Oh rats, he's out there again!

Carpenters Union Local 623 in Atlantic City is currently picketing a site at Route 9 and Delilah Road where a company is allegedly using non-union labor.

The most notable Local 623 member, Rattus Rodentia, is a 21-foot gray inflatable rat who symbolizes a "Rat Contractor," whic is a popular moniker used by labor unions nationwide for a contractor who uses non-union labor and pays substandard wages with little or no benefits, according to Bob Tarby, business agent for the local union.

Tarby says "rat contractors" take business away from the local people.

"These businesses bring contractors from outside the area, and local people who are going to support it don't get the jobs," Tarby said.

The rat is not only visiting sites that Local 623 pickets, he has attended the grand opening of a Dunkin' Donuts and a TGI Friday's on the mainland.

"We were hand billing Dunkin' Donuts' grand opening. The owner came out and helped us set him up because he thought we were a radio station," said Tarby.

The rat was purchased from a balloon company on the West Coast and has been an Atlantic County resident for more than two years, but non-union contractors would like to see him exterminated.

"Nobody wants the rat out there, it gets us a lot of publicity and they don't want it," Tarby said. However, the rat seems to be developing a group of fans throughout the county.

"We get a lot of support from people who see it. They drive by and honk their horns," Tarby said. "The kids love the rat. They think he is the rat from Chucky Cheese, the kid's restaurant," Tarby said.

This rat gets around, too. It has been sighted at Commerce Bank on English Creek Avenue, the Galloway National Golf Course, the Burlington Coat Factory, Applebees, Dunkin' Donuts and TGI Friday's in Somers Point.