Shadow Empire

Chapter 1239 Are they also a union?

"Come over here..."

"These are today's fried chicken and food coupons."

Union members are distributing fried chicken and food stamps to workers participating in today's demonstration. In terms of how to keep workers in line, labor unions are clearly ahead of capitalists.

Or, to put it another way, labor unions are more willing to make small investments in the working class, such as fried chicken or something else.

Those capitalists would rather replace their workers with willing ones than compromise for a mere fifty points.

This gave the union room to survive.

People began lining up to receive their daily treats from a warm trolley.

A serving of fried chicken, the kind that doesn't look very big, the kind produced in industrialized chicken farms, costs at most fifty cents, then it's fried, bringing the cost to seventy cents.

Next was a food coupon worth one dollar, and that was the real valuable thing.

In the federal government, food stamps are equivalent to money because they can indeed be used as a substitute for cash when purchasing food at supermarkets.

Everyone received fried chicken and food vouchers from the staff and then said thank you.

The vice president watched from afar; he was sitting in his car with the window open.

The weather had turned "cool" rather than cold. He smoked a cigarette and frowned as he looked at the temporary headquarters of the "Wanli Group" company across the street.

"They haven't made a move at all these past few days?"

The vice president found it somewhat unbelievable, saying, "They should have done something."

"Whether they resist or negotiate with us, they will have to react to our actions!"

Lance's silence did not make him feel that his plan had succeeded; on the contrary, it gave him a bad feeling, as if... a tranquil lake on the prairie, which looked peaceful and calm but was actually full of murderous intent.

The assistant sitting next to him shook his head. "They did nothing. They didn't ask anyone to contact the workers, and no one contacted us either."

The vice president flicked his cigarette ash with some frustration. Although organizing worker strikes and demonstrations was their forte, they couldn't actually sustain this for very long.

The unions' large-scale demonstrations and strikes are based on their assessment of the overall situation. It should be noted that demonstrations and strikes come at a cost, and that cost is not low.

Taking the current "treatment" of these workers as an example, the cost of a fried chicken and a one-yuan food coupon is about one yuan and fifty cents. This cost is definitely not paid by the workers themselves, but only by the union.

The construction workers' union alone has over a thousand people signed up, and they spend more than two thousand yuan a day on this. If we include workers from other industries who also plan to join, this cost will only increase.

This wasn't due to workers being exploited and oppressed by capitalists, forcing them to rise up in resistance and causing tension in labor relations. It was purely because this group wanted to gain a share of the profits from the new city project in Lance that they pushed for it.

Therefore, this expenditure is necessary; if they are unwilling to pay this money, the number of workers participating in the demonstrations will decrease significantly.

No one would want to suffer for someone else's sake without any benefit to themselves.

In addition, they also had to contact the media and some social figures to speak on their behalf. In just five days, they had already spent more than 20,000 yuan, and the daily expenses would continue to increase.

They do this with other capitalists without worrying because they can get their investments back with interest from other capitalists.

Other capitalists can't afford to delay either. For example, factory owners face losses every day their factories stop production, and they may even face huge order claims due to delays caused by strikes.

So in just two or three days, once the union has made its stance clear, both sides will begin to compromise, agree on some conditions, and work can resume within a week.

Unless it's a massive strike organized under the leadership of a labor union, involving all industries and concerning the workers themselves, which can be sustained for a long time with low costs, union-led demonstrations and strikes generally don't last very long.

No one can afford to delay, but the capitalists can't afford to delay even more than the unions.

But this may not apply to Lance.

"Wait two more days, until next Monday. If they still haven't made any moves, then send someone to make contact with them." The vice president took another drag of his cigarette, threw the butt on the ground, flicked it a few times, producing some sparks before it quickly went out.

His assistant noted down the request. "I understand."

The car then started and disappeared into the night.

The workers waiting by the roadside to collect their fried chicken and food coupons only glanced at it from afar before looking away.

Those who walk, those who drive, and those who ride in cars are not from the same world.

Perhaps sometimes they yearn for that kind of life, but each of them knows very well that such a life can only exist in their dreams.

The next morning, the president of the state construction workers' union was still asleep when the shrill ring of the telephone woke him up.

The chairman is already over sixty years old, and it's not necessarily true that he's particularly enthusiastic about this competition with Wanli Group.

By the standards of the average lifespan of a federal citizen, he has clearly exceeded the average, which means that he has a relatively healthy body compared to his peers. However, this also means that he is getting closer and closer to the end of his life.

These last two years may be his last in this position. Before leaving, he would be willing to secure his future life with another layer of security.

The federal medical technology is developing rapidly. For example, organ transplantation, which was virtually non-existent a few years ago, has now become very mature.

I've heard that some top laboratories are working on some exciting medical technology projects that could significantly extend human lifespan.

But all of this comes with a prerequisite: you need not only social status, but also money.

As for social status... he had achieved that. He was the president of the state workers' union, had connections in the general labor union, and had many friends in the labor federation.

If he really needs these things, he can definitely find out the truth by using these connections.

But besides social status, there's something else that's extremely important: money. These days, an organ transplant surgery starts at tens of thousands of yuan, and some complex ones can cost hundreds of thousands.

He cannot guarantee that his "parts" will still be intact and need no replacement in a few years or a decade or so.

He can't guarantee that his family members' "parts" won't need to be replaced for their entire lives, so if he can make a fortune now, he's willing to do so.

