DALLAS — The picketers are tightly organized, wear lime green safety vests, and recite their rally cries in unison while circling outside the office of a downtown contractor's that's accused of paying carpenters less than the union wage.
But rarely are carpenters or even union members a part of this chanting group.
"We tend to hire a lot of the people who have lived in the shelters down here," said Craig Wright, an organizer for the Texas Carpenters & Millwrights Regional Council.
Many picketers are homeless and paid to protest against companies they know little about.
"You know, it doesn't matter if they're homeless or not homeless," Wright said. "Anybody could come. You could come down and work for me if you like."
The Council has hired homeless as temporary employees for three years. Each gets paid about $8 an hour, the union said.
Leo Wren started about three years ago. "They gave me an opportunity when I really need an opportunity," he said.
"People support AIDS research," Wright said. "They support cancer research. Yet you don't have to have AIDS or cancer to support those things. These guys don't have to be carpenters to support a good cause."
At least a couple of the homeless have gone on to become carpenter's apprentices, the union said. But some wonder if hiring the homeless to protest actually helps them in their time of need or exploits their situation.
"You can arguably say you're helping people in any number of ways," said Rev. Gerald Britt, Vice-President of CitySquare, formerly Central Dallas Ministries. "I don't particularly think there's any long-term benefit to simply giving people a check to protest for you."
The union said the protesters work about 20 hours a week picketing and distributing handbills which call for higher wages, health care and pensions.
Benefits, ironically, that the union doesn't provide the homeless who it hires as temporary workers.
Email: jwhitely@wfaa.com
