The oversized, inflatable rats found snarling at nonunion worksites are getting some high-flying backup.
An International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers union local in Philadelphia — a city with a long history of union power — now employs three surveillance drones that can fly over protests and construction sites.
They were purchased a few months ago to deploy at job sites for protests and to document any rule violations, said Local 98 president John Dougherty. The drones will also provide proof that union members aren’t violating any rules in their protests, he said.
The union recently posted a YouTube video of the drone at work above a large protest in January. It hovers over streets full of union protesters, inflatable rats and a van dressed up like a rat. The rats have been used for decades by U.S. unions as a sort of silent protest.
