Shadow Empire

Chapter 1231 Trade Unions and Workers

He has a wealth of work experience, and his suggestions may not seem particularly outstanding, but these solutions are precisely the most reliable.

"In addition, Mr. Lance, I need to apply for some funds to bribe some influential workers."

"To dismantle the stubborn local union forces, we can't just use force; we also need money. This is the situation we feared most in our work."

"After all, there are very few people in this world who don't like money or would turn down money."

He briefly explained his thoughts to Lance: in any group, there are bound to be a few people who are particularly popular and prestigious.

Just like in some traditional communities there are a few people who "can make decisions," they may have been outstanding when they were young, or they may have a higher level of education than others.

When people are unsure of what to do, they will consult these people or follow their example. This is especially evident in the lower classes, particularly among the working class who lack education.

Humans are intelligent animals, but this doesn't mean that everyone is intelligent. Being an intelligent animal means that they will proactively avoid things that are detrimental to them and choose things that are beneficial to them.

Making choices in accordance with the choices of wise people is clearly the best course of action for oneself.

Winning over some influential workers and having them take the lead and serve as role models can greatly help to undermine any potential offensives from the labor union.

Lance nodded. "Let me know when the time comes, and I'll have someone send the money to you..."

As Lance and Ben discuss the emerging storm, the storm itself is also being discussed.

In the past two years, the federal economy has developed rapidly, and many places have begun to continue to build high-rise buildings, especially in Golden State. Since the beginning of this year, there have been rumors that a capital group plans to set a new record by building a skyscraper of more than 270 meters in Golden State.

This news has spurred building plans in many places. They may not be able to build the tallest building in the Federation, but they can build the tallest building in their respective areas.

The rapid construction of skyscrapers was seen as a sign of overall industrial strength in this era; the Federation needed it and wanted to flex its muscles to the world.

There are construction projects in various regions. This change should have been a great thing for construction workers, as projects meant they had jobs and could earn money to support their families.

But in reality, things weren't as good as they imagined.

Because of the two huge groups of illegal immigrants and refugees.

The rapid development of the Federation has drawn more attention to it, and the number of illegal immigrants has been increasing. It seems that people from all over the world are constantly smuggling themselves into the Federation every day, trying to put down roots in the Federation, their spiritual homeland.

These undocumented immigrants who have just arrived in the federal government are never picky about jobs. As long as they are given work, they are willing to accept it no matter how dirty or tiring it is, even if the wages are less than those of ordinary people.

And then there are the refugees. Logically speaking, now that the war is over, these refugees should return to their homes and rebuild their country.

However, virtually no refugees are willing to leave because they all have work permits due to the previous president; they are only missing an official identity document from federal citizens.

However, this is not particularly important to them; whether or not they are federal citizens does not prevent them from continuing to live and work here.

Like undocumented immigrants, they have lower wage expectations than federal citizens and are also a very good source of labor.

The construction industry is a physically demanding job that requires a large workforce. Federal workers are generally paid relatively high wages. Even in the western regions, with benefits included, each worker's monthly expenses are around eighty dollars.

However, illegal immigrants and refugees can be hired for as little as forty dollars, while refugees with work permits who can work legally can be hired for only fifty dollars.

If each worker saves 25 yuan, then with 1,000 workers, that's 25,000 yuan saved per month, and 300,000 yuan saved per year!

This is not a small amount of money.

So although this is an era of full-scale construction production, there are not as many job opportunities for construction workers as one might imagine.

Lance's upcoming large-scale construction project in Sher City presents a great opportunity for local and even state-wide construction workers to work nearby.

However, their requirements are indeed somewhat difficult to adapt to; to participate in their work, one must leave the union.

They won't accept job applications unless you leave the union.

The leadership of the South Yaan State Construction Workers Union has gathered to discuss this matter.

“They intend to replicate what they did in Likale, expelling unions from the work system.”

The speaker was the vice president of the construction workers' union, whose face was unusually somber. He leaned back in his chair, sitting slightly to the side.

Judging from his well-dressed appearance, he must be quite well-off; it was clearly a suit worth hundreds of dollars, something an ordinary person couldn't afford.

He tapped the table twice to emphasize his point, “Ladies and gentlemen, this is a huge challenge for us. If you knew what was going on over there, you would know what I mean.”

