Shadow Empire

Chapter 1238 Sue Them

Lance was waiting for Robben and his elite legal team to arrive, while local conglomerates in South Yaan were also observing Lance's every move.

The conflict between labor and capital has existed since the concept of "rich and poor" existed. The wealthy hire people who need money to work for them, thus creating an antagonism between laborers and capitalists.

It's like prostitutes and assassins; they're things that have existed since ancient times.

This time, the construction workers' union made a huge show of it, mobilizing more unions to participate, intending to give Lance a heavy blow and make them understand the rules of survival here.

Early June in the western region is already the most pleasant time of year, with temperatures of 26 or 27 degrees Celsius allowing everyone to enjoy the gentlest side of nature.

At the most luxurious golf course outside the capital of South Yaan state, several local tycoons were playing golf and discussing this topic.

"He hasn't done anything for a few days now, and to be honest, it's a bit disappointing..." the guy said, swinging his club hard after saying that.

After a sharp whistle, the ball flew out with a crisp sound. He stared at the small black dot for a moment before looking back.

He casually handed the golf club to the caddie next to him, and then walked with the others to the next hitting spot.

He reached up and smoothed his silver-white slicked-back hair, seemingly quite pleased with the style.

“I thought he would have solved the problem more quickly instead of letting it fester. Once all industries are mobilized, even if he were the president, he wouldn’t have been able to solve it.”

The other important figures nodded in agreement, and one of them, a guy with blue eyes, chuckled and joked, "I've always heard that this guy is doing well in Licarle and has influence in Golden State."

"I can only say that false rumors are sometimes really ridiculous. If I were him, I would solve the problem immediately instead of letting it continue to spread."

"From this perspective, he's not that remarkable after all; rumors are just rumors."

"However, his proposed 'new city plan' is quite good."

The man with the silver slicked-back hair, who spoke first, nodded. "That's actually perfect. If he can't solve this problem, then we can use it as a bargaining chip to gain more benefits from it."

The blue-eyed guy asked, "How much do you want him to give up?"

As he walked, the man with the silver slicked-back hair gazed at the shimmering lake in the distance. After a moment's pause, he said, "More than half, sixty percent or more?"

"He holds about 20 percent; the rest should be distributed among those people, that should be about right."

"A very suitable number."

Everyone else laughed. They had heard some things about Lance before and knew he wasn't someone to mess with; they had expected to see a good show.

For capitalists, it would be a very happy thing if the union members could suffer a great loss at Lance's hands.

They have been extorted by the unions over the years. The workers' unions, together with the labor federations, are practically bandits!
They always use strikes to threaten capitalists into raising their wages or improving their benefits; if things don't go their way, they'll strike for no apparent reason.

This not only led to a continuous reduction in the workers' working hours, but also resulted in them receiving more and more wages.

An organization conducted a survey and found that workers' working hours decreased by more than 20%, but their income increased by more than 40%. This is simply unreasonable!

But they didn't have any good solutions. After all, in this era, information technology was not yet developed, and there was no internet. Light and heavy industries were the core pillars of the social economy.

Whether it's a garment factory or a car manufacturing plant, they all rely heavily on skilled workers, and these resources are precisely controlled by labor unions and labor associations.

If a capitalist is a well-dressed, strong adult male, then labor unions and labor associations are like the small, short man who has his balls caught.

Their sheer power is no match for the capitalists, yet they have a firm grasp on the heart of capital.

Having been manipulated so many times, capitalists have tried to fight back, but the number of times they have succeeded is pitifully small.

They would be very happy if someone could give the workers' union a good punch and let them vent their anger.

But they waited and waited and waited and Lance did not make a move. Instead, the guild's momentum grew stronger and stronger. While they were somewhat disappointed, they also thought of something else.

Everything has two sides. If Lance can't punch the union, then the union can punch Lance. Under the pretext of helping Lance deal with the union, can they intervene in the New City project?
Capital is always driven by profit. As long as there is enough profit, they are willing to do anything, let alone take some risks. What's the big deal?
As the group walked forward, talking, they soon arrived at the next hitting spot. The man with the silver slicked-back hair stood to the side and said, "Observe for two more days. If this Lance White continues to act so weakly, arrange for someone to talk to him."

“We’ll help him get at least 50 percent of the investment.”

The thought of such a large project falling into their hands brought a very gentlemanly smile to their faces.

Meanwhile, Robben arrived in Scheer and met with Lance in his office.

“Are you sure you don’t need to rest?” Lance asked, sitting in a chair with his hands on his hips, looking at lawyer Robben, who looked a little tired.

Lawyer Robben shook his head. "Actually, I rested very well. I rested the whole way here and didn't need to drive myself. It's just that the car was too small and I couldn't stretch out."

"I'd rather get some exercise than go back to rest now."

Lance nodded. "Take care of yourself. I don't want you to collapse from exhaustion here."

"Here are some documents that I had collected over the past two days. Take a look at them first."

Lance handed over a stack of documents, which Robben read very carefully. As he looked at them, his brows furrowed, and after about ten minutes he closed the last page. "The seriousness of the matter is beyond my imagination."

Within just a few days, some local building material suppliers that had been in contact with Wanli Group, as well as some construction equipment rental companies, suddenly stopped their negotiations with Wanli Group regarding cooperation.

