"The old bridge: The faulty section that now carries northbound traffic will ultimately be abandoned once the project is done and completely enclosed to keep people and autos off of it, said Niblock."

At one point people were talking about a fishing pier, an in-line urban type park, and as I recall it would most likely be torn down and removed... A fenced / enclosed area (abandoned) bridge would only further add blight to the city.

Maybe the city could apply for a grant from Elkhart Black Expo.  I hear they may have some extra funds laying around.

/not as snarky as you would think

Eleven years?  Obviously their strategy is not working.

Ya know Goof, sometimes there is more to an issue than meets the eye.  According to a Truth article (http://www.etruth.com/Know/News/Story.aspx?ID=494765) "The dispute between Local 150 and Bristol-based Niblock dates to 1998. Niblock unfairly fired eight employees for trying to organize at the company, according to Lanham, and never complied with a subsequent National Labor Relations Board order to compensate the dismissed workers. The rat patrol formed as a result, aiming to picket Niblock work sites and force compliance with the NLRB order."  This is very much the story as told by the union.

A letter to the editor from a Niblock employee tells a very different story. (https://www.etruth.com/Know/News/Story.aspx?ID=452940)  "I am sure many of you have seen the inflatable rat sitting along the road at many Niblock Excavating job sites. We get asked constantly if we are on strike and what the meaning of the rat is. This letter is not to bash the union but to explain the situation.

We are a non-union company and choose to stay that way, but the union is not happy with our decision. They have been trying to organize us for many years with no success. For several years they paid some workers to try to organize us internally and that didn't get the job done, so the union quit paying them and they left.

We talked to the National Labor Relations Board about having a vote. We were told that we can't order a vote, the union has to do that. We talked to the NLRB about the harassment of having union members follow our trucks to job sites and setting up pickets there and at our maintenance garage, about the car and truck painted to indicate that we are rats and scabs. A family member of a deceased person was furious to find the "Rat Patrol" at the Middlebury cemetery where Niblock was widening the cemetery road. We were told by the agency that is supposed to represent all workers that if we didn't like it we should join them. Where is our freedom of choice?

We do not need a union. We are treated quite well by Niblock owners, with good wages and many benefits. I am sure some employees would vote for a union, but most would not.

I tried to form a committee of employees to meet with company personnel to communicate any issues that arise, but due to union litigation we aren't allowed to do that. Where is my freedom of choice? It seems that in this day of equal rights and all the freedoms our men and women have fought for, our rights have been stepped on.

All we ask is the same freedom of choice given to others. Let us vote, and if we choose to continue to be non-union, then let it rest. I'll respect their right to be a union if they respect mine to vote no.

I often hear at the coffee shop, "I would sure like to shoot the rat." There is much to be said for public sentiment.

WAYNE ANDREWS

A proud Niblock employee"

Hey Goof, how about doing some research?  And how about not jumping to conclusions about the folks at Niblock and about the altruistic nature of the union?  It's impossible for us on the outside to really know who is the villain in this whole mess.  Maybe both?  Is the union just looking to increase its power and revenue?  Do the employees of Niblock really want to unionize?  I guarantee you don't really know.

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