Phillymag.com has a story up about IBEW Local 98’s use of a drone to record footage of a picket line at a Philadelphia construction project. Local 98 even posted a nifty video of its drone footage to youtube, which is embedded below, complete with cheesy music.
Local 98 says that the drone will be used to rebut false claims by construction site owners about picket line tomfoolery. I wonder if it will also videotape the many immigrant workers that are performing work on these jobs who are here because of immigration policies championed by politicians that Local 98’s union dues go to support. Local 98’s union members exclusively fund the campaigns of left wing politicians that favor open borders. Many of the workers that Local 98 has an issue with are beneficiaries of this open border policy. So, Local 98 is supporting its own demise. However, that is the logic of Big Labor. But, I digress.
The bigger issue is whether Local 98, or any other union with drone fantasies, is violating the National Labor Relations Act by using a drone. Under the National Labor Relations Act, workers have a right not to be a member of a labor union. (Indeed, many immigrant construction workers come from former Marxist and Communist countries and want nothing to do with organized labor.) The National Labor Relations Board has held that photographing and recording non-union employees can violate the Act when “coupled with abusive remarks or other conduct having a reasonable tendency to instill fear of retribution in the minds of the targeted employees.” Of course, that never happens when a union pickets or protest a project in Philadelphia.
Wally Zimolong
Wally represents contractors (and subcontractors) and developers. His clients build and develop residential, commercial, and industrial properties nationwide. Wally enjoys working with the owners of the businesses he represents because they tend to be entrepreneurs and all around interesting people.
