Post by alxeu on Jun 8, 2022 9:32:03 GMT -5
It was another miserable day in Kazimierzgrad. The overcast sky serving to only add on to Viktor's poor mood. Classes at the university had ended for the term, and Viktor Janssyn dreaded having to work until they resumed months from now. Reaching his apartment complex, closer to a slum than anything else, he made his way up to the sixth floor, turned a key into door five, and entered. Inside was his family: his father, Wasilij, his mother, Krysta, his two brothers, Janos and Misha, his sister, Maria, and his fiancée, Julia. His father and the older of his two brothers, Janos, worked at the steel mill in the industrial district, travelling there every morning on a company bus, while his mother and Julia worked at a textile shop in the heart of the city. Misha and Maria were both still in school. While it wasn't unusual to see most of the family at home by the time he returned from the university, the presence of his father and Janos was odd. As he entered, his father quickly explained:
That morning, things had been going smoothly at the steel plant, when suddenly, the supports holding one of the containers of molten steel collapsed, spilling the contents across the floor of the mill, including directly on top of one of the workers. The ensuing mess resulted in another four or five men being severely injured or burned and the plant being shut down until repairs were made and an investigation concluded. For now, though, both Janos and himself would be out of a job, likely needing to resort to menial jobs until the plant reopened. The hope was that the family could subsist off of that income and money from whatever job Viktor obtained, and that the steel mill would easily reopen before Viktor returned to his university courses.
Hearing his father explain the tragedy, however, Viktor soon gained other ideas. This wasn't the first accident at the steel mill, and his father wasn't the only family member with stories of workplace accidents. His mother stopped working at a textile factory when one of the machines cut off another woman's hand. These incidents, though not entirely frequent throughout his family's employments, did indicate to him a larger problem with workplace safety, and while the government had passed many pollution regulations within city limits, safety was never an issue the government acted upon. Viktor decided that he would go to the steel mill tomorrow and figure out for himself how bad the disaster was.
For now, however, it was dinner time. His fiancée and mother had finished a turnip and beef stew, which, while delicious, carried with it the promise that it was likely to be the last meat stew they would have for a while. Afterwards, his father read a children's book to Misha, both reading the kid to sleep while also improving his own ability to read, having never learned as a child in the countryside. Before too much longer, it was dark, and while they theoretically lived in an electrified building, in practice, maintenance was hardly kept up with, and the light switch in the apartment was liable to shock whoever used it.
The next morning, Viktor left early, before even his father, to head for the industrial district, and the steel mill that had consumed his thoughts. As he arrived, he saw the gate closed and guarded by police officers, with what appeared to be more near the front of the factory, going in. Feigning ignorance, he asked about what had happened to the officers at the front gate, who recounted much the same story his father had, if not the exact details. They also confirmed that two of the injured men from yesterday had died, bringing the total death toll to three. They also informed Viktor that there was likely no recourse coming from the government, as the accident that had happened had not happened at the plant before, so the plant could get away with pretending to not even know that that kind of accident could happen, even though the mill's previous record for safety was abysmal. The officers, clearly either unprofessional or just bored, recounted several safety incidents at the plant, dozens of occasions that Viktor had scarcely realized had happened, and as the police finished their recollection, Viktor decided to ask why all these incidents weren't covered in the news.
As it turned out, the steel mill, which operated numerous mills across the nation, had previously covered up accidents at their mills by suing newspapers that covered it, alleging libel. Since police reports were not public knowledge and testimonies of terminated employees were considered to be biased evidence in courts, the mill would win these court cases, keeping others from reporting on the mills' lack of safety. The officers spoke with some disgust in their tones, speaking of one incident where an underaged worker had suffered severe burns being forced to work in scorching conditions with inadequate protective gear, and how he died as a result. There wasn't much that could be legally done unless the law changed, and it seemed unlikely that such a change would happen, given that the company's CEO had his brother in the government, working as Attorney General.
