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Times were progressing, and so were the people.
At the Dacol Textile Factory, after the management had announced the company’s decision, the workers involved in the strike began to discuss in small groups.
A young man with ordinary looks sneered, "The same old tricks, don’t they ever get tired of them?"
Clearly, the young man was wary; he didn’t dare to call them out by name. Everyone knew there were spies for the boss among the workers. There had already been people fired for complaining in private.
But times had changed. Getting fired was getting fired; at worst, they’d find a job at another factory. If all else failed, they could always go to the colonies—it’s not like they would starve to death.
With this additional option, everyone felt more confident. If the Dacol Textile Factory offered good treatment, perhaps they wouldn’t be so reluctant to lose their jobs.
Unfortunately, perhaps the Dacol Textile Factory could boast reasonable treatment ten years ago, but that was no longer the case.
A middle-aged man beside him glared fiercely, "Shut your mouth, Leke!"
Worry filled the eyes of the middle-aged man; factory management was far from harmonious, with beatings a common occurrence.
The Lano father and son had accumulated much power and had zero tolerance for anything challenging their authority.
Although Leke didn’t name names, if his words spread, he could still face retaliation.
Ordinary workers couldn’t fight against capitalists. In previous years, accidents had happened to those who spoke ill of the boss.
The accidents were officially reported as mishaps, but those in the know were aware that they were orchestrated to eliminate the unfortunate individuals, "killing the chicken to scare the monkey."
The accidents left no trace back to the boss. The worker who caused the accident took full responsibility, the factory paid a sum in compensation, and the matter was settled.
For a time, everyone felt threatened. With spies for the boss lurking, apart from close friends and family, mistrust abounded.
In recent years, the Kingdom of Lombardy had started to regulate factory chaos. Factories with frequent accidents couldn’t pass safety audits, which led to the Lano father and son pulling back.
While they no longer dared cause accidents, petty harassment and firings still went on.
A young man, about fifteen or sixteen years old, said, "Don’t worry, Uncle Raul. Leke won’t have any problems. With such a big situation, who will bother with this little matter?"
This was true; currently, over a hundred thousand people were striking. With so many voicing their grievances, considering retaliation might put everyone at risk.
For now, the management was more worried about how to get everyone back to work. The matter of snitching took a back seat.
…
Inside the company meeting room, the atmosphere was tense and bleak. The once prized method of layoffs by the Dacol Lano seemed to have suddenly become ineffective.
Usually, a two or three-day stand would suffice. With spies among the workers coaxing them, the workers would promptly compromise.
But this time was different. It was the fifth day, and less than ten percent had returned to work. It seemed the rest would rather face layoff than compromise, which was awkward.
Just the thought of firing all the remaining workers was enough. With each day the factory was idle, the economic losses were substantial.
If everyone were fired, it would be impossible to find enough replacements quickly. The Dacol Textile Factory might not recover production capacity for two or three years.
In that much time, competitors would have swept up their market share. Old Lano’s face was terribly grim; failing to resume work on time was also a blow to his prestige.
The rapid growth and expansion of the Dacol Textile Factory certainly wasn’t solely the work of the Dako Family; many collaborators had come on board during this time. 𝓃𝓸𝓋𝓅𝓾𝒷.𝒸ℴ𝓂
Especially after going public, the board to some extent restrained Old Lano’s power. Though he still dominated the company, with the troubles of Dacol Textile Factory’s development, criticism grew louder.
Many believed that Old Lano had aged too much to continue leading the Dacol Textile Factory, and this incident made the situation even less favorable.
The aromatic coffee on the table did nothing to pique Old Lano’s interest. To compromise or not to compromise was an agonizing dilemma.
The factory shutdown resulted in more than superficial losses; there was also the impact on the corporate brand and market share.
The Dacol Textile Factory was also a golden signboard. Once news of the strike got out, it was bound to hit the brand’s value, affecting the sales market.
A well-dressed middle-aged man said, "Mr. Lano, it’s been five days now. If we don’t end the strike soon, we won’t be able to keep it from the media.
We don’t have the power to silence all the world’s agencies about the influence of the Dacol Textile Factory. There are already rumors, and the reporters might already be on their way."
Big corporations always had intricate relationships with the media, and capitalists had long since mastered influencing opinion with their capital.
Regrettably, there were too many agencies, and it was impossible to buy them all off. If just one leaked the news, the cover would be blown.
The first casualty of the strike news getting out would be the stock market—meaning a significant reduction in wealth for everyone present.
In fact, if not for the strict management of the Vienna Securities Regulatory Bureau, people on the board would have already sold off their shares.
In recent years, the Dacol Textile Factory had been struggling, no longer a prime investment. With current troubles on top of it, cashing out while the stock price was still good seemed a good option.
Unfortunately, the Austrian Government strictly prohibited insider trading. Even if they wanted to cash out, they would have to wait until the news was made public.
Listed in Vienna, the Dacol Textile Factory naturally fell under Austrian Government regulation. Concealing information wasn’t impossible, but if found out, the profits would be confiscated.
This "profit" referred to all earnings from the trade. Franz believed it was too difficult to distinguish between "illegal profits" and "legal profits," so to avoid troubling law enforcement, they might as well confiscate everything.
Dealing severely with criminals served as a warning to others not to test the law.
