“I… I’m fired?”
Johnny looked at the manager in disbelief. Although this was his goal, he was still very unhappy about being fired so simply.
The feeling was roughly like… we can break up, but I have to be the one to dump you!
Johnny’s face turned visibly red. He grabbed the cup in front of him and threw it at the manager. “Son of a bitch, I’ll kill you!”
The manager had been watching him closely. When he saw the throwing motion, he immediately dodged. The conference room instantly descended into chaos.
Vaughn hadn’t expected things to erupt so suddenly. Although he was on Lance’s side, letting Johnny beat up the manager was clearly not a good choice. He and the other workers held Johnny back, and the manager took the opportunity to escape into the break room.
In the break room, the three directors looked at the manager. “You need to give us an explanation.”
For them, there was always a way to salvage the situation—the manager.
As long as the board of directors felt things were on the verge of becoming dangerous, they could get rid of the manager to greatly appease the resentment of the lower-class workers.
In ancient times, the rule of the nobility was actually much harsher than the rule of capitalists today, but why were there not many rebellions?
Because when the rule became unstable, they would kill a tax collector, kill a sheriff, or even kill a few relatives, and the rule would become stable again.
People always believed that it was the mid-level managers who created all the misfortune and disasters.
Not the bottom, not the top. How could the old masters who drank soup with golden spoons possibly bother with the barefooted rabble with their pants rolled up?
The ones who made things difficult for them were always the fierce, hateful management.
But they never realized one problem: why did the old masters always choose those evil managers? Nor did they understand why the masters would only discover what these people were doing when the people were about to reach their breaking point.
They would never understand, nor would they think about it. They would only play their unthinking part in the rulers’ game.
For the board of directors, the manager played such a role—a role that could calm the workers’ emotions.
Every time they encountered a similar situation, it was resolved this way. For the board of directors, for the big capitalists, they already had a mature set of methods for dealing with the lower-class workers.
So even though they were currently dissatisfied with the manager’s sudden decision, it was only dissatisfaction. It hadn’t reached the point of telling him to get lost just yet.
The three men sat while the manager stood. He explained, “Johnny was clearly here to stir up trouble, gentlemen.”
“I have already promised him huge benefits, but he still wouldn’t be swayed by the price I offered. This shows that from the very beginning, his goal was not to extort us, but to get a pay raise.”
“Even if we make more concessions in other areas, as long as we don’t meet his demands on the pay raise issue, he will continue to cause trouble.”
“So, why don’t we just fire him? If he likes to cause trouble, let him. If he needs to sue, or if he wants to sue me, let him do it.”
“Golden Port has a population of one and a half million, gentlemen.”
“And that’s an uncertain statistic from half a year ago!”
“A large number of illegal immigrants from Tanfit have also come to this city recently. Perhaps the population here has already exceeded one point six or even one point seven million!”
“So many illegal immigrants are waiting for job opportunities. Please forgive me for being so direct.”
“If the board has the courage to adopt the method I proposed before, we can push the wage standard down to an even lower number!”
The manager had previously submitted a proposal to the board: to give seventy percent of the jobs to immigrants and illegal immigrants.
If the immigration bureau investigated, at most they would just have to dismiss these workers.
Even if they were fined, the amount of the fine would have already been saved by hiring these people.
Hiring an illegal immigrant only cost eighteen-fifty a month. There were over ten thousand workers here. If they all used cheap illegal immigrant labor, they could save two hundred thousand a month on wages alone.
That’s two point four million a year!
Two point four million. The immigration bureau would at most fine them tens of thousands, or a hundred thousand. At most, a few hundred thousand. The rest was “profit margin.”
But the board of directors had many things to consider, not just wage expenses, but also social influence and social responsibility. So currently, the mainstream group among the dockworkers was still local Federation citizens.
After listening, one of the directors said thoughtfully, “If this triggers a larger public backlash, what do you plan to do?”
The manager was stunned for a moment. He suddenly realized that perhaps, at this moment, he was not too far from his dream.
He swallowed. “Sir, if there is a large public backlash from the workers, I plan to do three things.”
“First, I will find some of them and buy them off.”
“These poor bastards are very sensitive to money. A thousand, two thousand, if that’s not enough, three thousand, five thousand!”
“If you’re not willing, someone else will be. We just need to handle a few influential people and split the workers into two factions.”
“Then we will divert the conflict between us and the workers to the two internal factions of the workers, making them enemies of each other. We just need to make some appropriate concessions, add some carrots and beef to their lunch, and that will be enough!”
