Shadow Empire

Chapter 379: Inequality and Follow-up
There is also an office of the Labor Federation in Jingang City, but it is not very large.

For a city like Jingang City, which mainly relies on freight, docks and tourism to generate profits, there is almost no heavy industry, and the industry is basically dominated by light industry.

The core strength of the Labor Union is the skilled workers in heavy industry. Although skilled workers in light industry are also very important, their influence in society and the "destructive power" and "deterrent power" they have caused are still not as great as those in heavy industry.

So the labor union office here is not very big, so when Lance came, the meeting room seemed a little crowded.

When Debbie saw Lance, she stopped talking to others and walked over to shake Lance's hand.

His market value has been rising, so Debbie is willing to deepen her relationship with him. She never knows when she might need Lance's help.

When others saw Lance, most of the locals took the initiative to greet him.

The general representative of the Labor Union also came over, and Debbie took the initiative to introduce him, "This is one of the general representatives of our Labor Union..."

In fact, the term "general representative" is not accurate. The accurate term should be "representatives elected by representatives of all industries in the Labor Federation."

Here, "all industries" is simplified to "total", and then the term "elected representatives" is continued.

He is a representative elected by the AFL representatives, so he is called the general representative.

There are quite a few people with this title in the AFL. It is not a rare role, but the status is indeed not low.

At least he can represent all the journeymen in the trade in which he is engaged.

Like Vaughn and former president Scott, he was clearly from a working-class background, and it had only been a few years since he was a worker, but the worker's temperament in him had completely disappeared.

He was wearing a very decent suit, his fingernails were cleaned neatly, and when he raised his hand, his cuffs naturally slid down to reveal the gold watch hidden under his sleeves.

The smile on his face was full of confidence, even a little arrogance.

In fact, it's not just him, almost everyone in this room is like this.

They come from the working class, represent the working class, but are also the least like the working class!

"Just call me Peyton." Peyton interrupted Debbie's introduction and shook hands with Lance. "We have proven that the Lance White Rating Method is very effective, simple, and scientific."

"And this has helped us gain more reasonable benefits from the capitalists. You have played a key role in this!"

In the past, skilled workers were just a general term, and no one knew how skilled this “skilled” worker really was.

But with the Lance White rating system coming into being, they now divide workers into nine levels.

Levels one to two are ordinary workers, level three and above are skilled workers, and so on up to level nine.

In the past, capitalists only needed to pay the salary of a level 9 skilled worker to hire this level 9 worker.

Of course, capitalists may pay more, but this is something without any standards or references, they can pay whatever they are willing to pay.

But it's different now.

The Labor Federation began to propose some salary requirement standards. The salary of a third-level skilled worker should be at least 120% of the second-level salary, and then increase step by step, and the increase rate will become larger and larger.

For example, those above level seven will basically get twice the salary of a level two worker, and a level three skilled worker will get more than three times the salary.

As soon as this rating method and salary structure were launched, they received support from all members of the labor federation, including industry unions, which also began to fully support this rating method.

The workers support it because these skilled workers of the AFL-CIO can gain more benefits from it, and can get 20 to 30 percent more salary than before.

The more you have, the more likely it is to double!
The unions support this because they represent the interests of the workers. This obvious contradiction that needs to be reconciled makes the existence of unions even more important.

This is a long and drawn-out process, and it is not something that capitalists will accept just because they are willing to rate and count it in this way.

So we need political power to push this matter forward, and what could be more appropriate than a strike or even a general strike?

He couldn't say whether he liked or disliked Lance, but the advice Lance gave was really good!

Lance smiled reservedly and shook his hand. "I don't know what this has to do with the capitalists. I just want the workers to have a clear comparison and know how powerful they are."

Payton laughed, "Anyway, you made a very constructive suggestion!"

He paused, then looked at the president of the local labor union. "Is everyone here?"

The local president looked around and nodded, "Almost everyone is here."

Payton walked back to his seat and sat down, "Okay, now that everyone is here, we can talk about these things."

"Honestly speaking, I was very shocked when I heard about this. At this time, there are still people who exploit our fellow workers so cruelly?"

“Even resorting to violence and threats of dismissal to force our fellow workers to comply with their demands?”

"Not only me, but all the representatives are very angry. They have seriously hurt our feelings and our interests."

“I think this matter is not over yet. We need to continue to expand the scope, let more workers know about this, and let them support us.”

“Only when more worker brothers start to speak out and let the capitalists realize that we are united, can our interests be guaranteed!”

