Shadow Empire

Chapter 383 Solution
In the morning, still in the hotel's conference room, there were the same number of people as last time, or even more!

Before the negotiations began, Lance brought all the worker representatives into the room, including Vaughn.

They look excited.

"...Our fellow workers in the city have also started to strike in support of us. This proves that what we are doing is correct, Lance."

"When we found out about this last night, everyone seemed very excited. We are not alone, at least at this moment!"

Even if the bearded man's status among this group of representatives was not the highest, he was still among the top few. Everyone else watched him speak quietly.

He was all smiles, "Someone contacted me yesterday and said we could ask for more, and now the situation is in our favor."

Other workers' representatives expressed similar ideas, and there were several major strikes in the Federation, each of which ended in victory for the working class.

This is why workers believe that as long as they unite, there will be no opponents in the world, and they always win!
Lance glanced at Vaughn, who shook his head, "Not my guy."

The conversation between the two people caught their attention. Lance now had a headache. There was no doubt that someone had contacted them.

These people do not need to contact every worker on the dock. As long as these things are released, the workers will quickly communicate and spread the information. This can be said to be a conspiracy, or an open conspiracy.

Use strikes to continue to push strikes.

Vaughn was obviously having a headache. They also noticed that Lance and Vaughn didn't want to talk or didn't know what to say. The excitement on their faces also subsided a little.

Dave frowned and asked, "What's wrong? Isn't this situation a bit strange?"

Vaughn didn't know what to say, so it was Lance who finally came to communicate with them about this matter.

"It's not that there's anything wrong, but you are being used as weapons by them to deal with some people and to handle some issues."

He sat there, his mind racing. "The dock management company has already made appropriate concessions and compromises. To be honest, from my point of view, it's enough that they promised a wage increase. We should fight for the rest that we can. If we can't get it, it will be difficult to get it even if there is a national strike."

Lance didn't know how to explain this. "I'm not saying that you can't fight for your interests. I just think that the whole thing has become distorted."

"We couldn't find them when we needed them, but when they found that they could gain enough benefits from us, they came forward on their own initiative."

"They are not the ones who really care about you. They only show up when you are valuable."

Others also nodded, but some of them looked very determined. They agreed with what Lance said, but some of them nodded just to "cooperate with the group" instead of really thinking so.

In fact, if Lance's identity was switched with theirs and he became an ordinary dock worker, he would not think there was anything wrong with the current labor union.

Because he will indeed gain practical benefits for himself from the actions of the labor union, their wages will increase, their working hours will be reduced, and their treatment will become better!
These are all positive feedback to the working group and they have no reason not to support them.

Even though they know that they are being used as toilet paper.

But as long as the benefits are great enough, let alone being used as toilet paper, it can even be used as a toilet!
Johnny and Dave have a better relationship with Lance. Johnny is Lance's man, while Dave was harassed by gangsters and Lance helped him solve the problem.

"What are you going to do?"

Dave asked Lance.

Lance had a headache. Tom's request seemed simple, asking him to do some ideological work for the workers' representatives, but in fact it was something that could easily offend people.

For workers and workers' representatives who do not think deeply, if you persuade me to accept the conditions offered by the capitalists, you are persuading me to surrender, and you surrender first!

So this matter is very difficult to do, but no matter how difficult it is, we still have to do it.

He pondered for a moment and was about to say something when Vaughn suddenly spoke.

"I am a union man, but I am not on the union's side this time."

“I don’t know what they promised you. Maybe they told you that as long as you continue to raise your demands, the terminal management company will definitely compromise and meet your requirements…”

Someone nodded, but suddenly realized that this was not the time to nod, and the Federation looked aside with a stern face.

"Don't be like that. I actually know everything, but have you ever thought about it?"

“Even if the terminal management company agreed to your request, they were forced to do so. This was not their own will.”

Someone interjected, “Now they are not doing this voluntarily, they are being forced.”

Vaughn looked at the man and looked him straight in the eye. "But they can accept the current negotiation results, but cannot accept the further conditions you propose!"

"So even if they agree, the conflict won't go away. It still exists and is escalating!"

"We mess up our lives for the benefit of others..."

The bearded man couldn't stand it anymore. "Just tell me what you think."

Lance pursed his lips. Vaughn was still somewhat useful now, so he raised his hand to stop Vaughn from continuing. "The dock management company has made new concessions. The daily working hours remain the same, but there will be an extra half hour of rest time."