Thanking the officers for their time, Viktor left, his previous curiosity now drowning in vengeful anger. Heading to a café he and his classmates frequented, he began to consider what he could do to fix things, and hold the steel mill accountable. On his way there, he passed a poster for the Socialist Labor Party, which soon gave him an idea. Labor Unions and similar organizations were theoretically legal in Lusatia, but there was little protection for union workers other than there just not being a supply of non-union workers to replace them. In practice, this meant that cities rarely had organized labor movements. However, if he instead put together a massive protest movement, maybe he could bypass strikes and go straight for a general city-wide shutdown, and force the government to act.
That morning, things had been going smoothly at the steel plant, when suddenly, the supports holding one of the containers of molten steel collapsed, spilling the contents across the floor of the mill, including directly on top of one of the workers. The ensuing mess resulted in another four or five men being severely injured or burned and the plant being shut down until repairs were made and an investigation concluded. For now, though, both Janos and himself would be out of a job, likely needing to resort to menial jobs until the plant reopened. The hope was that the family could subsist off of that income and money from whatever job Viktor obtained, and that the steel mill would easily reopen before Viktor returned to his university courses.
Hearing his father explain the tragedy, however, Viktor soon gained other ideas. This wasn't the first accident at the steel mill, and his father wasn't the only family member with stories of workplace accidents. His mother stopped working at a textile factory when one of the machines cut off another woman's hand. These incidents, though not entirely frequent throughout his family's employments, did indicate to him a larger problem with workplace safety, and while the government had passed many pollution regulations within city limits, safety was never an issue the government acted upon. Viktor decided that he would go to the steel mill tomorrow and figure out for himself how bad the disaster was.
For now, however, it was dinner time. His fiancée and mother had finished a turnip and beef stew, which, while delicious, carried with it the promise that it was likely to be the last meat stew they would have for a while. Afterwards, his father read a children's book to Misha, both reading the kid to sleep while also improving his own ability to read, having never learned as a child in the countryside. Before too much longer, it was dark, and while they theoretically lived in an electrified building, in practice, maintenance was hardly kept up with, and the light switch in the apartment was liable to shock whoever used it.
The next morning, Viktor left early, before even his father, to head for the industrial district, and the steel mill that had consumed his thoughts. As he arrived, he saw the gate closed and guarded by police officers, with what appeared to be more near the front of the factory, going in. Feigning ignorance, he asked about what had happened to the officers at the front gate, who recounted much the same story his father had, if not the exact details. They also confirmed that two of the injured men from yesterday had died, bringing the total death toll to three. They also informed Viktor that there was likely no recourse coming from the government, as the accident that had happened had not happened at the plant before, so the plant could get away with pretending to not even know that that kind of accident could happen, even though the mill's previous record for safety was abysmal. The officers, clearly either unprofessional or just bored, recounted several safety incidents at the plant, dozens of occasions that Viktor had scarcely realized had happened, and as the police finished their recollection, Viktor decided to ask why all these incidents weren't covered in the news.
As it turned out, the steel mill, which operated numerous mills across the nation, had previously covered up accidents at their mills by suing newspapers that covered it, alleging libel. Since police reports were not public knowledge and testimonies of terminated employees were considered to be biased evidence in courts, the mill would win these court cases, keeping others from reporting on the mills' lack of safety. The officers spoke with some disgust in their tones, speaking of one incident where an underaged worker had suffered severe burns being forced to work in scorching conditions with inadequate protective gear, and how he died as a result. There wasn't much that could be legally done unless the law changed, and it seemed unlikely that such a change would happen, given that the company's CEO had his brother in the government, working as Attorney General.
Thanking the officers for their time, Viktor left, his previous curiosity now drowning in vengeful anger. Heading to a café he and his classmates frequented, he began to consider what he could do to fix things, and hold the steel mill accountable. On his way there, he passed a poster for the Socialist Labor Party, which soon gave him an idea. Labor Unions and similar organizations were theoretically legal in Lusatia, but there was little protection for union workers other than there just not being a supply of non-union workers to replace them. In practice, this meant that cities rarely had organized labor movements. However, if he instead put together a massive protest movement, maybe he could bypass strikes and go straight for a general city-wide shutdown, and force the government to act.