Union Members Stop Traffic with Demonstration on Court Street [VIDEO]

Union members protested the use of non-union labor in a well organized demonstration at the between Sackett and Union just before rush hour Wednesday afternoon. 

"I was just walking by and before you knew it, they were in the middle of the street," said Colleen Giunta, adding there were nearly 100 people protesting, though a representative of the 76 Precinct put the number at closer to 60.

"They were shouting 'Scabs go home!'" said Giunta.

(A scab is a union term for a non-union worker, or someone who works during a strike.)

Giunta said the workers at the site responded by yelling and pounding their shovels on the steel beams they were erecting.

The demonstrators blew whistles in unison and held up vehicular traffic for about 25 minutes, said Giunta, before the protest was broken up by police.

The police representative said the demonstrators have a right to protest, but they cannot block traffic, either in the street or on the sidewalk. One person was arrested for disorderly conduct, according to police, but whether he was a union member was not confirmed. Charges are pending.

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