The most powerful union in Manhattan is not the Teachers Union or the Transit Workers Union. It’s the Dry Cleaners Union. I have reached this conclusion based on the observation that they all seem to close at 7pm, while every other shop in the city, no matter whether it sells coffee, sunglasses or sandbags stays open later. This has never really bothered me until last week when I was asked to go to a meeting in London unexpectedly. On my way home to pack for the trip, I realized I didn’t have many clean shirts and since it was past the 7pm deadline I was going to be stuck with whatever I had in my closet…
