Chapter 387: 389. Chapter 383: Solution

389. Chapter 383: Solution

In the morning, it was still in the hotel conference room, with as many people as last time, or even more!

Before the negotiation started, Lans found all these worker representatives in the room, and Woen was there too.

They looked very excited.

"... The worker brothers in... City have also started to strike to support us, which proves that our approach is correct, Lans."

"When we knew about this last night, everyone looked very excited; we are not alone, at least at this moment!"

The status of the big beard among this group of representatives, even if not the highest, is among the top few; others looked at him quietly as he spoke.

His face was full of smiles. "Someone contacted me last night saying we can demand more; now the situation is in our favor."

Other worker representatives also expressed similar thoughts; the Federation has also had several major strikes, and every major strike has resulted in the victory of the working class.

This is the reason why workers believe that as long as they unite, there is no opponent for them in this world; they have always been winning!

Lans glanced at Woen, and Woen shook his head. "Not my people."

The conversation between the two attracted their attention. Lans has a bit of a headache now; there is no doubt that someone contacted them.

These people don't need to contact every worker on the dock; as long as they release these things, those workers will communicate and pass them on quickly; this can be called a conspiracy, or it can be called an open plot.

Using strikes to continue to push for strikes.

Woen was obviously very headache-stricken; they also saw that Lans and Woen didn't want to talk now, or didn't know what to say; the excited expressions on their faces also converged a bit.

Daifu frowned and asked, "What's wrong? Is this situation not quite right?"

Woen didn't know how to say it, so this matter was eventually communicated to them by Lans.

"It's not that it's not right, but that you are being used by them as weapons to deal with some people and handle some things."

He sat there, his brain turning rapidly. "The Dock Management Company has already made appropriate concessions and compromises. Honestly, from my perspective, they promised to raise wages, which is already enough; whatever else can be fought for, fight for it; whatever cannot be fought for, even a national general strike will be very difficult to fight for."

Lans is a bit at a loss as to how to explain these things. "I'm not saying don't let you fight for your interests, just that the whole thing has become distorted and deformed."

"We can't find them when we need them, but when they find that they can find enough benefits from us, they jump out on their own."

"They don't really care about you; they only appear when you have value."

Others also nodded one after another, but some people's nodding expressions looked very determined; they agreed with Lans's statement, but some people nodded just to "cooperate with the group," not because they really thought so.

Actually, if Lans and their identities were swapped, as an ordinary dock worker, he wouldn't think there was any problem with the Labor Union's behavior.

Because he would indeed obtain actual benefits for himself from the Labor Union's actions; their wages would increase, working hours would decrease, and treatment would become better!

These are all positive feedback for the worker group; they have no reason not to support these.

Even if they know they are being used as toilet paper.

But as long as the benefits are enough, let alone toilet paper, even being a toilet is not impossible!

Qiangni and Daifu, their relationship with Lans is better; Qiangni himself is Lans's person, and Daifu was harassed by gangsters, and Lans helped him solve the trouble.

"What do you intend to do?"

Daifu asked Lans.

Lans has a headache; Tang Mu's request looks very simple, asking him to do some ideological work for the worker representatives, but in reality, this is a matter that is very easy to offend people.

For workers who won't think deeply, and worker representatives, you persuading me to accept the conditions offered by capitalists is persuading me to surrender, and you yourself surrendered first!

So this matter is very difficult to handle, but no matter how difficult it is, it must be handled.

He pondered for a moment, just about to say something, when Woen suddenly spoke.

"I am a member of the union, but this time I don't stand on the union's side."

"I don't know what they promised you; maybe they told you that as long as you continue to raise demands, eventually the Dock Management Company will definitely compromise and satisfy your requirements..."

Someone nodded, but suddenly realized it was not the time to nod; the Federation looked at the side with a straight face.

"Don't be like this; I actually know everything, but haven't you considered it?"

"Even if the Dock Management Company agrees to the requirements you proposed, it is because they were forced to; it is not that they were willing."

Someone interrupted. "Now they are not willing either; they are also forced."

Woen looked at that person, looking directly into his eyes. "But they can accept the current negotiation result, but cannot accept the conditions you proposed further!"

"So even if they agree, the contradiction will not disappear; it still exists, and it is still constantly escalating!"

"We have made our lives a mess for the sake of other people's interests..."

The big beard couldn't take it anymore. "Just say it directly; tell us your ideas."

Lans pursed his lips; now Woen is still a bit useful, so he raised his hand to stop Woen from continuing. "The Dock Management Company has made new concessions: daily working hours remain unchanged, but half an hour of rest time is added."

