Rapper Shawn Carter, better known as Jay-Z, has a long record of being a supporter of Democratic and liberal causes. In fact, he was one of many celebrity left-wingers who were invited to President Obama's lavish $40,000 birthday celebration.
When it comes to his own affairs, Carter is like many Hollywood liberals in being unwilling to put his money where his mouth is. Right now, he's engaged in a prolonged confrontation with a carpenter's union for using non-union workers to perform renovations on a New York City club he owns. The union thugs are playing to type as well, parading around giant inflatable rats and calling Carter's employees racist terms.
Hip-hop hot shot Jay-Z is getting hammered by carpenters for using nonunion labor for the facelift of his Manhattan club 40/40.
But the carpenters union, which erected five inflatable rats outside the Chelsea joint this week, has gone too far by shouting the N-word at management, according to Jay-Z's rep.
"The union is trying to bully 40/40 to hire union workers. They were shouting racial slurs. It was really inappropriate protesting," said Lauren Menache, a spokeswoman for the Brooklyn-born singer.
The union members used the "N-word" during protests and in phone calls to 40/40 management, said Menache.
The New York City District Council of Carpenters did not return calls for comment.
This is flagrant bullying. Carter's club is in a building which does not have a forced union monopoly on construction and yet they are trying to force him to use their more expensive services anyway. I guess this is exactly the sort of thing that Teamsters Union president James Hoffa meant when he said he wanted to "take these son of a bitches out and give America back to America where we belong."
One hopes that it will make Carter reconsider some of his opinions. Don't count on it though.