“Many industry unions in Likalai can be described as ‘struggling to survive,’ while the labor service companies under the Wanli Group are completely replacing unions and becoming the largest labor controllers.”

“Once they successfully replicate this system here, I, and everyone here, will lose everything we have now.”

These words made many people's hearts clench, causing them to feel uneasy and their breathing to become somewhat disordered.

These people in the union don't work, yet they enjoy better wages and benefits. Moreover, capitalists often give them some benefits to keep them from going against the capitalists.

Their jobs were quite easy and comfortable, but now Lance White's Wanli Group has suddenly arrived and refused to comply with the union's work arrangements, which has terrified them!

Once they lose their working class, they will fall from grace.

Ultimately, they are still enjoying everything they have by stepping on the heads of the "working brothers" they call themselves.

They see themselves as the saviors of the working class, but without their fellow workers, they are nothing.

The president's expression was also very serious. "The vice president is right. I have also made a special effort to understand the situation in Likalai State these past few days, and it can only be said that it is very bad."

“Wanli Group has reached a strategic cooperation plan with the capital forces in their state. They will contract the labor force needed for their production to Wanli Group, and Wanli Group will directly arrange workers for them.”

"The union plays no role and has no influence here. We cannot accept such a terrible situation in South Yaan State."

"This is our home, and we need to defend our rights!"

He paused for a moment, then continued, "Moreover, this matter is not just about the future development of our industry union. Wanli's labor service company will affect all industries. We must unite all industries and make everyone stand together against external forces!"

Several other supervisors agreed with the idea, and one of the female officials (union officials) asked softly, "Should we push for a major strike?"

The state guild president nodded and said with certainty, "I will contact our brother guilds outside the state to ask them for some support in the face of a mega-strike that will sweep across the entire state and even the entire West."

"This is not just our problem, gentlemen. Wanli Group's model is replicable, and it has actually affected the entire union system."

“If we continue to let those idiots in Likale do this, then in the end it will not only overthrow our state union, but also the general union.”

"This matter absolutely cannot be treated as if nothing happened."

"Next, I'm going to give you some instructions. Listen carefully, because I know some of you might not think this is anything special."

"I advise you to abandon your naive ideas immediately. Whether you like it or not, you must complete the work I have assigned you..." After the meeting, the vice president did not leave immediately, but stayed behind with the president alone. "Do you think it is necessary for us to talk to Lance White?"

The vice president took out a cigarette and handed it to the president.

After lighting a cigarette, the president pondered for a moment, "Talking to him about this will probably not yield any results. If we could reach an agreement with him, the situation in Likale State wouldn't be as bad as it is now."

“I heard that the AFL has basically given up on its influence over Likale, which means that Lance White will not talk to us at all, let alone compromise or make concessions.”

He seemed to have completely ruled out this possibility at this point, but then he changed his tone again, "However, it's not impossible to give it a try. After all, he's a native of Likale, but this is South Yaan, not his territory. His influence may not be as great as it is in Likale."

"Make arrangements to contact him and see if we can sit down and talk. If so, we'll go and have a chat with him."

"But we can't put the matter of contacting other unions aside. We need to put pressure on him and make him understand that this is not his playground where he can do whatever he wants!"

The two quickly finalized the entire charter. The vice president began to try to contact Lance, while the president began to contact the presidents of other industry unions.

It's not just construction workers' unions that are taking frequent actions now; construction workers themselves have also keenly noticed some changes.

Generally speaking, federal capitalists, including construction companies, do not maintain a large workforce of construction workers for long periods of time.

They would retain the core members of the construction team and the technical department. Once there was work, these core members would recruit workers, expanding rapidly like the sea absorbing water to become a complete construction team.

Besides some familiar workers who would call them directly to recruit them, they would also consider giving the union face and letting the union make the arrangements.

Capitalists know full well that doing this will get them bitten by unions, but they choose to be bitten in exchange for peace afterward. This is a compromise that many capitalists are forced to make.

For capitalists, labor unions are like vicious dogs; they only stop barking and biting when the capitalists are well-fed.

This "unspoken rule" is where the interests of those union leaders are unwilling to give up. Without these interests, the meager membership fees paid by the workers simply cannot support them to spend the long winter vacation of two or three months in the southern islands every year.

