say they first try to talk to business owners to resolve the wage issues. The rat is a tool of last resort. "If they say `Hey, leave us alone' then we bring out our friend," said DeAngelo.

Some unions also use other animals - a cockroach, a skunk - to get their message out, said Kate Bronfenbrenner, director of labor education research at Cornell University. She said street theater has been a part of union demonstrations for centuries.

"It's people's lives," said Bronfenbrenner. "There's a lot of passion, so it's a perfect thing. You've got a perfect villain and a perfect hero. It's a natural."

William Shakespeare and Charles Dickens wrote about labor issues. Rallies in the 1800s involved workers acting out skits about conditions. During the 1912 "Bread and Roses Strike," the female workers at a Massachusetts textile mill wrapped themselves in the American flag after the company accused them of being un-American.

"They carried them. They used the American flag in everything they did. . . . They literally wore the American flag in showing their patriotism," said Bronfenbrenner

Today, protest theater finds unions storming the stage at major shareholder meetings or interrupting online corporate gatherings.

In New Jersey, rats are still in vogue. In total, about a dozen inflatable rats make regular appearances in the Garden State.

The keepers of the Lawrence Township rat are anxious to see the case end, saying banners just don't cut it.

Until then, the rat can only make guest appearances out of town.

"He can't get blown up in his own home town," said DeAngelo. "It's sad."

Kate Coscarelli may be reached at kcoscarelli@starledger.com or (973) 392-4147.

Photo Credit: 1. AMANDA BROWN/THE STAR-LEDGER

Graphic Credit: SOURCES: The Star-Ledger; "Rats" by Robert Sullivan

GRAPHIC: 1. Wayne DeAngelo, of IBEW Local 269 in Lawrence, inflates the union's rat, which is at the center of a free-speech case being decided by the state Supreme Court.LIST: Rats!An inflatable rat used in union protests has sparked a battle that has reached the New Jersey Supreme Court. Some facts about these rodents: The rat in question When inflated, 10 feet tall. Can gain that stature in about 30 seconds with an electric blower that can hook into a cigarette lighter. Weighs 40 pounds without the hot air. About 5 years old, costs about $3,500 but has no official name. The rat's mission: Get attention. Show what union members think of those they are protesting. Has been used for union rallies across New Jersey, making about 50 appearances a year. Its uninflated home: a boiler room at IBEW Local 269 headquarters in Trenton, in a bag next to a less controversial inflatable pig. The questions about the rat Does Lawrence Township have a right to ban the rat under an ordinance that says inflatable creatures and signs can only be used for store grand openings? Does the ban violate the First Amendment right to free speech by roving rat-toting union members? Real rat facts Rats have long been a feature of union rallies. In 1963, Jesse Gray organized a rent strike in NYC and asked 13,000 tenants to bring a rat to court. They came with rats alive and dead. The tenants won. In one year, a female rat can produce up to 12 litters of 20 rats. One pair of rats has the potential for 15,000 descendants annually. Rats make appearances in "Watership Down", "Ratatouille", "Ben" and many other books and movies. Rats arrived on ships around the time of the American Revolution. In the 19th century, rat fighting was a popular form of entertainment where dogs competed to kill the most. The world's record was set by Jocko the Wonder Dog, who is said to have killed 100 rats in 5 minutes, 28 seconds.

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