“Second, for those who are resolutely opposed to us, not only will we fire them, but we will also have our lawyers sue them for inciting workers to disrupt production, making them compensate us for our economic losses.”
“Regardless of whether the lawsuit can ultimately be won, as long as we can drag them to their death in litigation, that’s enough.”
“Finally, we can recruit those immigrant workers on a larger scale. Isn’t their current salary eighteen to nineteen?”
“We’ll raise it to twenty dollars and adjust the ratio of local workers to immigrant workers.”
“As long as these three steps can be implemented, gentlemen, I can ensure that it will be very difficult for them to make any waves!”
A flicker of surprise flashed in the eyes of the three directors. They exchanged some opinions and finally approved the manager’s plan.
“You have a very outstanding brain. Don’t let down God’s favor upon you.”
“This matter is fully entrusted to you.”
The three directors then all stood up. “We don’t want to waste time here. If you can handle this matter, and these people, and lower the wages…”
“I will nominate you for next year’s list of company partner candidates at the quarterly meeting in September.”
The manager could no longer suppress the corner of his mouth from turning up. He quickly bowed his head low, obediently expressing his gratitude to the directors.
The company only made two or three people partners each year, but the list of candidates submitted by each branch and region was long.
After discussion by the board of directors, they would select some of the most outstanding employees and make them partners or even senior partners.
As long as one could enter this class, it meant they stood in the upper-middle echelon of the middle class.
With stable annual dividends and incentive shares, they would also become shareholders of the company, not just ordinary employees.
“I promise to handle this matter well…”
In the other room, Johnny’s emotions had calmed down a lot. He sat on the sofa in a daze.
After his emotions subsided, he felt a trace of fear.
Yes, fear.
He had worked on the docks his whole life. This was like the life of the vast majority of lower-class Federation citizens. For them, this job would accompany them for their entire lives.
But now, he had suddenly lost this job, as if a piece of his life was suddenly missing, leaving him empty. It made a muscle-bound oaf who never thought about life begin to ponder it.
He even had an unsettling urge to take a shit.
Just like when he was caught red-handed doing something bad by the teacher in elementary school.
“Johnny, are you okay?”
Johnny turned his head to look at them, somewhat dazed. It seemed to take him several seconds to come back to his senses. “I’m fine, I’m fine…”
The other worker representatives stood by his side. “We will support you. If they really dare to fire you, we will definitely go on strike.”
Vaughn also expressed his support. “If you need legal aid, we can provide it to you for free.”
Perhaps these reassurances worked. Johnny managed a smile. “I feel much better!”
He paused. “Even if they really fire me, I won’t compromise. This actually makes me more determined in my thinking—to fight them!”
He waved his fist. “Fight to the last moment!”
This was clearly a very unsuccessful negotiation. After the board’s representatives left, the manager gained almost unlimited power.
Returning to the negotiating table again, he didn’t even plan to let this boring game continue.
“Johnny, you are fired. And I will have our lawyers collect evidence of you affecting production and damaging the company’s interests, and I will sue you!”
“And you guys, don’t think you can threaten the company. Golden Port is never short of people to do the work!”
“I suggest you be smart about it, think about who is really giving you your wages, allowing you and your families to maintain a stable life.”
“Don’t mess up your own life because of someone else’s business. You are not heroes, and you can’t be heroes.”
“Being a hero comes at a price. It could be your life, or it could be your job!”
He finally looked at Vaughn. “I’ll have to reconsider next year’s donation!”
After speaking, he picked up his things and left without looking back.
Only the union members and the worker representatives were left in the conference room. They all seemed to have become… somewhat silent.
After returning to his office, the manager directly dialed Charlie’s number. Charlie jumping out to announce his candidacy for municipal councilman was also one of the reasons for the manager’s hardline stance.
After all, the “Hound of the Bay Area” had served this city for many years, and everyone had seen his capabilities.
The call was quickly connected. When the manager stated that he would make a political donation to him but needed his help to solve the problem at the docks, Charlie agreed without hesitation.
He was the Bay Area’s hound, not the working class’s hound. He had no reason or obligation to serve the common people.
With Charlie’s coordination, the port district quickly arranged for some police officers to come to the company building to maintain order.
The appearance of the police made the originally not-so-tense mood of the workers become somewhat tense and uneasy.
People have an innate fear of the police. The lower one is on the social ladder, the more obvious this feeling is.
Because they cannot afford any loss in their lives. When they are alone, they don’t even dare to look these police officers in the eye.
Who knew if these police officers would think their gaze was unfriendly, and then arrest them, causing them to lose their jobs and leading everything to ruin.