They didn't mind leaking the information to Lance's managers for a simple reason: several labor unions had already contacted these companies privately, warning them not to cooperate with Wanli Group.

Otherwise, the workers' union will refuse to use the materials and equipment they provide in construction or other work.

With the backing of the state union and the support of the labor federation, these businessmen were indeed less likely to act recklessly. For them, the Lance project was indeed a super-large project that could make them a lot of money, but not so large as to make them extremely rich. There would be many suppliers providing them with goods.

The main reason they chose to "pause" is that the union's influence has become deeply ingrained in people's hearts over the years.

The union threatened them that if they continued to supply goods to Wanli Group, they would unite with all other unions to completely refuse to use the products they provided.

This is a critical issue for these suppliers.

Unless the profits from the project with Lance are enough for them to make a living for a lifetime, it is clearly a losing proposition.

Labor unions always find ways to get them to compromise, after all, the unions, not the capitalists, are the ones who hold the power in the production industry.

"What do you want me to do?"

Lance chuckled twice, took out a cigarette case, and tossed one over. "Don't be so nervous, Robben. It looks a bit serious, but it's not as serious as you think."

"After seeing these documents, a question arose in my mind."

"Doesn't what they're doing violate federal antitrust laws?"

His words left Lawyer Robben somewhat speechless. In Lawyer Robben's mind, his brain began to bubble and quickly boil!

All the relevant clauses of the Antitrust Act came to mind, and he began to try to connect these clauses with what Lance had said.

But he wasn't a lawyer who specialized in monopoly cases; in fact, he was most proficient in gang-related criminal cases.

He has the ability to exploit loopholes in criminal law and knows how to successfully bribe judges, but he is not very good at commercial cases.

“I’m not very familiar with the Anti-Monopoly Law. I need my assistant to come over.”

Lance gestured for him to leave, and soon Robben left the room. Two minutes later, he came in with another lawyer.

"This is our firm's most skilled lawyer when it comes to corporate matters; he knows this area very well."

After Lance greeted him, the two sat down again. Lawyer Robben repeated what Lance had just said and showed the documents to the lawyer who specialized in corporate litigation. Then he asked Lance the question he had just asked.

Do these actions by the union constitute a monopoly?

After hearing the question, the lawyer shook his head. "Robben, Mr. White, this is actually a very classic question, and there have been similar controversies before."

"According to the interpretations in the Anti-Monopoly Law and the Labor Rights Law, the actions of trade unions in negotiating and agreeing on rights and obligations with capitalists on behalf of the workers in order to safeguard their rights are not considered as specific facts of industry monopoly."

"So if you want to sue this construction workers' union through de facto antitrust, it will probably be very difficult."

"I also noticed that you mentioned not wanting workers to have union affiliations, which will actually present some problems."

"You may not have noticed, but after President Porter took office, he pushed for the passage and implementation of several laws. In the First Amendment to the Federal Labor Relations Act that he signed in March, he mentioned that employers are prohibited from requiring workers to voluntarily renounce their union affiliation based on whether or not they are offered a job."

"This bill will be..." The lawyer paused for a moment, then looked down at the watch on his wrist; he also wore a watch with a calendar.

When he saw the numbers on the calendar, he seemed somewhat surprised. "It's already been implemented. In other words, Mr. White, asking them to voluntarily relinquish their union membership is essentially illegal."

Lance was somewhat surprised to hear this. He didn't really know much about the federal laws. Even lawyers only had their own areas of expertise and couldn't be considered generalists, let alone someone like Lance who wasn't a law student.

He rubbed his temples with both hands. "So I can't use this to deal with them, and I'll only get myself into trouble?"

The lawyer nodded. "That's the principle."

"In principle?" Lance repeated the key word.

The lawyer smiled and nodded in agreement, "In principle, but no one stipulates that a trade union must appear in the form of 'a certain trade union.' From a legal perspective, we need to identify the trade union organization, and the key is what kind of nature it undertakes."

“You can reform this labor service company again and turn it into a comprehensive non-governmental organization with the characteristics of a labor union, like the Labor Federation. They are also a union, but they are not called ‘skilled workers’ union’ or anything like that.”

"This way, the illegal acts mentioned in the First Amendment to the Federal Labor Relations Act can be successfully avoided."

"As for whether the construction unions you mentioned are... a monopoly."

"I believe that if we have some evidence that the core reason why the construction workers' union is launching its current actions is not to protect workers' rights on behalf of the workers, but is selfish and to satisfy their own desires."

“Then we can try to take them to court, but the defendants are not the labor union, but the people in the labor union who can make the decisions.”

"The president and vice president of the union, and so on."

“Mr. White, sending them to jail will achieve the same effect you want, and no one will bother you anymore.”

"Of course, we may need to use some additional methods. We do not advocate doing so, but sometimes we have no choice but to do so."

Lance nodded slightly; he was fairly satisfied with the answer. It not only allowed him to continue according to his plan but also resolved a potential risk.

“Very good, we will do as you say. If you need our cooperation, just tell Robben. Whether it’s funding, personnel, or connections, we can mobilize them for you.”

"My demand is that these people be made to pay for their actions as soon as possible!"

The lawyer was all smiles. This might not be a big case, but at least he had caught Lance's eye, and there would be opportunities to handle big cases in the future.

"I'm happy to serve you, Mr. White!"

(End of this chapter)