In the office, Lance and Vaughn sat together, both smoking cigarettes and drinking coffee.
“The prosperity of the entire Golden Port is built on the success of the port, but now those parasites in the Bay Area have never been grateful for the dockworkers’ contributions.”
“They have taken countless wealth from here, yet they are unwilling to even give the workers $40.”
“This is very unreasonable, Vaughn.”
Vaughn looked up and glanced at Lance, “So have you joined a certain political party now?”
“These words sound like what those politicians often say. They always tell you that your life is so bad because you believed the wrong person.”
“If you believe them, your life will get better.”
“But the actual result is that if you believe him, your life might get even worse!”
“But you are right about one thing. It’s been more than two years, and we haven’t had a raise.”
Vaughn was also analyzing what Lance was talking to him about. A strike was not a simple matter, especially in a place like Golden Port. If the dockworkers’ union were to organize a strike, it would definitely alarm the national union.
And they also had to have a suitable reason to persuade the national union, to make them think that this strike was indispensable and must exist.
Otherwise, the national union would not give its support.
A strike with support and a strike without support are definitely different in terms of influence.
The simplest example.
If there was support from the national union, then the power that the national union could mobilize would be very large. In an instant, it could paralyze all the docks in the entire Federation and let people all over the Federation and even the world know everything that happened here, their demands, and the results.
But without the support of the national union, then this would be a local strike, and it would be very difficult for more people to know about it.
In this era of underdeveloped information, blocking certain news was just a matter of a few phone calls for those masters.
Vaughn still hoped to get the support of the national union, but there had to be a reason.
You can’t just say… I’m bored recently so I want to go on strike?
Lance leaned back on the sofa, one hand on his knee, “You’re looking at the problem too complicatedly, Vaughn.”
“The people who shouted ‘Workers’ Great Unity’ also didn’t think about what reason to use to persuade others to fight against the forces of capital with them.”
“They just felt that they were being treated unfairly, were unwilling to submit to the manipulation of capital forces, and then they did it.”
“No one publicized for them, no one knew what was happening in that corner!”
“What we need to do is to observe, push, help, and help everyone find a balance point. This is a natural occurrence, not the result of anyone’s manipulation.”
“I don’t really like this, Vaughn. The union gained power through strikes, and then regarded strikes as its own thing, not allowing ordinary workers to touch it casually. This is not right!”
A strike was originally a right that everyone had!
You make me uncomfortable, I f—king quit!
This was the core of a strike, no compromise, at least not now.
Everyone can go on strike, but now the national union and the Federation of Labor are taking this right away from the working class and turning it into a weapon for the management of the union and the Federation of Labor.
This is also a significant feature of the politicization of the union and the Federation of Labor. They are trying to control the “weapon,” a weapon with huge destructive power.
Vaughn felt his face get a little hot after hearing this. He first clasped his hands together, then spread them out, shaking his head and saying, “We are just… uh, strikes are very scary. We are just worried that the workers will be used by others.”
Lance did not laugh at him, “Everyone wants to gain greater power, Vaughn. I won’t express my opinion, but I think you can be more flexible.”
Vaughn fell into deep thought. The power of various unions and the Federation of Labor was at its peak at this time. The more it was like this, the more those people standing at the top of the mountain were wary of others also being able to use the weapon they had started their family with.
Politicizing strikes, turning them into a source of profit, was becoming a problem.
The Federation government and Congress had discussed how to solve these problems in private more than once. They were unwilling to see an interest group with the working class as its core grow stronger day by day.
It’s just that there really wasn’t any particularly good way at the moment, because the destructive power of their “super weapon” was indeed very great. A single misstep could lead to a nationwide shutdown. This kind of loss was unacceptable to the politicians—
It wasn’t that they couldn’t accept the losses brought by the strike, but that they couldn’t bear the political turmoil consequences they would have to bear, as well as the loss of public opinion.
They didn’t care whose factory couldn’t start work. What they cared about was only the interests related to themselves!
Seeing Vaughn lost in thought, Lance proposed another idea, “I plan to also register the ordinary workers, those Federation workers, at my firm.”
Vaughn looked up at him, a little confused, “I don’t quite understand. What’s the benefit of these workers joining the firm?”
Lance tilted his head, “Power, my friend.”
“People are power.”
“The more people, the stronger the power, let alone such a decisive power!”
As he spoke, he drank all the coffee, then stood up, “You think about it carefully, and by the way, communicate with Scott. I’m not discussing with you whether to do this or not, but informing you that the game has already begun.”
“At the same time, as a friend, I must also tell you that this matter will definitely only be good for you, with no harm!”
As he spoke, he let out a breath, raised his wrist, and glanced at his watch, “I have to go, I have other things to do.”