The police couldn’t tell, but the atmosphere on the scene was indeed changing.
A few minutes later, Johnny and the others walked out of the company gate.
People immediately surrounded them, asking about the results of the negotiations. They said nothing, just shook their heads.
“Sorry everyone, I wasn’t able to get the company to compromise on the pay raise, and I even got fired.”
A single sentence caused an uproar among the workers around him.
A man who had asked the company for a raise for them was fired by the company!
Many people stood at the company gate and sent their most sincere and enthusiastic greetings to the manager’s entire family, but these words were useless.
The workers’ emotions had clearly reached the peak of anger. At this moment, while they were still making a commotion, some workers in blue uniforms suddenly stood together in a group.
A young man stood out. “Although we are not official workers, I can also understand the solidarity of the working class.”
“This is a special time. The dock management company is trying to use this method to force us to bow our heads.”
“If we remain silent and no longer speak out, then they will exploit us and oppress us even further.”
“I don’t know the grand principles that only the big shots know. I only know that if someone bullies you, and you don’t want to be bullied…”
“Then the only thing you should do is give them a punch and tell them you are not to be trifled with!”
“We are workers, and in unity, workers have strength!”
An idea that people had thought of but had not yet fully exposed, under the push of these people, began to break through the soil. Johnny looked at them. Although he knew it was a script, he was still very moved.
He walked over and hugged these people. “Thank you, thank you for your support, but it’s completely unnecessary.”
He turned to look at the ordinary local workers. “I did a lot of bad things in the past. I want to make it up to everyone, but it seems I didn’t do a good job.”
“I don’t want you to do anything for me. After all, a stable job is not easy to come by. You have families, you have lives.”
“Maybe… they are not very good to you sometimes, but if you bear with it, it will always pass…”
“Fuck!” a young man suddenly shouted loudly. “Can you guys bear it?”
“I’m not close with Johnny. I don’t care what he was like before. At least now he’s been fired for demanding a raise. We owe him!”
That young man took off his hat and slammed it on the ground. “I’m not fucking taking it anymore, and I’m not fucking working anymore!”
Sometimes emotions are like a spark falling into a gasoline tank, instantly gaining unimaginable power.
Soon, a second young man took off his hat and slammed it on the ground. “I’m not fucking doing it either. Whoever can take it can go ahead and take it!”
The workers in blue uniforms then neatly threw all their hats on the ground. These actions, like an infectious disease caused by a super virus, began to fission outwards.
The police officers standing below the company building to maintain order saw this scene, and their expressions changed.
They had already realized the seriousness of the problem.
A strike was never a light topic.
The manager soon found out about the situation, but he didn’t care at all. He even had someone find out who were the first to take the lead in calling for a strike and then fired all of them.
As for the strike?
In his view, it wouldn’t happen.
Soon, a large number of recruitment posters were posted outside the docks. They didn’t require applicants to be locals; illegal immigrants were also welcome. As long as they were willing to work, they could come to the docks to work.
The turmoil at the docks was still developing. When the Mayor heard the news, he also frowned tightly.
“Ask what’s going on,” he had his secretary inquire.
Now, the Mayor’s power was constantly expanding, inflating. Naturally, many people were willing to get on board at this time.
Political speculation is always a more exciting form of gambling than ordinary gambling. In ordinary gambling, if you lose, at most you lose your wealth, turning you from a rich person into a poor one. But in political speculation, what you lose is sometimes not just money.
It could also be your life, or other precious things.
Some people who were optimistic about the Mayor had already come over to his side. These people were often the ones who were unsuccessful in the original social system.
Although they might not have a high social status, they might actually have more convenient access to information.
Soon, the news of the turmoil at the docks reached the Mayor’s ears. After hearing it, he frowned directly.
If a strike occurred at the docks, it would become very troublesome.
Thinking of this, he dialed a number. The call was quickly connected.
“I hear a strike is brewing at the docks?”
“What exactly is going on?”
The person on the other end of the line roughly explained what had happened. After listening, the Mayor began to worry. “I’m giving a public address tomorrow, and now the workers on the docks are going on strike.”
“That old dog Charlie also suddenly announced he’s running for municipal councilman. It seems that all these things have coincided very coincidentally. Is this really a coincidence?”
The person on the other end of the line could not answer his question, because no one knew whether this was really a coincidence, or if someone was pushing everything to happen from behind the scenes.
“Is there any way to solve this problem?”
The answer from the other side was that they could only try.
The Mayor hung up the phone, lit a cigarette. He looked at his secretary and said softly, “Williams has made his move…”
(End of chapter)
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