"In addition, the lunch meals will be improved on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, and everyone's salary will be raised by 1.5 yuan immediately."

Lance thought that this condition was actually not bad, because most jobs during this period had working hours of eleven to twelve hours, and only a few jobs were ten hours.

This is not universal, just like many workers think that they are the same as workers in heavy industry enterprises. They are all workers, so why are their treatment and income different?

Johnny and Dave were both thinking about it, and some other people were also considering it, but some people had already raised objections.

A guy wearing the work clothes distributed by Lance stood up and said, "Mr. Lance, I don't understand any big principles. I only know that the conditions they proposed are beneficial to us."

"You can do less work every day, get more wages, and have more improved food."

"Every item is in my favor, and I can't find any reason to oppose them."

"I don't know... Of course I shouldn't say that, I just want to fight for my own benefit, that's all!" He didn't say anything unfriendly to Lance, but his meaning was expressed.

Lance glanced at him and nodded slightly, "This is normal. Is there anyone else who thinks the same as him?"

"Don't worry, I'm just here to understand the situation. You are actually the parties involved."

"I won't take revenge on anyone, nor will I cause trouble for others. Just make the choices you want to make."

Soon some worker representatives stood up, including the bearded man.

The bearded man had also dealt with Lance several times. "Mr. Lance, just like what they told you just now, every condition of these people is good for us, and it is difficult for us to refuse."

"Moreover!" He emphasized his tone, "Mr. Lance, have you ever considered that even if you can convince us, can you convince every worker?"

"You can't convince them, including us. In fact, we can't convince them either. Now the word has spread that if you work ten hours a day, your salary will increase by two yuan, and you can have meat every meal!"

“If we support you and ask them to support you as well, they will abandon us.”

"I don't understand much, but I know that they believe in me and elected me, so I not only represent myself, but also them!"

"I hope you can understand. Thank you for your help during this period, Mr. Lance!"

The group quickly left the room, leaving only Johnny, Dave, and three worker representatives.

"what about you?"

Lance asked the remaining people. They looked at each other, and finally Johnny spoke first, "We all trust your judgment, Mr. Lance."

Lance glanced at Vaughn and felt somewhat relieved that at least someone still believed in them.

But this was the workers' choice. They seemed very ruthless. One of them was wearing the clothes given to them by Lance, while the other turned around and kicked him.

Actually, you can’t think like this. Why?
Because most of the workers had never even spoken a few words to Lance, who had previously supported their strike.

They didn't take much advantage of Lance, and Lance didn't take any advantage of them either, and now they just parted ways.

Vaughn asked, "What should we do now?" Lance shook his head slightly, which made Vaughn feel desperate. "Don't you have any other solution?"

Lance looked at him in surprise, "When did I say I had no other options?"

Vaughn was a little confused. "Then why are you shaking your head?"

"I shook my head because I felt sorry for them. Do you think I shook my head because I can't do anything about it?" He laughed dumbly. "Vaughn, do you know what the most indispensable thing in this world is?"

"What?", he asked.

"people!"

After Lance and the others came out of the room, they went to the other side. Tom was attending a small meeting here. Someone knocked on the door. He took a look and saw it was Lance.

"It's Lance knocking on the door. He probably wants to say something to me. I'll go out for a moment."

Senator Cleveland, who was sitting inside, stopped him and said, "It's a good idea to call him in. I am also concerned about the current situation."

Tom opened the door, looked at the two people outside and whispered, "The senator asked you to come in, please pay attention to your etiquette."

Vaughn even adjusted his collar. Lance smiled and just nodded.

Tom said nothing more, ushered them into the room, and closed the door.

"Morning, Senator."

Compared to Vaughn who didn't even dare to breathe, Lance was obviously not that nervous and took the initiative to greet the senator.

Of course he wasn't stupid enough to walk over and shake the senator's hand, so he just stood in the middle of the room after saying hello.

Vaughn was a little nervous and greeted the senator, "Good morning, sir."

The senator nodded in response, "Get them two chairs, don't let them stand and talk."

Tom and his other men quickly brought two chairs, and Lance sat down without any hesitation.

Senator Cleveland asked casually, "How was your talk with the workers' representatives just now?"

Lance simply shook his head and said, "It's very bad!"

"The labor federation may have privately contacted these workers and worker representatives, asking the workers to make more stringent demands in exchange for the opportunity to drag out the negotiations."

"Vaughn and I tried to convince these people, but we failed more than half the time."