Then, he said a very famous sentence, and even Lance, who was a little careless at first, couldn't help but sit up straight, "Although slavery has been abolished and the slaves have been freed, the slave owners are still there!"

Look, this is the gap between politicians and workers. The workers working on the docks can't speak such high-level words, nor do they know these high-level words, but this Paton worker representative can say them.

For some reason, Lance, who was sitting in the back row and looking at the entire venue, suddenly felt like he was overlooking the "Little Congress", which was very funny.

Vaughn was sitting next to Lance. He turned and looked at Lance, with some shock and inquiry in his eyes.

Lance shook his head slightly, signaling him to be quiet.

There are ears everywhere, and people will hear it.

This small meeting actually did not last too long. To sum it up, it was just one thing - continue to expand the contradictions and escalate the conflicts!

Not only the Federation of Labor plans to withdraw from this matter, but other industry unions also plan to follow suit. Now the situation here has become even more serious, and then trade unions in various industries are expressing support and conducting strikes of a supportive nature.

Then the initiative in the negotiations was transferred from the Jingangcheng dock workers to the General Labor Union, which then negotiated with the federal government, local governments and capitalists.

Resolving strikes and getting them to accept a tiered wage system.

The workers are not fools. If they are asked to go on strike without any reason, they will not be willing to do so.

But as long as there is a suitable reason, it is possible to incite some industry unions that have their own demands but have not been met, and the great unity of the working class can be achieved in an instant!
After the meeting, Lance left because he had something to do, and Vaughn followed Lance. This matter would take time to implement, so they didn't pay much attention to it.

Judging from the standpoint of Payton or other representatives of the general labor union, Lance and Vaughn will definitely stand with them.

"There's a word in my hometown, 'idiots', and that's what it means to be them." Lance gave Vaughn a cigarette and lit one for himself. He really couldn't help it and said the word.

"Idiot?" For some reason, even if Lance didn't explain the meaning of this word, Vaughn knew that this description was definitely not a good thing.

Lance explained quietly, and Vaughn couldn't help but laugh out loud, "Very graphic!"

But after laughing, some things still need to be faced.

"They are going to use us to help them accomplish their ideas. I don't like this. It doesn't do us any good and it will put us at the forefront."

He raised his left hand and made a grabbing motion, "They get the benefits...", then stretched out his right hand and made the same motion, "We suffer the loss!", and repeated the sinking and sinking, just like a balance rising and falling.

Vaughn could read his meaning. "We get rid of them?"

Lance touched the business card in his pocket, "At least we can't follow them!"

"Remember, don't agree to anything yet!"

After he sent Vaughn away, he returned to the company.

The family is still recruiting people. As large tracts of land in the port area have been taken over, the family also needs more people to cope with the situation in various regions.

This also made the company seem particularly lively. Many people heard that the Lance family was going to recruit more people, and they all wanted to give it a try.

Those old men at Bolton did make a lot of money from Lance, and to be honest, although it was a bit risky, at least Lance really gave them money, and a lot of it.

For many young people, it is better to join the Lans family than to let them work in factories for a lifetime without a future. They have money, face, and actual economic income.

This is actually a very bad era. If it were really as beautiful and modern as people say, as shown on posters and in magazines, this kind of thing would not have happened!
As soon as he got out of the car, Erwin came out, "Alberto is here, it seems like something big is going on."

Lance nodded and got out of the car. He handed his clothes and hat to the girl Corinda at the door.

Today is a very formal occasion. Even the senators are wearing full suits, so he has to wear one too. Otherwise, it would not only be disrespectful to others, but also to himself.

At the door of the office, he saw Fordis smoking a cigarette.

The two of them bumped fists, "What's wrong?"

"Paul is dead."

Lance was stunned. "Did someone from the Cassia family do this?"

Fordyce hesitated for a moment, and finally lowered his voice and said, "It's Dover."

Lance looked at him and thought he was telling a story, but his expression gradually became serious. "When did it happen?"

"It's been two days."

Lance nodded, sighed, and pushed the door open.

Alberto looked a little haggard. When he saw Lance, he couldn't help but curse, "That son of a bitch treated Paul like this. I should have killed him a long time ago!"

"I will peel off his skin and make it into a drum, and beat it for Paul every day!"

Lance walked over to him and patted his shoulder, "What can I do for you?"

"He ran away!" Alberto cursed. "Someone told me he ran back to Sumurri Island!"

Lance sat next to him, "It's a good thing, at least he didn't become the new head of the family."

Alberto sneered, "Just him?"

