Shadow Empire

Chapter 347 Strike
"I was... fired?"

Johnny looked at the manager in disbelief. Although this was his purpose, he was still very unhappy that he was fired so easily.

It feels something like...we can break up, but I have to be the one dumping you!
Johnny's face turned red visibly. He grabbed the cup in front of him and threw it at the manager, "I'm going to kill you, you son of a bitch!"

The manager had been watching him for a long time, and when he saw him making the throwing motion, he immediately dodged, and the meeting room instantly became chaotic!

Vaughn did not expect the incident to break out so suddenly. Although he was on Lance's side, allowing Johnny to beat the manager was obviously not a good choice. He and the workers hugged Johnny, and the manager also fled to the lounge.

In the lounge, the three directors looked at the manager, "You need to give us an explanation."

For them, there is always room for redemption - the manager.

As long as the board of directors feels that the situation is on the verge of danger, they can get rid of the manager, which can greatly appease the grievances of the grassroots 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 people who rebelled?
Because when the rule became unstable, they killed a tax collector, a sheriff, or even a few relatives, and the rule would become stable again.

People always believe that it is the middle-level managers who create all the misfortunes and disasters.

Neither the lower class nor the upper class, how could those masters who drank soup with golden spoons have the same opinion as the lower class untouchables who rolled up their trouser legs and went barefoot?
It is always the vicious and hateful management who makes things difficult for them.

But they never realized one question: why the masters always choose those evil managements, and they don’t understand why the masters don’t discover what these people are doing until people are almost unable to bear it.

They will never understand or think, they will only play an unnecessary role in the rulers' game.

For the board, the manager plays such a role, one that can calm the workers' emotions.

This is how similar things are solved every time they occur. For the board of directors and the big capitalists, they actually already have a set of mature methods to deal with grassroots workers.

So even if they are a little dissatisfied with the manager's sudden decision now, it is just dissatisfaction, not to the point of asking him to get out now.

The three men were sitting, and the manager was standing. He explained, "Johnny is obviously here to cause trouble, gentlemen."

"I have promised huge benefits, but he still won't be shaken by the price I offer. This shows that from the beginning, his goal was not to extort money from us, but to increase our salary!"

"Even if we make more concessions in other areas, as long as his demands for salary increase are not met, he will still make trouble."

"Then why don't we just fire him? If he wants to make trouble, let him make trouble. If he needs to be sued, or if he wants to sue me, let him do that."

"Golden Harbor has a population of one and a half million, gentlemen."

"And this is the uncertain statistical result from half a year ago!"

"Tanfit has also had a large number of illegal immigrants come to this city during this period. Perhaps the population here has exceeded 1.6 million or even 1.7 million!"

"There are so many illegal immigrants waiting for job opportunities. Please forgive me for being blunt."

"If the board of directors has the guts to adopt the method I proposed before, we can lower the salary standard to an even lower number!"

The manager had previously submitted a proposal to the board of directors to give 70 percent of the jobs to immigrants and illegal immigrants.

If the immigration department finds out, the worst that can happen is that these workers will be fired.

Even if they are fined, the money from the fine has actually been saved from hiring these people.

It only costs $18.50 a month to employ an illegal immigrant. There are more than 10,000 workers here. If all of them use cheap illegal immigrant workers, then we can save $200,000 a month just in wages!

That’s two million four hundred thousand a year!

Two million and four hundred thousand, the Immigration Bureau will at most fine you tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands, or a little more, only a few hundred thousand, and the rest is "profit space".

But the board of directors needs to consider a lot of things, not just the issue of wage expenditure, but also the issue of social impact and social responsibility, so currently the mainstream group of workers on the dock is still local federal people.

After listening to this, one of the directors said thoughtfully, "What are you going to do if it triggers a greater public opposition?"

The manager was stunned for a moment, and he suddenly realized that perhaps he was not too far away from his dream at this moment!

He swallowed, "Sir, if the collective opposition from the workers is loud enough, I intend to do three things."

"The first thing I'll do is find some of these people and bribe them."

"These poor bastards are very sensitive about money. One thousand, two thousand, three thousand, five thousand!"

"If you don't want to, there are others who are willing. We just need to deal with some influential people and split the workers into two."

