SCABBY "DER SHTSHUR"*

by
Marjorie Gottlieb Wolfe

Syosset, New York

*The Yiddish word for rat is "shtshur."

As the little boy sat in the car on the way to "kheyder" (religious school), he shouted, "bobe" (grandma), look at that big rat!" His synagogue was in the midst of a major renovation, and this large, "mies" (ugly) inflatable rat sat outside the parking lot. Standing on its hind legs, it had a large overbite and menacing "oygn" (eyes).

All that the "bobe" could think of, at that moment, was the popular movie quote misattributed to James Cagney in the line, "You dirty rat." (Cagney denied ever saying it.)

Yes, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) ruled that protesting labor unions have the right to use these inflatable rats outside of hospitals, churches, office buildings, and SYNAGOGUES!

"Der tsil" (The goal): "Scabby The Rat" is an attempt to shame companies and synagogues that hire contractors who refuse to use union workers or pay union wages. The rats are a form of symbolic speech.

Inflatable rats have been around for over 20 years and some are as tall as 25 feet.

Perhaps "bobe," "muter" (mother), the "melamed"(teacher), or the rabbi, should make this a "teachable moment" and explain the facts. A "teachable moment" in education, is the time at which learning a particular topic or idea becomes possible or easiest. A "teachable moment" is not something you can plan for. It is a fleeting opportunity that must be sensed and seized by "der dervaksener" (adult).

• "Scabby The Rat" was originally designed for a Chicago Union in 1990.
  
  
• These rats have multiplied and are found thriving throughout the U.S.A. They can be found on the streets of New York and in the suburbs, in Las Vegas, and on the West Coast.
  
  
• The rats have been seen on the covers of The Wall Street Journal, The New Yorker magazine, and other publications. Hundreds of articles have appeared in newspapers, as well as on the T. V. show, The Soprano's.
  
  
• In 2010, an Illinois roofers' union parked its inflatable rat outside of a Joliet, Illinois, church to protest the facility using non-union workers to do roof work.
  
  
• On June 11, 2011, the headline read, "Inflatable Rat to Miss Tony's Red Carpet." The New York Times reported that Tony Award Productions had planned to use non-union workers to organize Sunday's red carpet pageantry, citing a reduced budget ("budzhet") this year for the Tony ceremony ("tseremonye") at the Beacon Theater.

The stagehands' union, Local 1 of the Int'l Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, had threatened to deploy 400 members and a GIANT INFLATABLE RAT near the red carpet on Sunday--a job action that would have forced Tony nominees and other members of theater unions to choose between solidarity and crossing the line. Representatives for both sides declined to say what concessions, if any, were negotiated.

• Big Sky Balloons & Searchlights have expanded their offerings. Some of their other rat balloons come with scabs on its abdomen ("boykh")--an obvious jab at replacement workers. Some balloons cost as much as $8,000. Perhaps, when "Scabby the Rat" leaves his current "heym" (home), we should follow the advice of Akito Yoshikane: "...make room for the inflatable BEDBUG--"di vants." Yorkers.

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___________________________________________
Marjorie Gottlieb Wolfe is the author of
two books:

"Yiddish for Dog & Cat Lovers" and
"Are Yentas, Kibitzers, & Tummlers Weapons of Mass Instruction?  Yiddish
Trivia."  To order a copy, go to her
website: MarjorieGottliebWolfe.com

NU, what are you waiting for?  Order the book!

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