Union Picketing: Antiquated Symbol or Effective Economic Weapon?
Anyone who has ever driven by a business when its unionized employees are on strike has undoubtedly observed the "picket line". The image or workers carrying placards with anti-company slogans walking back and forth in front of a gate at their workplace is associated with every labor dispute. But what is the purpose of the picket line? Is it antiquated or effective?
One of the simplest summaries of "picket line" appears on Howstuffworks which states that "[t]he purpose of picketing is to draw public attention (and sympathy) to their cause, inform the public of the goals and the reasons behind the strike and discourage anyone from violating the strike order and going to work. Anyone who does this literally has to cross the picket lines, and they usually are called scabs." As you might expect, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has a slightly more complex approach to picketing which can occur in many reasons other than a strike.
Picketing has strong symbolism. Political candidates line up, literally, to garner union support by marching in picket lines. The picket line establishes a boundary between the business and the outside world. It attracts attention (better than a giant inflatable rat). It disseminates information (sometimes).
There is little or no empirical evidence that I could find on the effectiveness of picketing as an economic weapon. Anecdotally, picketing is intimidating to customers and employee's who may be inclined to cross the picket line. It generates media attention which may cast the company in an unfavorable light. The picket line is disruptive to business when sympathy strikers won’t cross the picket line to enter the business. It is a boon to lawyers, security companies and videographers who monitor the picket line shenanigans.
Unions obviously think picketing is important for reasons other than giving there members something to do to earn their strike benefits. As observed by the hr capitalist, unions may even be willing to pay others to walk the picket line. A typical day on the picket line is featured in an article entitled Garment strikers sticking together by Spencer Soper. In many ways, a picket line seems like a team building exercise gone bad.