Video Exposes Labor Union Protesters – No “Living Wage,” No Health Insurance, No Union Membership

Should labor unions pay their protesters the wages and benefits that the unions demand of other employers? CEI labor policy attorney Vincent Vernuccio crashed a union protest in Washington, DC this week and questioned several people involved in the protest. The protesters – hired by a union, the Mid-Atlantic Region of Carpenters – appeared to not be compensated with the level of wages and benefits that the union itself demands of other employers – the protesters evidently lacked health insurance, for example (see 3:52).

Nor is it clear the protesters were union members (see 2:59). So, how could they even hope to benefit from any prospective wage or benefit concessions won from the business targeted by the protest? No one could (or would?) say what local union chapter they belonged to and seemed to even be confused by the question (see 1:28).

› View the video on YouTube, Unions hire non-union protesters?