"Then we can direct the conflict between us and the workers into two camps within the workers, making them enemies of each other. All we need to do is make some appropriate concessions and add some carrots and beef to their lunch, and that's it!"

“The second thing is that for those who resolutely oppose us, we should not only fire them, but also ask lawyers to sue them for inciting workers to sabotage production and make them compensate us for our economic losses.”

"It doesn't matter whether we can win the lawsuit in the end, as long as we can drag them to death in the litigation."

"Finally, we can recruit those immigrant workers on a larger scale. Aren't their current salaries 18 to 19?"

“We raised their wages to 20 yuan and adjusted 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 difficult for them to cause any waves!"

There was some surprise in the eyes of the three directors. They exchanged some opinions with each other and finally approved the manager's plan.

"You have a very good brain. Don't let God's favor go to waste."

"I have entrusted this matter to you."

All three directors then stood up and said, "We don't want to waste our time here. If you can fix this and these people, and lower the salaries."

"I will nominate you for next year's company partner candidate list at the quarterly meeting in September."

The manager could no longer suppress the smile on his face, he quickly bent down and lowered his head to submissively express his gratitude to the directors.

Only two to three people can become partners of the company every year, but there are many names reported by each branch and each region.

After discussion by the board of directors, they will select some of the best employees to become partners or even senior partners.

As long as they can enter this class, it means that they are standing in the upper-middle class!
With stable dividends and incentive shares every year, they will also become shareholders of the company, not just ordinary employees!

"I promise I can handle this..."

In another room, Johnny had calmed down a lot and was sitting on the sofa in a daze.

When his emotions calmed down, he felt a hint of fear.

Yes, fear.

He has been working at the docks all his life, which is like the life of most lower-class federal people. For them, this job will accompany them throughout their lives.

But now, he suddenly lost this job, just like a piece of his life was suddenly missing, empty, which made a muscular guy who never thought about life start to think about life.

He even had an uneasy feeling of wanting to poop!
It’s like when you were doing something bad in elementary school and were caught by the teacher!
"Johnny, are you okay?"

Johnny turned around and looked at them, a little dazed. It seemed that it took him several seconds to come back to his senses. "I'm fine, I'm fine..."

Other worker representatives stood by him, saying, "We will support you. If they really dare to fire you, we will definitely go on strike."

Vaughan also expressed his support for him, "If you need legal aid, we can provide you with legal aid free of charge."

Perhaps these consolations worked, Johnny forced a smile, "I feel much better!"

He paused, "Even if they really want to fire me, I won't compromise. This makes me more determined to fight them!"

He pumped his fist, "Fight to the last moment!"

This was clearly a very unsuccessful negotiation, and the board representative left with almost unlimited power. When he returned to his desk, he didn't even intend to continue this boring game.

"Johnny, you have been fired, and I will ask my lawyers to collect evidence that you have affected production and damaged the company's benefits, and I will sue you!"

"And you, don't think you can threaten the company. Jingang City will never lack people to work!"

"I suggest you be smart and think about who is paying you so that you and your family can have a stable life."

"Don't mess up your life because of other people's affairs. You are not a hero and you can't be a hero."

"Being a hero comes at a price. It could be your life, or it could be your job!"

He took one last look at Vaughan and said, "I have to think about the donation for next year!"

After saying that, he picked up his things and left without looking back.

Only the union members and worker representatives were left in the meeting room, and they all seemed to have become... somewhat silent.

After returning to the office, the manager called Charlie directly. Charlie jumped out and said that he wanted to run for city councilor, which was one of the reasons why the manager was so tough.

After all, the “Bay Area Hound” has served the city for many years, and his abilities are evident to everyone.

The call was quickly connected, and the manager then said that he would make a political donation to him, but needed his help to solve a problem at the dock. Charlie agreed immediately.

He is a hound of the Bay Area, not a hound of the working class. He has no reason or obligation to serve the lower class people!

With Charlie's coordination, the port area quickly arranged some police officers to come downstairs of the company to maintain order.

The appearance of the police made the mood of the workers, who were not too nervous originally, become somewhat nervous and uneasy.

People have an innate fear of the police, and the lower the level of society, the more obvious this feeling is.

Because they cannot afford any loss in their lives, they dare not even look directly at these policemen when they are alone!

