Infantile protest reveals big labor's total lack of self-awareness

On the heels of the union antics in Michigan this week comes this story out of Philadelphia:

Residents at the Vista apartment building on the 2800 block. of N. 47th St. in Philadelphia's Wynnefield section are losing their minds over a recording played by protesters from IBEW local 98.

Last Wednesday, the union set up an iPod and loudspeakers that plays this recorded message: "Your community is crying for jobs, participation and fair wages." It's what comes next that brings a tear to the eye: an extended crying jag by a seemingly fussy infant.

The recording- which began last Wednesday- runs each weekday from around 8 a.m. to mid-afternoon.

"I know everybody says they've got their rights," says longtime apartment resident Jean Smith, "and that's fine. But don't we have rights too, that we have to hear this constantly- every day?"

The electricians are protesting the use of a non-union contractor to do electrical work on renovations at the apartment building.

Union boss John Dougherty defended the tactic saying it's "within the first amendment."  When I heard this my first reaction was to question whether or not this is actually covered by the first amendment.  Government is, after all, allowed to place reasonable restrictions on the time, place and manner of speech.  But beyond that, I wondered if a crying baby counts as speech at all, or whether it's just noise.

Then almost as quickly I realized that Dougherty probably has a point.  This is speech.  For what better expression of the union/progressive mindset could there be than a whining crying baby?

Judging by the comments section on this story, I wasn't the first to come to such a realization.