The Mafia Empire
Chapter 9: Chapter 9 Encounter With The Union

"Julian!" Mr. Kreen called out from the second-floor hallway outside his office. When Julian turned to look at him, Kreen nodded toward a nearby meeting room and said, "Come up here for a moment."

Julian set down his work and glanced at Graf, who had just finished unloading some cargo. Graf patted his shoulder lightly and said, "Don't worry. If nothing unexpected happens, it's probably the union reps."

Even though Graf saw dealing with the union as a trivial matter, Julian, facing the union for the first time, couldn't help but let the nervousness show in his stiffened smile. He slapped his cheeks gently and took a deep breath, "Don't worry, I won't be nervous."

Graf shrugged. This was something Julian would have to handle on his own; there wasn't much Graf could do to ease his tension.

Unions were an essential support system for workers. Most of the time, workers didn't need them, but when they did, unions could make all the difference. Especially when dealing with capitalists. Without union support, workers were often at a disadvantage, particularly when it came to wages.

Greedy capitalists always sought to exploit workers to save costs, but thanks to the union and the Minimum Wage Protection Act, they couldn't go too far in their exploitation.

When workers rights were infringed upon, unions would step in to fight for them.

A renowned sociologist of the Empire, who was also a prominent capitalist, once said in a newspaper: "If a single worker is a rabbit, then a group of workers is a pack of hounds. We can shear the rabbit for profit, but we must avoid the hounds to protect ourselves."

This statement caused a huge uproar in society and led to a large-scale protest, condemning the sociologist's inappropriate remarks. Under immense pressure, the sociologist had to publish an apology in the newspaper. The matter should have ended there, but unfortunately, the man couldn't help himself and later commented, "I've lost to the hounds!"

This enraged the workers even more, and they ended up assaulting the sociologist, stripping him of his clothes, and tying him to the railing outside the third-floor platform of the Imperial Building, causing a national scandal...

Julian straightened his clothes, knocked on the meeting room door, and, hearing a "come in," pushed it open.

Three people were seated at the conference table: two men and one woman. The woman appeared to be in her thirties, dressed in an elegant suit, though her facial features were somewhat sharp, lacking the usual softness of a woman. The two men were also impeccably dressed, with their hair slicked down so smoothly that not even a fly could land on it.

Julian smiled awkwardly and glanced outside the door, making sure he hadn't entered the wrong room.

But the three in front of him… if they were worker representatives, Julian found that hard to believe.

If workers dressed like this, then the working class must be wealthy indeed.

The older man smiled and nodded at Julian, then glanced through the documents on the table before asking, "You're Julian, right?" Then, quickly realizing his omission, he added, "Sorry, I forgot to introduce myself. I'm Frank, a representative of the Workers' Union. This gentleman next to me is Abdul, who holds the same position as I do. As for this lady…"

When Frank looked at the woman, she gave Julian a curt nod, her expression unchanged. "I'm Selina, the legal advisor for the Workers' Union."

Frank picked up the conversation again, "We're here today on behalf of the Workers Union to invite you to join. The Workers' Union is a family for the working class. In the face of the capitalist's ruthless exploitation, we can only protect and fight for our rights by standing together."

At that moment, Selina interrupted, "Pardon me for cutting in," she said, pointing her pen at Julian's right hand. "I noticed your right hand is bandaged, and there's still some blood on it. Is this an injury you sustained while working here?"

Julian was caught off guard and froze for a moment before answering, "Ah? Oh! Yes, I got hurt recently."

Selina nodded slightly, though it wasn't clear what exactly that gesture meant. "After you were injured, did Mr. Kreen, the station manager, take you for treatment, cover your medical expenses, and offer you compensation for the injury?"

Julian scratched his head. "This was my own fault, nothing to do with Mr. Kreen."

Selina abruptly stood up and slammed her pen down on the table, her expression becoming even more serious. "No, young man, you're mistaken. Whether it was your fault or not, as long as you were injured while working, it's classified as a workplace injury."

Frank, seeing Julian's growing tension, stood up, walked over, and motioned for him to sit down. "Don't worry. What we're doing is not for personal gain, and this is exactly what shows the power of the union in protecting our rights."

Not long after, Abdul entered the meeting room with Mr. Kreen. Faced with Selina, who was a well-known lawyer within the union, Kreen greeted her first, "Hello, Ms. Selina."

Selina remained stern and unmoved. Only after Kreen had taken a seat did she ask, "Mr. Kreen, are you aware of Julian's injury that occurred while he was working?"

Kreen was taken aback. He truly didn't know. As the station manager, he had many responsibilities to manage daily and didn't have the time to check on every worker's well being. Since Julian hadn't mentioned it, Kreen had no idea. This left him in a difficult position.

He glanced at Julian's bandaged hand, feeling a twinge of discomfort. As a manager and exploiter, he hated dealing with union representatives because they always managed to come up with some absurd reason to make capitalists like him fork over money for no apparent reason.

Kreen shook his head and answered truthfully, "I didn't know. Julian never told me, and I wasn't aware of it."

"And do you know the consequences you face as an employer when a worker is injured on the job?" Selina asked, flipping open her notebook and writing something down casually before looking back at Kreen. "For instance, covering medical expenses, providing nutritional supplements, and offering paid leave?"

Kreen fell silent. Not only did he know, but he knew very well. Injuries among the porters at the station were common. Some workers, even when exhausted, would push themselves to the limit, unwilling to miss out on the commission, only to end up hurting themselves. Whenever that happened, Kreen would have to step in with money to settle things. Usually, it wasn't a huge amount.

For something like Julian's hand injury, medical costs would amount to around three dollars, and the nutrition and compensation wouldn't exceed six dollars in total.

But six dollars was still money, and these union people had shown up at the worst possible time. If they had come a few days later, none of this would have been an issue.

Selina's voice suddenly rose. "What's wrong, Mr. Kreen? Are you unwilling to pay these costs? If that's the case, we might have to file a lawsuit in Ternell city court."

Kreen immediately raised his hand. "No, no, I'll pay. Six dollars, right? I'll give him time off tomorrow!"

He backed down immediately. It wasn't worth going to court over six dollars, especially since hiring a lawyer would cost at least ten. It was better to just pay the six dollars and avoid the hassle. He quickly agreed to cover the expenses and give Julian three days off, which instantly quieted Selina.

After Abdul escorted Kreen out of the room, Frank smiled and said, "See? That's the power of the union! One of our main reasons for coming here today was to invite you to join the Workers' Union. Once you're a member, you'll enjoy many benefits and protections. Today's situation was just a small example of what we can do.

The best part is, no matter what happens, any legal fees required to defend your rights will be covered by the union. You won't have to pay a cent."

"Of course, to enjoy these benefits, you'll also need to contribute. That includes an annual membership fee of fifty cents, participating in union activities when necessary, and following the guidance on work-related matters. If you can agree to these three conditions, I'll officially welcome you into the Workers' Union."

Julian found these terms reasonable, especially after hearing the benefits from Graf earlier, so he quickly agreed. Later, Mr. Kreen brought the six dollars, and Julian took fifty cents out of it to pay Frank as his annual union fee.

Frank told him he should visit the Ternell City Workers' Union headquarters within a week to register and have his information recorded in the national database.

When Julian returned to the platform, Graf came over and asked, "How was it? Not so scary, right?"

Julian nodded. "You were right. They're good people. They even got me six dollars from Mr. Kreen."

"Six dollars?" Graf glanced at Julian's bandaged hand and slapped his forehead. "Wait here a minute. Mr. Kreen owes me six dollars too!"