Scabby the Rat Can Join Union Protesters, Divided NLRB Says (1)

The National Labor Relations Board approved a union’s use of a large, fanged, red-eyed rodent balloon known as Scabby the Rat at a protest, rejecting a bid by the agency’s Trump-era top lawyer to exterminate the rat.

The NLRB’s 3-1 ruling Wednesday allows unions to continue using Scabby and similar balloons in demonstrations at businesses that don’t employ those unions’ workers. The board turned aside former General Counsel Peter Robb’s argument that featuring the inflatable rat at such secondary protests is an unlawful attempt to threaten and coerce neutral parties.

The decision marks a major step in closing out Robb’s ...