Inflatable rat

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Inflatable rats, or union rats, or giant inflatable rats, are commonly used by protesting or striking trade unions against their employers or against nonunion contractors, serving as a sign of opposition and perhaps intimidation. As of 2005, unions had been using them for years against companies that employed nonunion labor [1], and employers have filed lawsuits charging that the use of the giant inflatable rats constituted unlawful picketing, which some courts have agreed with. The practice of using inflatable rats in union protests may have something to do with the usage of the word "rat" to refer to nonunion contractors.

Chuck Salter, of fastcompany.com, dates the usage of inflatable union rats to 1991, when Mike O' Connor of a Plainfield, Illinois balloon and searchlight firm made a rat due to a request from a Chicago union member. As of 2003, the rats ranged from 6 feet tall to 30 feet tall, but 12 feet was the most popular size due to local laws limiting the height of inflatable objects on display. [2]