22. Rats and Cats In Manhattan

The oversized, bronze rat in Midtown Manhattan

While walking around Manhattan, you might have come across huge inflatable rats and cats. The 12-foot inflatable “union rats” were put up by trade unions to call attention to a dispute between them and their employers. Since around 1991, unions around the country have used these to protest companies that employ nonunion labor.

There also used to be a bronze version of these huge rats in midtown Manhattan in the plaza of the Lever House at 390 Park Avenue. It was called “The New Colossus,” as part of a project from The Bruce High Quality Foundation as a symbol of working class defiance against exploitation.