“I’ll see you out.” Vaughn quickly stood up and walked downstairs with Lance while talking. He even took the initiative to open the car door for Lance, “I will seriously consider it.”
Lance nodded and didn’t say anything more. He hoped more that these things would break out when Vaughn was the president. Vaughn’s relationship with him was not bad, so many subsequent matters would not require troubling others.
Sitting in the car, the car slowly started. Many people on the docks looked over in this direction.
“Do we have any companies on the docks that we have a relatively good relationship with?”
“Or are there any companies that we have a particularly bad relationship with?”
Elvin, sitting in the passenger seat, thought for a moment, “Both, what’s wrong?”
Lance crossed his legs and looked at the scenery outside the window. The docks were busy day after day, never stopping. Even on holidays, many people were still working here.
The working class is always the tears of the era, and at the same time, they also have great power and potential.
They are the most inconspicuous group of people, and also the most dazzling group of people!
“We need some representatives, role models. I am planning a major strike, on the docks, affecting the entire Golden Port (referring to the port area).”
Elvin’s eyes lit up a little. He really liked this kind of big scene!
“Is there anything we need to do?”
The car slowly entered the main road of the Port District from the docks. The number of vehicles on the street began to increase, and there were also many trucks coming in and out.
“The work we have to do is to push things to become more explosive. We don’t have to do the rest. You pick a few typical ones, the representative kind.”
Elvin thought for a moment, “There is a guy I think is very representative. It’s a trading company opened by an Empire person, specializing in import and export trade between the Federation and the Empire.”
Lance became a little interested. There were many Empire people doing business in the Federation, but not many could make it big.
This place was full of shackles. It was not as equal and free as they said, “Is this person very good to the workers?”
This was what he could think of, but he also vaguely felt that perhaps his view was the opposite.
And the fact was indeed so. Elvin shook his head and said, “He is a negative example. He hires almost all Empire immigrants, but he treats these fellow countrymen more harshly than the Federation people.”
“For the sake of him not delaying wages, there are still people willing to suffer there.”
“These Empire bosses are more ruthless to our own people than the Federation people because they know where our bottom line is, so they can step on the bottom line again and again!”
Lance was quite in agreement with Elvin’s statement. In any era, the ones who are most ruthless to their own people are always their own people, not outsiders.
It’s like masturbating. A stranger will never know where your G-spot is. They might work on you for a long time and still not be able to finish today’s work.
Only you know how to properly get it off. You know yourself like the back of your hand, and this is just like those Empire capitalists.
They understand the Empire immigrants as well as they understand themselves. As long as he himself feels he can endure it, the vast majority of Empire immigrants can also endure it.
Plus, there is no need to worry about some other problems because of the difference in ethnic groups. These people are definitely the most formidable in exploiting the Empire immigrants!
“Then it’s him. Do we have anyone working there?”
Elvin shook his head, “We don’t recommend workers to him. He hires the ones from the very bottom.”
“Contact them. It’s time for revenge.”
The convoy sped down the road. As they were about to leave the Port District, another convoy was accelerating to catch up.
From the rearview mirror, you could see these vehicles constantly accelerating. There were a lot of cars on the road, which to a certain extent hindered their pursuit.
“It’s the Wolf Gang’s car,” Elvin took out the submachine gun from under his seat. He stared intently at the vehicles that were quickly catching up through the rearview mirror.
Lance lit a cigarette and also took out a submachine gun, but he didn’t think this battle would break out because this place was already close to the border of the Empire District and the Port District.
If a battle broke out here, the Lance Family’s men could quickly provide support. At that time, it would be hard to say who would win and who would lose.
As expected, the convoy chased them to the border of the two districts and then stopped. A few people got out of the cars and gave the middle finger to Lance’s convoy…
Lance put the submachine gun back and tidied up his slightly messy clothes, “After these things are over, we must uproot them.”
Elvin said with a grin, “Actually, it’s quite interesting. There are many people who want to get rid of us, but not everyone can get rid of us!”
After entering the Empire District, the slightly tense atmosphere also disappeared. The car went directly back to the Wanli Firm.
A car at the entrance of the alley slightly blocked the way into the alley. The driver went to find the owner of the vehicle. Lance and Elvin stood on the side of the road.
Passersby constantly greeted them, and not far away, there were some small children wearing only underpants watching them.
Lance looked at these children, casually took out a small handful of coins from his pocket, one cent, two cents, five cents, and threw them over.
These children didn’t react at first, but soon they cheered and ran over to scramble for them.
Before long, everyone had at least two or three coins in their hands. They also very politely came to Lance, bowed, and thanked him.
People all like polite people because they can perceive respect for themselves from these polite people. He talked to each child as if they were adults. He got respect, and the children also got respect.