The workers were originally the happiest when these projects of Wanli Group were launched, but now they are also encountering trouble because there is no job information related to Wanli Company in the labor market of the union.

This is completely contrary to the traditional understanding of construction workers' work.

In the past, whenever there was a large construction project, it could be found on the union's job posting board.

But now, apart from some small-scale local construction projects that are still recruiting, there is no job posting for those "new city" jobs at all.

The workers gathered in small groups, discussing these matters intensely.

The union was also uncertain about the future developments; they didn't know what the outcome of the talks with Lance would be, or whether they could even negotiate at all.

They couldn't have predicted this outcome, so faced with the workers' confusion and questions, they couldn't give a precise answer and could only remain silent.

This silence caused unrest among the workers, as this industry was not as easy to make a living in as people imagined.

Some workers have not had any income for two or three months, or have been doing temporary work.

Based on what they've heard about the new city from the public, they can imagine that it's a massive project that could take two or three years to complete, which means they'll have a stable job for the next few years!

"I heard... I only heard that all the labor in Xincheng was outsourced by Wanli Group to their own group company, that Wanli Labor Service Company, for recruitment."

Someone said this in the crowd, which immediately attracted the attention of the workers who were unaware of the matter. They spontaneously began to walk towards the person, approach him, and listen to what he had to say.

Someone who recognized the man shouted, "Let's talk about what we care about: when will they start hiring, and what will their pay be like?"

Who doesn't want to get into work mode as soon as possible?

One winter has depleted most of the workers' savings, and they are now desperately hungry for money!
The person who spoke laughed and scolded, "Fuck, I'm talking, you have to let me finish one sentence at a time, and you'd better shut up!"

The other workers laughed and told the person who was shouting to shut up, and some even offered cigarettes to the person who spread the message.

For the workers at the bottom of society, this was undoubtedly a sign of respect. He happily accepted the cigarette, lit it in someone else's light, and took a puff.

"I heard from a friend that Wanli Group has always only hired internally, never externally..."

The crowd erupted in uproar again, shouting, "What the hell are you saying?"

"I read about their projects in the newspaper. All of them together would require at least tens of thousands of workers to work for several years. Is he recruiting from within the company?"

Do they have that many internal staff?

"That's the funniest joke I've heard all year!"

The man who was mocked didn't get angry. He found a slightly higher stone block, jumped onto it, and said, "Listen to me, brother."

“Their internal recruitment refers to workers registered with Wanli Labor Service Company. Anyone can register with this company and then we become internal employees.”

"They have a platform like this where you can post job openings. You can apply for jobs that interest you, and as long as you meet their criteria, they will hire you."

Others found this somewhat novel, since in this era, only labor federations and unions could determine whether a company could start operations smoothly.

This gave them a very strange feeling, as if something was going against their common sense.

Someone asked, "How do I register their company?"

Just as the man was about to say something, the union's management rushed out, yelling, "Don't fucking gather here! Get out of here! And you there, shut your mouth!"

The guy standing on the stone block gave a smirk, made a helpless gesture, and then jumped down from the stone block.

Although he stopped speaking, he had already served his purpose.

Someone shouted at the union staff, "When are you going to make the job openings in the new town available?"

The staff member responded somewhat impatiently, "We'll take it out when you can see it. Okay, okay, stop talking about this!"

After saying that, he turned around and went back into the office building without looking back, which made many workers feel very strange.

In the past, labor unions were very powerful. There were even instances where construction companies couldn't recruit enough workers to start work because of unresolved issues between the unions, construction companies, and capitalists. As a result, they had no choice but to come to the unions for help.

Unexpectedly, it seems the union is at a disadvantage this time?
The workers quickly dispersed, but instead of going home, they inquired about the location of this "Wanli Labor Service Company" and how to register it.

Their actions and changes were quickly learned by the union.

The union will bribe some workers with promises like "I will definitely consider you first if there is a job" or "I will introduce you to the best jobs" to get them to pass on information without spending money.

As this information was relayed back, it also accelerated some of the union's actions.

That evening, Ben contacted Lance, saying that the president of the construction industry union wanted to talk to him.

(End of this chapter)