He didn't just shake his head, he shook it, "It will only be his turn when almost all the members of the Pasletto family are dead. Otherwise, it won't be his turn at all!"

"So he ran away a long time ago!"

The inheritance of the Pasletto family has rules. Not everyone can become the head of the family. After Paul's death, even Muller was not qualified to be the head of the family, even though he was dead.

Only his son can inherit the position of the head of the family. If his sons are all dead, then his wife will temporarily take the position of the head of the family, but she will not really exercise the responsibilities of the head of the family. It will only be a symbol.

Then the rest of the Pasletto family, such as Paul's cousins, would have a competition.

The four people who have the most support from family members go to hunt down Dover.

Whoever kills Dover will be the next head of the family.

So it's not Dover's turn at all.

Before, he thought it would be his turn because the militia would enter the city, but now the militia will not enter the city. He has no way to get the Pasreto family to recognize him, let alone let him inherit the position of head of the family. He can only run back to Sumuli.

Paul's refusal to be recruited by any of the four major families on the island has angered the four major families. To them, saving Dover is equivalent to a severe slap in the face of the Pasletto family.

At the same time, it can also warn those outside who are unwilling to come back that this is the end.

Although they were not the ones leading it.

But it can always scare some timid people.

Hearing this, Lance didn't know how to comfort him, "Is there anything I can do?"

Alberto nodded, "Yes." He turned and looked at Lance, "Cisco will inherit his father's position, but he is young and has some... You know, those people are either his grandfather, uncle, or aunt. He may not be able to suppress them."

"Plus... in the current battle, the forces under his grandfathers and uncles are stronger than him. He needs me, and I need you!"

Francesco Pasletto was Paul's eldest son, even younger than Lance.

Paul got married very late and had children very late, and Francisco is only seventeen years old this year.

However, he has an older brother, but that brother is an illegitimate child, the child of Paul and a dancer.

Paul was still very young at that time and could not resist these temptations, so he left the seeds.

Fortunately, this illegitimate child does not have the right of inheritance. According to the customs of the Sumurai people, he can be a family member but not a leader.

But Alberto was not very reassured. Who knew if Francisco's grandfathers and uncles would become crazy in the end.

"I owe Paul a lot of favors in my life, and I can't repay them!"

"Now that he's dead, he has nothing left. The only thing we can do is to help him take good care of Cisco, help him grow up, and take over the power of the Pasletto family."

"There are not many people who can help me. You are one of them, and the most important one. You have to help me, Lance!"

"Help me this time, and you won't owe me anything!"

Lance punched him, but it didn't hurt. "We are brothers, don't tell me if we owe each other anything."

"You didn't owe me anything from the beginning, but you have been helping me all the time. Do you look down on me and think that I am helping you because 'I don't owe you anything'?"

Seeing Lance's somewhat annoyed look, Alberto's mood improved a little, "Hurry up!" He moved forward, hugged Lance and patted him hard on the back twice.

"I'll call you then!"

Lance nodded, "Anytime, anywhere!"

Alberto did not linger long, for he had to return as soon as possible to help Francisco and to deal with his grandfather, uncles, and aunts who might have other ideas.

Before leaving, Fordis greeted Lance again and he was very grateful for Lance's efforts.

After both of them left, Erwin came in, "What's wrong?"

He didn't know what happened.

Lance explained the situation and he also found it incredible. "How could this happen?"

Lance shrugged, "He didn't go into detail, but it happened. The only good news now is that the mayor's plan is ruined. Now it's our time."

"Recruit more people this time. What about Madore?"

"I'll call him."

Soon Madore came over, "You looking for me?"

Lance asked him to sit down, "We need more veterans, as long as they are reliable, I can afford them."

Mador thought about it and nodded, "I'll ask, how many people can you afford?"

Lance glanced at Erwin, "About three to five hundred people."

"So many?" Mador's eyes widened. "Are you planning to attack Jingang City?"

Lance chuckled twice, "Very funny." He paused, "We now have two largest territories, although they are also the poorest, but we need so many people."

"The mayor is finished. The people he brought with him will soon be cleared out, and then the Cassia family will also be cleared out, and the Starlight District will be vacated."

"Paul gave me a bar before, and I have to keep my bar safe, which requires manpower."

Erwin listened to Lance's thoughts and sighed, "Times have changed. The era of the five major families is coming to an end."

Lance nodded. "No one can rule for long. One era is crushed by another era."

"In the end, these fragments make up history. We are making history, brothers!"

(End of this chapter)