Inflatable rat

{{Short description|Oversized inflatable figure of a rat, often used for labor protests}} [[Image:Union-rat.jpg|thumb|Inflatable rat in Long Island City]] '''Scabby the Rat''', otherwise known as '''inflatable rats''' or '''union rats''', is a series of giant inflatables in the shape of cartoon rats, commonly used in the United States by protesting or striking trade unions. They serve as a sign of opposition against employers or nonunion contractors and are intended to call public attention to companies employing nonunion labor or engaging in union-busting activities.

==History== The first known inflatable rat was used by the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 150 in Plainfield, Illinois in 1989, according to photos from the ''Local 150 Engineer'' in November 1989, which also launched a "Name the Rat" contest.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://local150.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/scabby1.jpg |title=Local 150 Engineer |date=November 1989 |access-date=January 12, 2019}}</ref> In January 1990, it announced that "Scabby" was the winning submission, in reference to the slang "scab" for strikebreakers and non-striking workers, coming from Local 150 member Lou Mahieu.<ref name="NameTheRatWinner">{{cite web |title=Name the Local #150 Rat Contest |url=http://local150.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/scabby2.jpg |access-date=January 12, 2019}}</ref> An alternative origin story credits the International Union of Bricklayers and Allied Craftworkers who credit Ken Lambert with the design in 1990 or 1991, a member of the Chicago District Council, and claim to still have the original model in their Chicago office storage.<ref name=":0">{{Cite news |date=2023-03-09 |title=Scabby the Rat is an American labor icon. Why are his manufacturers disowning him? |url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/mar/08/scabby-rat-union-labor-dispute-inflatable |access-date=2024-12-26 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}</ref>

left|thumb|Announcement of Scabby the Rat naming contest in the ''Local 150'' newsletter, January 1990

The inflatable rats all originated from one American manufacturer, a company called Big Sky, who produced hot air balloons and standalone inflatables. It was commissioned by Lambert and designed by one of the co-owners, who Lambert asked to make the design to be "'meaner looking,' with big claws and 'festering nipples,'" with "menacing" fingers and whiskers and "more scabrous" belly.<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":0" /> Other unions also began using inflatable rats in the 1990s to shame companies that employ nonunion labor.<ref>{{cite news |last=Green |first=Max |date=April 19, 2017 |title=How a Rat Balloon from Suburban Chicago Became a Union Mascot |url=https://www.wbez.org/shows/curious-city/how-a-rat-balloon-from-suburban-chicago-became-a-union-mascot/8526eeb4-4cee-4efd-99e7-b3a794c8e4cc |access-date=January 23, 2019 |work=WBEZ}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{cite news |last=Channick |first=Robert |date=August 7, 2019 |title=Born in Chicago, Scabby the Giant Inflatable Protest Rat May Be Banned from Picket Lines by New Labor Board Rulings |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/business/ct-biz-scabby-giant-rat-balloon-union-protest-ban-20190807-fbqnn7rorne75oc2w72wel3ise-story.html |access-date=August 7, 2019 |work=Chicago Tribune}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |first=Debbie-Marie |last=Brown |date=October 18, 2023 |url=https://chicagoreader.com/news-politics/scabby-the-rat/ |title=For Decades, Scabby the Rat Has Stood for Workers' Rights |work=Chicago Reader |access-date=October 27, 2023}}</ref> In part as a result of increasing business from unions, Big Sky’s sales doubled between 1990 and 1991, and developed other "union inflatables," such as a cockroach, a "Corporate Fat Cat", a "Greedy Pig". It was estimated that Big Sky at one point sold a half-dozen Scabbies per month at a price of up to $10,000 each.<ref name=":0" /> Now many American unions own dozens of the inflatable rat for use in labor disputes.<ref name=":0" /> Notably, Big Sky was not a union shop, and likely outsourced their manufacturing of Scabbies as early as 1997, and later claimed to stop selling union inflatables when its owner became a supporter of Donald Trump.<ref name=":0" />[[File:Inflatable Rat - Hackettstown, NJ - 2014.jpg|thumb|Inflatable rat in Hackettstown, New Jersey]] [[File:Inflatable union rat in protest in Israel.jpg|thumb|Inflatable union rat in Histadrut protest in Israel]]

