Opulent Sothebys' Appalling Treatment of Its Workers Is a Perfect Symbol of the Out of Touch 1%

[marmar]

AlterNet / By Sarah Seltzer

Opulent Sothebys' Appalling Treatment of Its Workers Is a Perfect Symbol of the Out of Touch 1%
What better symbol of the 1 percent's treatment of the 99 then one of the world's most opulent institutions refusing to bargain with its workers?

November 10, 2011 |


When I arrived at Sotheby's on New York's Upper East Side before a massive art auction on Wednesday night, the three-month-old picket line outside the institution was peopled by a couple dozen Teamsters and supporters there on behalf of locked-out workers. They were using whistles, carrying signs and standing beneath one of those giant inflated rats, getting revved up for the evening ahead.

I turned to one guy at the end of the block, asking, "Has the Occupy Wall Street contingent come yet?"

His eyes widened: "They're coming?"

Yes, they were coming, as were legions of the world's wealthiest, for an auction that would mark the end of the "fall auction season"--a busy period of multimillion-dollar purchases that is one reason Sotheby's claims it won't negotiate with workers. .............(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.alternet.org/story/153033/opulent_sothebys%27_appalling_treatment_of_its_workers_is_a_perfect_symbol_of_the_out_of_touch_1/