A battle is brewing at Western Michigan University this summer between a group of hungry goats and a labor union.
The 400-member American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees has filed a grievance contending that the work the goats are doing in a wooded lot is taking away jobs from laid-off union workers.
……
University spokeswoman Cheryl Roland said a small goat crew has been on campus this summer, but not to cut grass.
“For the second summer in a row, we’ve brought in a goat crew to clear undergrowth in a woodlot, much of it poison ivy and other vegetation that is a problem for humans to remove,” Roland said. “Not wanting to use chemicals, either, we chose the goat solution to stay environmentally friendly.
“The area is rife with poison ivy and other invasive species, and our analysis showed the goats to be a sustainable and cost-effective way of removing them,” she added.
…..
WMU used a 10-goat crew for one week last summer as part of a pilot project, which Roland called a success.
The 20-goat crew is expected to clear about 15 acres on the southwest side of Goldsworth pond before students return for the fall semester.
The goats are ahead of schedule, said Nicholas Gooch, a university horticulturist and the project leader.
“It’s definitely not what we hoped would come out of this project,” Gooch said Thursday. “It kind of takes the air out of your sails a little bit.”
- Discussion
-
A university hired goats to clear underbrush, and the local union is HAVING NONE OF IT 🐐https://t.co/1hHp1CWJsV pic.twitter.com/yZFjHNLgpV
— Scott Lincicome (@scottlincicome) July 7, 2017
While everyone was freaking out about robots and immigrants, the gawd-dam goats pounced on the throat of the working man. https://t.co/vrkEAjxyQ5
— Jonah Goldberg (@JonahNRO) July 7, 2017
You must be logged in to reply to this topic.