Employers have filed lawsuits charging that the use of the giant inflatable rats constituted unlawful picketing, and some courts have agreed. In May 2011, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) held that union use of an inflatable monster rat is not considered an unlawful activity when directed at a secondary employer.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.natlawreview.com/article/obama-board-and-giant-rat-nlrb-holds-union-use-inflatable-monster-rat-does-not-constitute--0 |title=The Obama Board and the Giant Rat: NLRB Holds That Union Use of Inflatable Monster Rat Does Not Constitute Unlawful Activity Directed At A Secondary Employer |publisher=The National Law Review |date=May 28, 2011 |access-date=January 12, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.nlrb.gov/news-outreach/news-story/after-remand-us-appeals-court-nlrb-rules-display-inflatable-rat-balloon|title=After remand by US appeals court, NLRB rules that display of inflatable rat balloon at secondary employer is permitted under labor laws {{!}} NLRB {{!}} Public Website|website=www.nlrb.gov|language=en|access-date=2019-09-06|archive-date=2019-09-06|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190906170532/https://www.nlrb.gov/news-outreach/news-story/after-remand-us-appeals-court-nlrb-rules-display-inflatable-rat-balloon|url-status=dead}}</ref> In 2011 National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) in Sheet Metal Workers Local 15, 356 NLRB No. 162 (2011) ruled that the inflatable rat did not constitute a signal picket but instead constituted symbolic speech, which is not subject to secondary boycott rules. This holding allows the union not only to place the inflatable rats at neutral entrances but also to place them at locations where the picketed company is absent.<ref>{{cite web |last=Lees |first=Judd H. |title=NLRB Rules Inflatable Rats May No Longer Constitute Signal Pickets |publisher=The National Law Review |url=https://www.natlawreview.com/article/nlrb-rules-inflatable-rats-may-no-longer-constitute-signal-pickets |date=June 11, 2011 |access-date=January 12, 2019}}</ref> In 2017, NLRB general counsel Peter B. Robb filed court motions seeking to change the previous policy, arguing that the presence of the inflatable rat was "confrontational, threatening, and coercive."<ref>{{Cite news |last=Lasswell |first=Mark |date=September 6, 2019 |title=Opinions: Justice for Scabby the Rat |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/unions-have-suffered-enough-leave-scabby-the-rat-alone/2019/09/06/40081276-cff6-11e9-87fa-8501a456c003_story.html |access-date=6 September 2019 |newspaper=The Washington Post}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Gold |first=Michael |date=July 31, 2019 |title=Scabby, the Giant Inflatable Union Protest Rat, Faces Extermination |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/31/nyregion/rat-balloon-union.html |access-date=September 7, 2019 |work=The New York Times}}</ref> Robb's complaint was set aside by a 3–1 vote of the NLRB on July 21, 2021.<ref>{{Cite web |author=Iafolla, Robert |date=July 21, 2021 |title=Scabby the Rat Can Join Union Protesters, Divided NLRB Says |url=https://news.bloomberglaw.com/daily-labor-report/scabby-the-rat-can-join-union-protesters-divided-nlrb-says |access-date=July 22, 2021 |website=Bloomberg Law}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Channick |first=Robert |date=July 21, 2021 |title=Scabby, the Chicago-Born Giant Inflatable Protest Rat, Spared by National Labor Relations Board |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/business/ct-biz-scabby-giant-union-protest-rat-spared-20210721-773lczp27nhnrlqo5k6yrfxwbe-story.html |access-date=July 23, 2021 |work=Chicago Tribune}}</ref>

The inflatable rat appeared in the UK for the first time in 2012<ref>{{cite web |last=Taylor |first=Matthew |date=February 16, 2012 |title=Electricians and construction workers block Park Lane in protest over pay |url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2012/feb/16/pay-protest-workers-block-park-lane |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.today/20221030221648/https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2012/feb/16/pay-protest-workers-block-park-lane |archive-date=October 30, 2022 |access-date=October 30, 2022 |publisher=Guardian News}}</ref> and again at the 2013 Grangemouth Oil Refinery dispute.<ref>{{cite web |last=Lezard |first=Tim |date=November 18, 2013 |title=Unions smell a rat over government's Grangemouth enquiry |url=http://union-news.co.uk/2013/11/unions-smell-rat-governments-grangemouth-enquiry/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20131118205600/http://union-news.co.uk/2013/11/unions-smell-rat-governments-grangemouth-enquiry/ |archive-date=November 18, 2013 |access-date=January 12, 2019 |publisher=Union-News UK}}</ref>[[File:Giant-inflatable-rat_crop.jpg|thumb|Inflatable rat in Cambridge, Massachusetts]] It is used by unions also in Australia<ref>Matthew Stevens, [https://www.afr.com/companies/scabby-deflated-by-coal-union-concession-20170807-gxr03n Scabby the Rat deflated by coal union concession], Financial Review, 7 August 2017</ref>, Canada<ref>[https://www.ufcw.ca/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=33951&Itemid=2673&lang=en Meet Scabby the Rat and Greedy Pig] in UFCW Canada site</ref> and Israel<ref>ניצן צבי כהן,[https://www.davar1.co.il/674213/ "על אף שאת כבר אינך המנכ"לית, את בעלת התפקיד הבכירה בישראל ב-SAP הגלובלית"], Davar, 1 May 2026 (in Hebrew)</ref>.