The pedestrians on the side of the road all smiled as they watched this scene. A child even ran back and gave the coins he had gotten to his mother.
The woman brought the child over again to thank him, “Mr. Lance, thank you for your generosity…”
Because she was a woman, it was not very convenient for Lance to have contact with her, nor did he shake her hand, but just responded with a smile, “The child is very cute, and I just happened to have some spare change.”
“I hope this spare change can bring you a whole day of good mood!”
The woman bowed again, “You are a good person, Mr. Lance.”
The driver ran out of the house on the side of the road, apologizing as he ran, and moved the car a little to let the convoy in.
No one beat him, and no one even cursed him. Everything was so peaceful, so peaceful as if it were something that could happen on the street every year, every day!
Many people think that gangs are all about eating, drinking, whoring, and gambling all day long. In fact, gangs also have a lot of things to do.
For example, Nick recently found a good piece of land. This piece of land did not belong to Golden Port but was under the jurisdiction of the state government. An application had to be made to the State Land Administration.
How to apply, how much it would cost, how to ensure that you get more years with the smallest cost, these things need to be arranged for people to do.
The land in the Federation is actually very easy to get, but it’s hard to do things after you get it.
For example, some places around Golden Port are one dollar for a large piece of land. It seems like a good deal, but the government’s regulations and requirements are that you must complete the infrastructure work within the stipulated time, and then go into production and hire a certain number of people to work for you within the stipulated time.
Otherwise, they have the right to take back these lands and then find the next buyer.
These things are almost everywhere in the Federation, which is also why it is said that everyone cannot do without a lawyer.
Because for some things, if you don’t consult a lawyer, you will really get into big trouble.
There are also things like Ennio recently contacting some Empire gangs who wanted a stable source of goods and were trying to make a living in other places.
They had no stable channels in their hands, and their bars were open one day and closed the next. Now they were coming towards Golden Port, wanting to get a stable source of goods from Lance’s side.
Another example is that the navy and the army have retired a batch of weapons. Some have been in service for more than ten years, but what’s magical is that most of these are brand new. Someone is looking for a buyer, and Lance also wants to buy some…
The situation of each bar, whether a new bar needs to be opened, the newly recruited novices…
“Family business” is definitely not just an empty phrase. Sometimes Lance feels more like a company president than a family leader.
At six-something in the evening, the sky was already getting dark. It was the kind of deep twilight… what the hell kind of adjective is that?
In short, it was the kind of half-dark, half-not-dark. The dim yellow streetlights on the side of the road had already been lit. The small tunes playing in the display windows and the smell of baking bread wafting from the bakery made people realize that the day was already over.
Lance hung up a phone call. The receiver was already slightly warm. Luigi had sent another batch of goods over.
He was reluctant to give up the market here. This time he had arranged for more people to escort this batch of goods, as well as his nephew.
However, the price of this batch of goods was not high. The loss last time had made him ache for a long time. This time there was only about $150,000 to $200,000 worth of goods, which for Lance was probably only two weeks’ sales.
This time, Lance still had no intention of letting him go.
The phone he had just hung up immediately rang again with a dring-dring-dring. Lance picked it up, “Is there anything else?”
It was Alberto who had just spoken with him. Recently, Paul had been actively preparing for a big move. Alberto told Lance that they seemed to be planning to make a move on the Cassia family.
The Cassia family had mobilized too many gunmen over. It made people feel uneasy to just let them be. The Keane family was trapped in a war with the Bear Gang in the city center and couldn’t spare the hands, so this time it was the Pasoretto family and the Tita family who would make a move.
The voice coming from the receiver was not Alberto’s, but William’s.
“There’s something I might need to trouble you with. Do you still remember Barbara?”
Lance laughed, “Of course I remember. Didn’t we just see each other a while ago?”
“Barbara borrowed a high-interest loan, and now those people have come to her house.”
“They said if she can’t come up with the money tonight, they’ll make her go out and serve customers.”
Lance was a little curious, “$60,000 might be a lot for an ordinary person, but for Barbara’s family, it’s not that much, right?”
“I heard her parents have about that much money?”
William explained, “There are a lot of stocks and bonds that need time to be cashed out, and the other party is not asking for $60,000, but $90,000.”
“They said that it was agreed at the time that she would borrow this money, and she would pay them back $120,000 including principal and interest after a year. Now they are demanding to collect it early, so they are only asking for a general interest.”
Lance couldn’t help but laugh twice, “A very ungentlemanly gang, and not very rule-abiding either. Whose men are they?”
“It seems to be the Doug family’s men.”
Lance considered for a moment, “I’ll be over in a bit. Are you with them?”
William nodded in agreement, “No, I’m just about to go over.”
“Okay, I’ll be there shortly.”