There had been a case where someone, aiming to pay less tax, undervalued a stock trade contract in a private deal.
Upon being caught, since it was impossible to determine the illegal gains from that transaction compared to past wealth, the result was confiscation of the perpetrator’s entire assets.
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All of them had large families and businesses, and having barely made it ashore after a difficult period, they naturally didn’t want to risk their entire fortunes.
Old Lano nodded, signifying that he understood. This was to be expected; a strike involving hundreds of thousands of people could not possibly remain a secret.
Besides the lack of coverage in the newspapers, this was already an open secret in Milan City; perhaps the entire Kingdom of Lombardy was aware of it.
"Keep up the good PR work with the press; we need time.
Being conciliatory now would undoubtedly embolden those ingrates and make managing the factory impossible in the future.
If their demands for higher wages succeeded today, they would demand better food tomorrow, and the day after, they’d ask for shorter working hours and more holidays...
The pay we offer is indeed on the low side, but it’s not the lowest. Since the market has accepted this price, it proves that the price is fair.
They can demand higher wages, but it must wait until the company’s profits improve. If the company doesn’t make money, what do we pay them with?
Little Lano, send someone to do ideological work with the workers. Tell them that the factory is facing difficulties now but as soon as we get through this, I will give them a raise."
Old Lano already realized the crisis. The pay at Dacol Textile Factory wasn’t the worst, but it was nearing the bottom.
He had thought about improving workers’ conditions, but with Dacol Textile Factory’s profits continuously declining, an increase in labor costs would further reduce profits.
Poor financial results would undoubtedly affect the stock market, and even passing the board would be difficult.
Most crucially, Old Lano was the largest shareholder of Dacol Textile Factory; a decline in profits meant he suffered the greatest loss.
It’s very abnormal for a large company to have to think twice even about raising wages.
Little Lano saw things more clearly than his father. He knew that raising wages was inevitable. There was no other reason than that the workers could no longer make ends meet.
Austria had developed rapidly in recent years, creating a large number of jobs annually, and just recently the Vienna Government announced a major immigration plan.
All these factors combined would inevitably affect the labor market’s supply and demand. From his point of view, Little Lano naturally opposed large-scale immigration, which would raise domestic labor costs.
Unfortunately, you can’t argue with the powers that be. No matter how much the capitalists opposed it, they couldn’t influence the decisions of the Vienna Government.
Moreover, not all capitalists were opposed; there were also supporters. For some capitalists, this was also an opportunity.
Rising labor costs would surely eventually weed out the complacent companies, while the innovative ones could advance further.
On one hand, the number of competitors reduced, and on the other, the market’s purchasing power was enhanced.
After workers’ wages increased, they too needed to spend. With more hot money in the market, it became easier for everyone to make money, and ultimately, it would still end up in the capitalists’ hands.
This was a healthy economic cycle; rising labor costs didn’t necessarily mean everyone’s profits would shrink.
...
The telegram was a wonderful thing, speeding up the dissemination of news. But by the time Little Lano took action, it was already too late.
As soon as he entered the workers’ district, Little Lano was surrounded by a group of reporters, inclusive of official journalists.
"Mr. Lano, what is your opinion on this strike?"
"Mr. Lano, will you suppress this strike?"
...
Seeing the camera set up not far away, Little Lano was on the verge of tears.
Of course, he had "opinions," but he couldn’t express them!
"Suppress the strike"? Was that a joke? Now that all of you have arrived, who would dare suppress it?
Furthermore, they didn’t have the strength to suppress a strike even if they wanted to. A hundred thousand people—even if they were a disorganized mob—once they started causing trouble, it would be earth-shaking.
The workers were striking legally now, just staying at home to rest or wandering outside. Whoever dared to exacerbate the conflict should be prepared to be used by the Lombardy Government to set an example.
Bribing newspapers to cover up the news might seem well done, but they had neglected to consider the feelings of the royal family.
Which ruler would want to see an uncontrollable presence under their jurisdiction? Ludwig II was no exception. Just because the King couldn’t quibble with them openly didn’t mean he couldn’t make their life difficult in subtle ways.
The appearance of so many reporters now illustrated many problems.
Under normal circumstances, it was impossible for reporters from newspapers all over the country to arrive at the same time—unless someone was manipulating things behind the scenes.
Dacol Textile Factory had considerable influence; they had established a solid interest group locally, and ordinary people simply couldn’t provoke them.
Strikes were a common enemy of the capitalists, and even competitors wouldn’t support the workers’ movement at this time since strikes were contagious.
If the workers of Dacol Textile Factory succeeded in claiming their rights, it would affect other nearby factories. Whoever lifted this lid would become a public enemy of the capitalists.
However, this did not include the Lombard throne. The bourgeoisie, essentially a loose sand, was inherently cowardly. Faced with something they couldn’t provoke, everyone would decidedly turn a blind eye.
Little Lano didn’t know who was targeting them, but he knew that "Dacol Textile Factory" was in big trouble. Once the news got out, the chances of the workers compromising would be even smaller.
He had originally planned to have the management individually talk to the workers, using intimidation and incentives, but now that was no longer possible.
Otherwise, if they encountered someone who was unyielding and leaked the news to the reporters, they would be in big trouble.
...
