Shoppers and workers in SoHo may have noticed the oversize inflatable rat outside of the Miu Miu store that is under construction store in New York.
For nearly a month, the Construction and General Building Laborers’ Local 79 union has been stationed outside of 100 Prince Street and has handed out more than 1,000 fliers alleging that Miu Miu is allowing Folor Inc. to exploit construction workers and demanding just wages for workers. On Thursday morning, there were two inflatable rats, which made a few passersby comment and take photos.
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Local 79 organizer Alvaro Gonzalez said the union plans to continue its efforts “until it takes.” The neon orange “Shame on Miu Miu” fliers, which included the name of an executive and a number to call, were also placed on the windshields of cars in front of the store.
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A Miu Miu representative did not respond to media requests, nor did one at Folor Inc.
The location originally opened as a 2,500-square-foot boutique in 1996, which was then the first Miu Miu store in the U.S. It is kitty-corner to offices and a store occupied by its parent company Prada at 575 Broadway.
After a woman asked if the entire building was being targeted, Gonzalez specified that it was Miu Miu. He told WWD, “We’re in the belief system that when you’re in a big corporation like that, you do the right thing and pay the workers a good wage to live and to [be able to] look to the future with retirement, health care and pension [plans]. All a construction worker has to offer is his labor and his body. After so many years of working in the field, your body breaks down. If you didn’t get health care or a pension plan, you’re not going to get it when you’re 60 or 70 years old. If Miu Miu hires a contractor that has those practices, shame on them.”
Two on-site workers declined to comment, due to not being fluent in English.
Gonzalez claimed to have spoken with the on-site laborers. He said, “They’re going to work, because that’s the work they got. This is not against the workers. At the end of the day, we’re here for them to get a better wage. I’m not here to say, ‘Hey, take your guys out — put our guys in.’ But make sure you pay those guys a good wage.”
Walking by, a stranger asked Gonzalez, “What, you’re not going to buy a $500 scarf there?”
One on-site worker, who requested anonymity to protect his job, challenged that and said that only trade workers were on site on April 3. “The non-union guys are getting paid just as well. They [the union] just feels that they should have the work,” he said.
Although he declined to comment about the amount that the workers are being paid, he said, “It’s so compatible.”