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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. He 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 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 to 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. A 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 deal of money to let him "escape." He
told the chief he would leave the country and never return. |
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发表于 2016-7-10 09:21:12