"In addition, lunch meals will be improved on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, and everyone's wages will be increased by one dollar and fifty cents immediately."

Lans thinks this condition is actually not bad, because in this period, most jobs have a working length of eleven to twelve hours, and only a few jobs are ten hours.

This does not have universality, just like many workers think they are the same as workers in heavy industry enterprises; everyone is a worker, why are the treatment and income different.

Qiangni and Daifu are both thinking, others are also considering, but some people have already raised objections.

A guy wearing the work clothes issued by Lans stood out. "Mr. Lans, 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 food improvements."

"Every item is beneficial to me; I can't find a reason to oppose them."

"I don't know... of course I shouldn't say that; I just want to fight for my own benefits, that's all!", he didn't say anything unfriendly to Lans, but his meaning was expressed.

Lans glanced at him and nodded slightly. "This is normal; are there any others who have the same idea as him?"

"Don't worry, I'm just here to understand the situation; in fact, you are the parties involved."

"I won't retaliate against anyone, nor will I find trouble for others; you just make the choices you want to make yourself."

Soon some worker representatives stood out, including the big beard.

The big beard has also dealt with Lans several times. "Mr. Lans, just like what they just said to you, every condition of these people is beneficial to us; it is very difficult for us to refuse."

"And!", he emphasized his tone here, "Mr. Lans, have you considered that even if you can convince us, can you convince every worker?"

"You can't convince them, including us; actually, we can't convince them either; now it has spread outside, ten hours of working time every day, wages increased by two dollars, meat in every meal!"

"If we support you and ask them to support you too, they will abandon us."

"I also don't understand any big principles, but I know that they trust me and elected me, so I don't just represent myself alone, but also represent them!"

"I hope you can understand; thank you for your help during this period, Mr. Lans!"

A group of people soon left the room, leaving only Qiangni and Daifu, and three worker representatives.

"What about you?"

Lans asked the remaining few; they looked at each other, and finally Qiangni spoke first. "We all believe in your judgment, Mr. Lans."

Lans glanced at Woen, more or less feeling a bit comforted; at least there were still people who believed in them.

However, this is the workers' choice; it seems they are very ruthless; on one side they are wearing the clothes issued by Lans, and on the other side they turned around and kicked him away.

Actually, you can't think like that; why?

Because the vast majority of workers haven't even spoken a few words to Lans, and Lans also supported their strike before.

They didn't take much advantage of Lans, and Lans didn't take much advantage from them; now it's just a breakup.

Woen asked, "What now?"

Lans shook his head slightly, which made Woen also feel desperate. "You don't have a way either?"

Lans looked at him with some surprise. "When did I say I didn't have a way?"

Woen was a bit confused. "Then why are you shaking your head?"

"I shook my head because I feel sorry for them; did you think I shook my head because I was helpless?", he laughed dumbly. "Woen, do you know what is the thing that is least lacking in this world?"

"What?", he asked.

"People!"

After Lans and the others came out of the room, they went to the room on the other side. Tang Mu was participating in a small meeting there. Someone knocked on the door, and he went to look; it was Lans.

"It's Lans knocking on the door; he should want to say something to me; I'll go out for a moment."

Senator Kelifulan, who was sitting inside, stopped him. "Just call him in; I am also very concerned about the current situation."

Tang Mu opened the door, looked at the two people outside the door, and said in a low voice, "The Senator lets you in; pay attention to your etiquette."

Woen even specially straightened his collar, and Lans smiled, just nodding.

Tang Mu didn't say anything more, led them into the room, and then closed the door.

"Morning, Senator."

Compared to Woen who didn't even dare to breathe, Lans was obviously not that nervous and even took the initiative to greet the Senator.

Of course, he wasn't stupid enough to walk over and shake hands with the Senator; after greeting, he stood in the middle of the room.

Woen was a bit nervous and also followed the Senator's greeting. "Good morning, Excellency."

The Senator also nodded in response. "Get them two chairs; don't let them stand and talk."

Tang Mu and other subordinates soon brought two chairs. Lans was not polite at all and sat down directly.

Senator Kelifulan asked casually, "How did you talk to the worker representatives just now?"

Lans shook his head directly. "Very bad!"

"The Labor Union side might have already privately contacted these workers and worker representatives; they let the workers propose more harsh requirements in exchange for the opportunity to drag out the negotiation."

"Woen and I tried to persuade these people, but failed more than half."