==Appearance== While the inflatable rat sometimes varies in appearance and size, it generally features large teeth and grotesque features, particularly a scabby belly.<ref>{{cite news |first=Kelly |last=Bauer |date=January 22, 2019 |url=https://blockclubchicago.org/2019/01/22/scabby-the-rat-a-chicago-icon-could-get-outlawed-by-trump-appointee-report/ |title=Scabby the Rat, a Chicago Icon, Could Get Outlawed by Trump Appointee: Report |work=Block Club Chicago |access-date=January 22, 2019}}</ref><ref name="Vice">{{cite web |last=Jaffe |first=Sarah |author-link=Sarah Jaffe (journalist) |date=March 7, 2013 |title=The History of Scabby the Rat |url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/the-history-of-scabby-the-rat/ |access-date=January 12, 2019 |publisher=Vice}}</ref>

{{As of|2003}}, the rats ranged from {{convert|6|to|30|ft|m}} tall, but {{convert|12|ft|m}} is the most popular height due to local laws limiting the height of inflatable objects on display.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.fastcompany.com/47805/inflatable-union-rat |title=The Inflatable Union Rat |first=Chuck |last=Salter |date=December 1, 2003 |access-date=January 12, 2019}}</ref>

== Popular culture == Scabby had a cameo appearance in an episode of ''The Sopranos'' in 2002, acquired through the unionized crew's theatrical Teamsters Union.<ref name=":0" />

In November 2024, an art exhibition called ''Scabby: A Rat About Town'' by artist Marlene Hausegger at Open Source Gallery in Brooklyn featured the inflatable rat and highlighted recent labor struggles.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Pontone |first=Maya |date=2024-11-14 |title=Scabby the Rat, Icon of Labor Strikes, Gets His Own NYC Show |url=https://hyperallergic.com/966589/scabby-the-rat-icon-of-labor-strikes-gets-his-own-nyc-show/ |access-date=2024-12-26 |website=Hyperallergic |language=en-US}}</ref>

==Similar actions== Since August 2017, ''Trumpy the Rat,'' an inflatable caricature of Donald Trump as a rat has been used to protest.<ref>{{cite web|last=Voon|first=Claire|url=https://hyperallergic.com/395048/trumpy-the-rat-will-debut-next-week-when-the-president-returns-to-nyc/|title=Trumpy the Rat Will Debut Next Week, When the President Returns to NYC [UPDATED]|work=Hyperallergic|date=August 9, 2017|access-date=September 29, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170929100206/https://hyperallergic.com/395048/trumpy-the-rat-will-debut-next-week-when-the-president-returns-to-nyc/|archive-date=September 29, 2017|url-status=live}}</ref>

In October 2018, Nelson Saiers installed a 9-foot inflatable rat covered with bitcoin references and code in front of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York as an homage to bitcoin.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Kellner |first1=Kevin |title=Why Someone Put a Giant, Inflatable Bitcoin Rat on Wall Street, Facing the Federal Reserve Bank |url=https://fortune.com/2018/10/12/giant-inflatable-bitcoin-rat-wall-street-facing-feds-building/ |website=Fortune}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Kariff |first1=Olga |title='I Didn't Sleep Well Last Night:' Analysts Predict Bitcoin Has Further to Fall |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-11-16/crypto-winter-comes-early-as-bitcoin-slide-spurs-viability-fears?embedded-checkout=true&sref=qz5yRCjC |website=Bloomberg}}</ref> In September 2024, a smaller version of the rat was placed at Sans Souci Cottage on Jekyll Island, the location of a 1910 meeting that led to the creation of the Federal Reserve System.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Beganski |first1=André |title=Why a Giant Inflatable Bitcoin Rat Now Stands at the Birthplace of the Fed |url=https://decrypt.co/250075/why-giant-inflatable-bitcoin-rat-stands-birthplace-fedilding/ |website=Decrypt}}</ref>

In 2024, Teamsters in Rhode Island, Massachusetts and Philadelphia brought a giant inflatable pig with a bag of money, cigar and CEO badge to their pickets outside the Amazon Fulfillment Center.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-12-19 |title=Teamsters in Rhode Island and Massachusetts picket during national Amazon strike |url=https://turnto10.com/news/local/teamsters-say-amazon-workers-strike-at-multiple-facilities-dec-19-2024 |access-date=2024-12-23 |website=WJAR |publisher=Associated Press |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2019-10-10 |title=Union protests goPuff with controversial inflatable pig |url=https://www.audacy.com/kywnewsradio/articles/news/union-protests-gopuff-controversial-inflatable-pig |access-date=2024-12-23 |website=www.audacy.com |publisher=KYW News Radio |language=en}}</ref>

In 2025, New York State Public Employees Federation debuted a giant inflatable Bull (dubbed the Inflate-a-Bull) as part of a campaign to combat workplace bullying.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-04-04 |title=Move over Scabby the Rat, the PEF Inflate-a-Bull is coming to a toxic workplace near you! |url=https://x.com/NYSPEF/status/1904987136908214508 |access-date=2025-04-04 |website=X |publisher=PEF |language=en}}</ref>

==References== {{Reflist}}

==External links== *{{Commons category-inline|Giant inflatable rat}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Inflatable Rat}} Category:Mice and rats in popular culture Rat Category:Labor relations Category:Protest tactics