The senator leaned sideways and listened attentively with his head tilted. Hearing this, he repeated with a hint of doubt in his tone, "Most of it?"

"Yes, more than half."

"About 70 to 80 percent of the workers' representatives rejected our lobbying, but five of them stood on our side."

Cleveland confirmed that he had heard correctly, "You said 70 to 80 percent of them were rejected?"

He sat up straight, facing Lance, and leaned back in his chair, "What do you have in mind?"

Of course he could see that Lance must have some solution, otherwise he wouldn't be so calm. This also made him curious about Lance's solution.

People cannot be curious. Once they are curious, they will want to know the answer.

Obviously, Senator Cleveland wanted to know the answer, too.

"Now there are a large number of refugees pouring into Jingang City, and most of the work at the port is simple manual labor."

"We can pay people to operate those large machines. Since they can work one hour less on the other side, they will stand on our side for an extra ten dollars."

“Let’s get the docks moving first, so that we can resolve the current conflicts on the docks, and if they want to strike, let them continue to strike.”

"Then let the terminal management company publicize that they have been fired and are no longer dock workers, so any requests they make will not be taken into account."

Senator Cleveland listened and nodded slightly. He thought for a while and said, "It's a very good solution, but it only applies to Jingang City." He looked at the others and made a summary.

What he actually meant was to use illegal immigrants to solve the labor problem, which they have actually been doing all along, but there are fewer illegal immigrants in other places, and if there is a large-scale strike, they cannot do what Lance said.

He then asked, "What if these workers start making trouble?"

"Jingang City has just stabilized. If chaos breaks out again, this place will become the focus again."

Lance showed his clean and white teeth, which were a little dazzling!
"Mr. Senator, the local police and I are willing to contribute to maintaining local law and order!"

Senator Cleveland heard the implication of his words and couldn't help laughing. "Lance White?"

Lance stood up, and Vaughn, not knowing what was happening, also stood up quickly.

Lance bowed slightly, "Yes, Senator."

"You are very interesting, one of the few interesting people I have ever met!" He pondered for a while, "I will do as you said. After the matter is settled, I will give you a business card before I leave..."

Lance came out of the office, clenched his fists, and felt a little excited.

The purpose of Senator Cleveland leaving him his business card was not to say that he owed him a favor and had to repay it in the future. Lance was not so shameless, and Tom would definitely make it clear to Lance when he handed the business card to him.

The card couldn't do anything for him; he couldn't contact the Cleveland Senator and ask him to do anything for him.

The only value of this business card is that if someone wants to kill him, and it is a government agency, then this business card can keep him alive.

The subsequent negotiations went just as Lance had expected. The terminal management company had shown their sincerity, but most of the workers' representatives gave unacceptable feedback and put forward new demands.

It was obvious that these requests were the kind that could not be met, so the natural result was an unhappy parting.

This time, however, it was the workers' representatives, the AFL-CIO and the industry unions who left first, including Vaughan.

Lance didn't let Vaughn stay here any longer; having him here was enough.

"Mr. Congressman, you have seen that they have no intention of talking to us at all!"

"We have already made appropriate concessions, but instead of moving towards the outcome we have both worked towards, they are making even more outrageous demands?"

"Even if someone wants to launch an antitrust investigation against us this time, it will be difficult for us to continue talking to them!"

The executive director was furious. He had thought that the deal could be almost done today. Everyone came here just to sign, but he didn't expect it to be like that at all!

Edward looked at Lance, who was sitting not too far from the senator, and found it somewhat interesting because Lance's seat was much closer to the senator.

Senator Cleveland smiled and raised his hand to calm the executive director, "Relax, there aren't that many problems."

"Before, Mr. Lance and I..." He glanced at Lance, who leaned forward slightly to respond to the "title", letting people know who the senator was talking about.

This also made everyone look at him sideways.

They all knew who Lance was, but what they didn't expect was that before they could get in touch with Cleveland, Lance had contacted him privately first.

The way these people looked at Lance also changed, including Edward's father and James who had been listening.

"Mr. Lance came up with a constructive idea. He went to find a large number of new workers to solve the problem of a lack of workers at the dock. We have a group of veteran workers who can be brought to work."

"Then there are some technical positions, cranes, forklifts. Sorry, I don't know what other technical positions there are. Anyway, you can discuss these positions separately."

“Let’s get the dock work back in order first, and then deal with the question of whether these people are on strike.”

"I'm curious, what are they striking for when they don't have jobs?"

(End of this chapter)