The Senator listened very carefully, tilting his head to the side. Hearing this, he repeated it, his tone slightly carrying a hint of doubt. "More than half?"

"Yes, more than half."

"About seven to eight out of ten worker representatives refused our lobbying, but there are also five worker representatives who stood on our side."

Kelifulan confirmed he hadn't misheard. "You said seven to eight out of ten refused?"

He sat up straight, facing Lans directly, and leaned back against the chair. "What method do you have?"

Of course, he could see that Lans should have some methods; otherwise, he wouldn't be so calm, which also made him feel some curiosity about Lans's methods.

People shouldn't be curious; once curious, they will want to know the answer.

Obviously, Senator Kelifulan also wants to know the answer.

"Now New Jincheng has flooded with a large number of refugees, and the vast majority of work on the docks is simple physical labor."

"We can spend money to find people to operate those large machines; since they can stand on the other side for the sake of working one hour less, they will also stand on our side for the sake of ten dollars more."

"First let the docks turn, so that the current contradictions on the docks can be resolved; if they are willing to strike, let them continue to strike."

"When the time comes, let the Dock Management Company publicize that they have been fired and are no longer dock workers, so they will not pay attention to any requirements they propose."

Senator Kelifulan listened and nodded slightly. He thought for a while. "A very good solution, but only applicable to New Jincheng.", he looked at the others and made a summary.

His meaning actually refers to using illegal immigrants to solve the labor problem; they have actually always been doing it, but there are fewer illegal immigrants in other places; if a large-scale strike occurs, it cannot be done according to what Lans said.

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

"New Jincheng has just stabilized; if it becomes chaotic again, it will become the focus again."

Lans revealed his clean and white teeth, which were a bit dazzling!

"Senator, the local police and I are willing to contribute some strength to maintain local public security!"

Senator Kelifulan heard the meaning in his words and couldn't help but laugh. "Lans White?"

Lans stood up, and Woen didn't know what was wrong, but also stood up hurriedly.

Lans bowed slightly. "Yes, Senator."

"You are very interesting; you are one of the few interesting people I have seen!", he pondered for a while. "This matter will be done according to what you said; after the matter is resolved, I will give you a business card before I leave..."

Lans, who came out of the office, clenched his fists, feeling a bit excited in his heart.

The purpose of Senator Kelifulan leaving him a business card is not to say that he owes him a favor and will return the favor later; Lans's face is not that big, and Tang Mu will definitely explain it to him when he transfers the business card to Lans.

This business card cannot do anything for him; he cannot contact Senator Kelifulan to ask the other party to help him do anything.

The only value of this business card is that if someone intends to take his life, and it is a government agency, then this business card can let him survive.

The subsequent negotiation was just as Lans expected; the Dock Management Company had already released their sincerity, but most worker representatives gave feedback of not accepting, and they proposed new requirements.

These requirements sounded like the kind that couldn't be agreed to, so naturally, the result was an unhappy breakup.

However, this time, the worker representatives, the Labor Union, and the industry union people left first, including Woen.

Lans didn't let Woen continue to stay here; he was enough here.

"Senator, you have already seen it; they didn't intend to talk to us at all!"

"We have already made appropriate concessions; they not only didn't move toward the results of our mutual efforts, but instead proposed even more outrageous requirements?"

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

The Executive Director was furious; originally he thought it could be negotiated today, and people came just to sign, but he didn't expect it to be like that at all!

Edward looked at Lans, who was sitting not too far from the Senator, and felt it was a bit interesting, because Lans's position was much closer to the Senator.

Senator Kelifulan smiled and raised his hand to soothe the Executive Director's emotions. "Relax, there are not that many problems."

"Before, Mr. Lans and I...", he glanced at Lans, who leaned forward slightly to respond to this "title," letting people know who the Senator was talking about.

This also made everyone look at him sideways.

They all knew what kind of role Lans was, but what they didn't expect was that they hadn't connected with Kelifulan yet, but Lans had contacted him privately first.

The eyes of these people looking at Lans also changed, including Edward's father, as well as James who had been listening on the side.

"Mr. Lans proposed a constructive idea; he went to find a large number of new workers to solve the problem of no workers on the docks; we have a group of old workers who can take them to work."

"Then some technical positions, cranes, forklifts, sorry, I don't know what other technical positions there are, anyway, you go and talk about these positions separately."

"First let the work on the docks restore order, and then go to deal with whether these people are on strike."

"I am very curious, when they don't have a job position, what are they striking for?" ===== CHAPTER 388 =====