Labor Protestor: ‘We Don’t Need Amplifiers’

(CLICK TO ENLARGE Copyright © 2007. David Klavitter) Forgoing amplifiers, representatives of the Mid-Atlantic Regional Council of Carpenters make a huge racket April 12 in the courtyard between buildings at 601 Pennsylvania Ave NW in Washington, D.C. A larger group was marching on building’s other side. The group was protesting one tenant’s use of non-union labor in remodeling some office space.

When asked why the protestors were not using amplifiers--which D.C. law allows to blare at unlimited decibels in such circumstances anywhere in the city between the hours of 7 a.m. and 9 p.m.--the group’s apparent leader said they didn’t need them. It was not the first time D.C. labor protestors told me they don't need amplifiers to get their message heard. I covered a similar instance last year in this this post.

Meanwhile, the group’s raucous shouting disturbed more than just the intended target. The noise disturbance apparently angered one man (left). He gave building management contact information to the protest leader, who promptly crumpled the paper, tossed it in the trash and resumed yelling. Apparently some confusion existed about whether the courtyard was private or public property (CLICK TO ENLARGE Copyright © 2007. David Klavitter)