God knows whether these policemen will think that their eyes are unfriendly and arrest them, causing them to lose their jobs and destroy everything!

The police couldn't notice it, but the atmosphere at the scene was indeed changing.

A few minutes later, Johnny and others walked out of the company's door.

People immediately gathered around them and asked them about the results of the negotiations. They said nothing, but just shook their heads.

"I'm sorry, everyone. I failed to get the company to compromise on the salary increase, and I was even fired by them!"

With just one sentence, the workers around him were in an uproar!

The person who asked the company for a salary increase for them was fired!

Many people stood at the company's gate and sent their most sincere and warm greetings to the manager's family, but these words were of no use.

The workers' emotions had obviously reached the peak of anger. At this moment, while they were still making noise, some people in blue work clothes suddenly huddled together and stood together.

A young man stood up and said, "Although we are not formal workers, I can understand the solidarity of the working class."

"This is a unique time and the marina management company is trying to force us to bow down in this way."

"If we remain silent and stop speaking out, they will continue to exploit and oppress us."

"I don't know the great truths that only the big guys know. I only know that if someone bullies you, you don't want to be bullied."

"Then the only thing you should do is to give them a punch and tell them that you are not to be trifled with!"

“We are workers, and workers are strong in unity!”

An idea that people had thought of but had not yet fully exposed began to emerge under the promotion of these people. Johnny looked at them, and although he knew that this 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 totally unnecessary."

He turned and looked 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 that I didn't do it well."

"I don't want you to do anything for me. After all, it's not easy to get a stable job. You have families and lives to live."

"Maybe... they may not be nice to you sometimes, but you can get over it if you are patient..."

"Fuck!" A young man suddenly yelled, "Can you bear it?"

"I'm not familiar with Johnny. I don't care what he was like before. At least he was fired for asking for a raise. We owe him!"

The young man took off his hat and threw it to the ground. "I can't stand it anymore. I'm not going to do this anymore!"

Sometimes emotions are like sparks falling into a gas tank, and in an instant they can gain a power that people can hardly imagine!
Soon, the second young man took off his hat and threw it to the ground. "I'm not going to do this anymore. Whoever can put up with this can put up with it!"

The men in blue work clothes neatly threw their hats on the ground. These actions were like an infectious disease caused by a super virus that began to spread in all directions!

The policemen who were standing below the company to maintain order all had changed expressions when they saw this scene.

They have realized the seriousness of the problem!
Strikes are never an easy topic.

The manager soon found out about the situation, but he didn't care at all. He even asked someone to count the people who were the first to call for a strike and then fired them all.

As for the strike?

In his opinion, there is no way to stop!
Soon, a large number of recruitment posters were posted outside the dock. They did not require whether or not the candidate was a local; illegal immigrants were also acceptable; as long as the candidate was willing to work, anyone could come to work at the dock.

The riots on the dock continued to develop, and the mayor frowned when he heard the news.

"Ask what's going on." He asked his secretary to find out.

Now the mayor's power is constantly expanding and swell, and naturally, many people are willing to get on board at this time.

Political speculation is always a more exciting way of gambling than gambling alone. If you lose in ordinary gambling, at most you will lose your wealth, turning you from a rich man into a pauper. But in political speculation, sometimes you lose more than just money.

It could also be life, or something else precious.

Some people who are optimistic about the mayor have already joined us. These people are often those who are not happy under the existing social system!
Although they may not have such a high social status, it may be easier for them to obtain information.

Soon the news of the riot at the dock reached the mayor's ears, and he frowned after listening to it.

If there was a strike at the docks, it would be very troublesome.

Thinking of this, he dialed a number and the call was quickly connected.

"I hear there's a strike brewing on the docks?"

"what is going on?"

The person on the other end of the line gave a rough account of what had happened, and the mayor began to grow worried. "I have a public speech to give tomorrow, and now the workers on the dock are going on strike."

"That old dog Charlie suddenly announced that he would run for city councillor. It seems that all the events happened coincidentally. Is this really a coincidence?"

The person on the other end of the phone couldn't answer his question, because no one knew whether this was a coincidence or someone was behind it all!

“Is there a way to fix this?”

The other side’s answer is that you can only try.

The mayor hung up the phone, lit a cigarette, looked at his secretary, and said softly, "Williams has made a move..."

(End of this chapter)