USW lights up iconic Pittsburgh landmarks with Biden-Harris message without permission
Corey Barsky was more than a little miffed Tuesday night when he saw a giant Biden-Harris logo projected on the façade of the towering Cathedral of Learning on the University of Pittsburgh’s Oakland campus.
Barsky, who is vice chair of the Pitt College Republicans, said the projection that included the United Steelworkers logo and a line urging viewers to “Plan to Vote” was visible for nearly two hours. He said the display seemed out of line with policies the university invoked this month when it denied his group’s request to plant small American flags around the Cathedral lawn to mark the 19th anniversary of 9/11.
“Pitt gets millions of dollars in state money. I don’t think they should permit that sort of thing,” said Barsky, a senior neuroscience major.
A Pitt spokesman said the university was not a party to the display the USW has dubbed part of its “batlight” campaign.
“The message was projected onto the Cathedral by an outside party without permission. Pitt Police instructed them to turn it off, and they did so,” university spokesman Patrick Joseph McMahon said.
The Cathedral of Learning was among a variety of Pittsburgh area landmarks the USW targeted last weekend. The union has endorsed the Biden-Harris ticket. Taking a cue from Batman, the superhero whom authorities summon by “bat-signal” when his services are required, USW is using a giant projector as part of its get-out-the-vote campaign.
The Gulf Tower in Downtown Pittsburgh, the Carrie Furnace in Rankin, the Carnegie Science Center on the North Shore and even Mt. Washington were tapped as backdrops for the USW’s night time light show.
Science Center officials weren’t aware the iconic North Shore building had been used as a screen for the message, spokeswoman Connie George said.
“As a public nonprofit organization, we do not take a position on candidates during an election,” George said.
USW spokeswoman Jess Kamm Broomell said union officials launched the batlight campaign as an alternative tool in an election where the opportunity for door-to-door campaigning has been limited by the coronavirus pandemic. She said staffers were careful not to trespass and kept to public lands with their projector.
In the past, the Pittsburgh- based international union that represents about 850,000 workers has used giant projectors to shine demands for a “fair contract” on water towers and skyscrapers during contentious contract negotiations.
USW International President Tom Conway apparently sees the upcoming election through a similar lens.
“USW members across the country are familiar with the consequences of the broken promises they have endured for the last four years. The president claims to have saved jobs, but his failed policies are responsible for hastening the loss of manufacturing employment,” Conway said announcing the launch of the batlights campaign.
Last weekend’s Pittsburgh light show was a prelude to a multistate “batlight tour.” Union officials are planning similar displays in Ohio, Michigan and Wisconsin in an effort to highlight how elections affect workers.
Deb Erdley is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Deb at derdley@triblive.com.
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