[protomyth]

Ironically, much of the visible 'local' opposition, which was happy to appear at press conferences and protest at City Council hearings during work hours, were actual organizers paid by one union: RWDSU. (If you are wondering if that is even legal, probably not).

That is a pretty strong accusation to put in writing. I get the feeling that some investigation is going to happen on that one. Paid protestors presented as "concerned citizens" is not exactly a new tactic, but money is a lot easier to track these days.

[Spooky23]

Its very common in NY for high profile issues.

When fracking was the cause de jure, hundreds of people were being bussed to Albany weekly to protest.

I’m not sure if it’s good or bad, but it’s a thing.

[protomyth]

We do have some experience with it out here in the middle. I have a relative (by marriage) who did a pipeline protest then went to "protest a volcano in Hawaii". Apparently, it was a good gig.

I'm just surprised that the NY government put it in a press release. It really seems odd, but maybe that union has really separated itself from the herd, politically.

[drak0n1c]

Yes, there were people paid to blockade and prevent the construction of a new state-of-the-art science telescope on Mauna Kea. They were successful in pressuring the state to renege on the contract and block construction.

I live in Seattle now, and I remember talking to a petition signature gatherer for the recently passed gun control measure (petitions get them on the ballot). He was paid per-signature by a non-profit funded by the Open Society foundation. He said he was doing it Arizona before Seattle, and will keep going around to areas they pay for.

[protomyth]

One does wonder if the individual you met and others paid there proper income taxes in each state they worked? I get the feeling that will come up before long.

[Spooky23]

I agree — We live in interesting times... the ability of populist agitators to amplify their voices is greater than it has been since the 1930s. There’s a reason why an oddball like Bernie Sanders (and a long tail of others, of all political stances) is a high profile figure in 2019!

POTUS has made this new “direct to you” model a thing that people are studying and learning from. Maybe this is a way to test the waters at communicating without lowering yourself to shouting to a mob on Twitter.