For decades, Scabby the rat has stood for workers’ rights
“Scabby has been attacked, maligned, but he’s a resilient symbol of the fight for workers’ rights.” --Don Villas from the Chicago Federation of Labor (CFL), recounting how a funeral home employee stabbed the symbolic inflatable rat during a United Union of Roofers, Waterproofers, and Allied Workers Local 112 protest in Springfield in 2022.
We all know and LOVE Scabby the Rat, but how did this 20-foot-tall rat become an icon for workers' struggles and rights to protected speech? From the Chicago Reader’s recent issue dedicated to rats, learn about the different claims to Scabby’s origins and how he has served as a powerful tool for unions to communicate their message to the public and emotionally engage and mobilize people in support of all workers' rights.
Source: Chicago Reader | Click here for the full story.