A Factor Worker
A Factor Worker
Many years ago , some women made a meager living by working
in a cigarette factory. It was their job to put 20 cigarettes in each pack, by
hand. Their manager was a mean old man carried a bamboo rod in his hand. His bodyguard,
who accompanied him everywhere, was even meaner.
Maura, only 19, was sick. But she knew that if she didn’t go
to work, she would lose her job. At the factory that day , she would lose her
job. At the factory that day, she stuffed pack after pack of cigarettes. Sweating
and dizzy, she left a cigarette out of one pack. The manager noticed her error
immediately. He yelled at her and then hit her sharply across her back with the
rod. Then the bodyguard kicked her in the stomach. Maura got up and staggered
out of the factory. She died at home the next day. The day after Maura died, her
coworkers refused to enter the factory. They stood outside. The manager told
them to get wo work. He raised his arm as if to strike them, but they stood
firm. He told them he was going to get the police. They still didn't move. The
bodyguard went inside and called the police. The police chief came. The women
told the police chief what had happened to Maura. He arrested the manager and
the bodyguard. He called the owner of the factory. An new manager arrived later
that morning. He told the workers that they would all get the equivalent of a
nickel per day raise. They went back to work.
Before the chief handcuffed the manager and put him in the
police car, the manager quietly offered the chief a great a deal of money to
let him “ escape.” He told the chief he would leave the country and never
return
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