This is also why he delegated authority to the vice president to "cause trouble"—if it succeeds, he will definitely be partly responsible.

The total investment for the new city project is 200 million, according to rumors. They have also seen part of the project, and he and the vice president believe that 200 million is definitely not enough for the entire project to be fully implemented. The project may require 500 million, 1 billion, or even more!
If they can capture a certain profit from this, even just one-thousandth, it would still be a benefit worth millions!
Even if it's not a million, having a few hundred thousand in hand will make life much easier. And if, by some chance, this money isn't dead money, but live money that keeps coming in, that would be even better!
He had just had a dream like that, in which Lance White lost their confrontation and was willing to offer some benefits in exchange for them to quiet down.

He moved to a new villa, a new car, and even married a little girl who was only the age of his great-granddaughter. Everything seemed like he was in heaven!
Then, the ringing of a telephone in the sky forced him to open his eyes and wake him from this wonderful dream.

"Damn it!" He patted his cheeks, sat on the edge of the bed and sighed, then turned to look at the constantly ringing telephone and picked it up.

"it's me."

The vice president's voice came through the receiver, sounding somewhat panicked, "Did you see this morning's news?"

The president subconsciously looked up at the wall clock; it was almost nine o'clock.

"Shit, I slept in, and the alarm didn't seem to work!" he said, getting out of bed with his coat on.

The alarm actually worked, but he turned it off in a daze because he didn't have that much work to do.

The vice president has a strong desire for power, and if he were still in his prime, he would be a threat to the vice president.

Now that he can retire at any time, the vice president's lust for power is not a burden for him, but rather a good thing. It allows him to avoid dealing with so much work, while still enjoying all the benefits.

So he often sleeps in late, and sleeping in late makes him feel much better.

"Let me check my phone and then I'll get back to you."

The vice president had originally planned to tell him the contents of the newspaper directly, but after thinking about it, he decided to let him read it himself. "Call me as soon as possible; I'm in the office."

The president strode into the restaurant, where his daughter had already prepared breakfast for him and was watching TV, a rerun of last night's midnight program.

The television station in Sher was also established last year, but it doesn't have much original content. It mainly broadcasts content produced by other television stations, and the same drama series is broadcast three times a day.

It plays once in the morning, once in the afternoon, and once in the evening.

By using a scrolling mechanism, there is always TV content to watch every day.

I heard that the television station in Golden Harbor City is the best in the Federation, and many local television stations, including those in Sher City, have bought the broadcasting rights to their productions.

The president glanced at his daughter, a middle-aged woman who looked like a water bucket, and lamented how time had ruthlessly taken away his little angel. Then he went to the dining table, ate his breakfast, and picked up a newspaper to read.

The Morning Reading News, the most authoritative newspaper in the area, had shown him on its front page what the vice president wanted him to see—

Who is the real one?

Who is the real one?
What really is it?
He continued reading, and the first half of the report introduced the recent construction worker demonstrations that had caused a stir in Scheer, explaining the background of the demonstrations and their demands.

There was nothing wrong with the content itself, but then, in the middle of the report, something appeared that made the chairman lose his appetite.

"...Yesterday, our reporter contacted the spokesperson of Wanli Group and obtained a very important piece of information from them."

"People have been misunderstanding the meaning of 'labor service company'. It is not a profit-making business. It is actually a non-profit, non-governmental organization, equivalent to a workers' union."

"But it's not like the industry workers' unions that are popular now, such as construction workers' unions, which are full of construction workers."

"Or it could be the Auto Workers Union, which is full of auto workers."

"This is a comprehensive, non-governmental organization that serves workers and seeks better jobs for the working class. It has all the functions of a workers' union, and even surpasses them."

“The misinterpretation has led to the wrong viewpoint,” a spokesperson for Wanli Group said. “This ‘labor service company’ is not registered as a corporate entity, but rather as a ‘trade union’.”

"If everything is true, then the construction workers' union's accusations against Wanli Group are unfounded!"

A spokesperson for Wanli Group's legal department stated that they will collect evidence regarding the construction workers' union's alleged monopolistic practices and will file lawsuits against the union's president, vice president, and others...

When I saw this part, my scalp tingled and I shuddered.

He quickly swallowed the food in his mouth, grabbed the newspaper, and hurried to his study.

His daughter, who was sitting on the sofa eating her morning dessert, only glanced at him from afar before turning her attention back to the television.

After arriving at the study, the chairman immediately dialed the vice chairman's number, his tone becoming serious, "I saw the news, what did our lawyer say?"

The vice president spoke quickly, "The legal team read it and said there was nothing wrong with the report. They are currently verifying with the city hall and the state government. If what the report says is true, then this matter will become very troublesome!"

"Moreover... the legal department said that the 'labor agency' originated in Jin Gang City. Even if our local registration was delayed a bit, as long as Jin Gang City can provide relevant evidence, then this union-affiliated... what kind of agency is it?!"

"You'd better come to the union. There are a lot of problems right now, and everyone here is here."

The president immediately agreed, "I'll be there right away."

He immediately hung up the phone, returned to his room, opened his wardrobe, and selected a set he liked from a dozen or so seasonal outfits, each priced at several hundred yuan. He then changed into the set, drove his car, worth over two thousand yuan, and quickly arrived at the union.

All the union members had gathered here, and the moment he entered the room, their worried gazes were fixed on him.

(End of this chapter)