Chapter 17
Lauren and Daniel boarded the shuttle bus to the short term parking lot. Their return flight from Vegas was three hours late, but they didn’t care. Both were still reeling from the six day honeymoon that followed their spontaneous decision to elope. The bus dropped them off in the parking lot in front of Daniel’s Escalade.
“I’ll bet your glad to be back,” Daniel said as he loaded the suitcases into the trunk.
“Yes, I am. I can’t wait to spread the news that I’m Mrs. Lauren McKnight.”
“I’m sure most people will be happy for us. I don’t think it will be a big surprise to most people. I can only think of one person who may get his nose out of joint over this.”
“Well I certainly don’t care what he thinks. He knows we’ve been seeing each other”
“Lauren, do you mind if we stop by the office on the way home? I want to see if the new Wildcat programs were delivered.”
“I don’t mind at all. I’m anxious to show my ring to Judy and the rest of the staff.”
Daniel turned off the highway at the downtown exit. As they approached the McKnight stadium they were confronted by a noisy crowd of picketers carrying signs that read ‘WILDCATS UNFAIR TO WORKERS.’ The chant lowered several decibels when they recognized Daniel’s car. Several workers turned their heads aside; their signs lowering several inches as they did.
“What on earth’s going on?”
Daniel got out of the car and walked up to the first man he recognized. “Karl, what’s going on here?
“I’m not sure, Mister McKnight. Our local called us in this morning, gave us the signs and told us to get out here and picket. There are some guys out at the Arena too. I’m real sorry, but you’ll have to talk with the hall.”
Local 33 of the Sports & Entertainment Workers Union (SEWU) represented ninety three workers at Daniel’s sports stadiums including security, ticket takers, maintenance workers, groundskeepers, equipment handlers, electricians, food and beverage vendors and souvenir sellers plus concessionaires at dozens of other sports venues within a forty mile radius; four hundred twenty five workers in total. The football schedule at McKnight Stadium ran from late September to February. The stadium was then used for baseball from May to early September. The Blizzards skated at McKnight Arena from October to April. Some employees worked both locations, but most were exclusively at one or the other.
Daniel returned to his car and gave Lauren a quick update. The crowd of picketers opened a path to allow him to drive into the parking lot. Judy met them at the door.
“Mister McKnight, I’m so glad you’re here. I tried to reach you,” she said excitedly. “I couldn’t get through to your cell phone. This started about an hour ago, after we all got to work. I hope there won’t be a problem when we go home this afternoon.”
“I’m sorry about the phone. I left my charger behind and my batteries went dead. I wouldn’t be concerned, Judy. Right now I need to talk to Gil Parsons at the Union Hall. Try to locate him for me, please. I’ll be in my office.”
“Yes, sir. I’ll make the call right away. I’m glad your back. I hope you both had a nice trip.”
Daniel turned to Lauren. I guess we’ll be here a little longer than I planned. Is that okay?”
“Of course it is. You go do what you have to do. I’ll show off my rings to the girls.”
Lauren caught up with Judy and Daniel heard a squeal as she showed Judy her engagement and wedding ring. Judy turned back to him and mouthed congratulations. He was at his desk thumbing through the new Wildcats program when Judy buzzed to tell him that Gil Parsons was on the phone.
“Gil, what’s going on? You can’t set up picket lines without a formal strike notice.”
“If you weren’t out gallivanting around the country you would know what’s going down. In your absence we delivered the strike notice to your attorney.”
“For your information, although it’s none of your business, I wasn’t gallivanting around the country, as you put it. Lauren and I got married in Las Vegas and we took a few days for a honeymoon. As for the negotiations, I thought we had an agreement that your members would stay on the job as long as we were bargaining.”
Gil ignored Daniel’s wedding news and continued their discussion. “I’ve always acted in good faith. Then you disappear for a week, leaving us to deal with your attorney. He has the right to be served in your name, so we did just that. He doesn’t seem to be very empathetic to the plight of the working man. The bottom line is that unless you’re ready to meet our demands right now, you can kiss Saturday night’s opener goodbye.”
“Aren’t you acting rash. I know that we haven’t always seen eye-to-eye on issues, but I thought we had made considerable headway towards a new contract at our last meeting. You can’t just pull a strike on me like this.”
“Can and did. We agreed to work past the expiration date of the last contract because you led me to believe that you understood where we’re coming from. You violated the agreement, not me. You seem to forget that whether your teams win or lose, the workers from Local 33 are the backbone of your business. Without us your teams would be nothing but a bunch of bozos playing games on a sandlot field.”
“Get off your soapbox, Gil. This is Daniel you’re talking to. This doesn’t sound like your doing. Who is really pulling the strings?”
“I’m president of this local and I answer to no one but the Sports & Entertainment Workers Union and they authorized the strike. Settle or shut down, it’s your choice.”
“We’ll see about that,” Daniel answered as he slammed the phone down. He buzzed Judy. “Get me Harrison on the phone.”
“Mister Harrison’s office delivered an envelope first thing this morning. Did you look at it yet? It’s in your in-box.”
“Okay, hold the call until I get a chance to look at it. Ask Lauren to come in.”
“She’s right here and on her way in. I’m so happy for both of you. I wish you all the best.”
“Thank you, Judy.”
Daniel gave Lauren a brief update on the situation. “I think I’m going to be here a while. Why don’t you go on home and do what you need to. Take the car. I’ll get a ride from Judy. I’m going to try to find out what’s really going on. There’s more to this than just the labor negotiations. I have the feeling that Adam is involved in this somehow. Maybe I’m a little paranoid, but when I was talking to Gil, I sensed that he wasn’t leveling with me. I think that there’s more to this than meets the eye. I got a nagging feeling that Adam has something to do with this.”
“Trust your instincts, Daniel, they’re usually right. I wouldn’t put it past Adam to do something mean spirited, especially if he somehow got wind of us getting married. You remember how nasty he got with that Luke Martin mess.”
“Well, you run along and leave this to me. I don’t want you to worry your pretty little head about anything. We’ll get past this.”
Adam answered the phone on the second ring. “Gil, how did it go with McKnight?”
“Okay, so far. The pickets really ticked him off.”
“Well, that’s the whole idea, isn’t it? What’s the attitude of your members?”
“They’re ambivalent about it. There tossed between higher wages and their loyalty to Daniel. It was a tough sell, but the promise of a retro on the wage increase made all the difference.
“Well, two weeks should do it. That should be enough time to teach that bastard a lesson.”
“Whatever you say, Mister Hampton. When will you be ready to move forward on our agreement?”
“Very soon, now. All the paperwork is completed for the transfer of ownership. I’ll be able to deliver at least four thousand workers to UNITE within two weeks.”