The nylon thread stretched over the area, creating a tense barrier between the women working the machines and the affluent owners. Sandra reflected bitterly that their fight had been for nothing; that lack of food and heating had forced them back to the floor. How she wished she had the power to take away the Hadley’s privilege and wealth. They would not survive a week in the crumbling tenements the tireless workers were housed in on the estate! Glancing over at Edna, she nodded her agreement to the latest plan. It was foolhardy, but she had nothing left to lose.
© Colline Kook-Chun, 2019
(This post was inspired by Friday Fictioneers hosted by Rochelle. The challenge asks for bloggers to write a story in 100 words or less in response to the photo prompt.)
So what was the plan?
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There are a few possibilities in my mind that desperate people would implement 🙂
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Sounds like the Hadleys are in for an unpleasant surprise. 😉
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Well deserved I think!
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I get the feeling the Hadleys are about to learn their lesson.
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Definitely something that they deserve!
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Dear Colline,
You left my mind racing and wondering about their plan. Nicely done.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Thank you so much Rochelle.
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Nice to know they still have hope. I feel like this cannot end well, but then,…..
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A person needs to always have hope in order to change things.
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What a great opening for an historical novel!
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Thank you for seeing that. I was thinking about the Industrial Revolution when I wrote this as well as the time before Unions.
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I enjoyed this, Colline.
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Thank you Robbie.
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Where there’s hope, there’s organisation; where there is a plan, there is a chance!
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I agree. As long as all the workers stay united.
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Great story and I am fascinated by this nylon thread machine.. wow..
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Amazing isn’t it? I would love to visit a factory sometime.
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Desperate situations lead to desperate measures. I wonder how it went.
My FriFic yarn!
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One always hopes for the best – but often the outcome is not always as we would hope.
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Now you have to do a follow-up to this flash fiction. You can’t leave us hanging. LOL
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You are right Michelle. I need to start writing down the follow ups of my flash fiction instead of keeping them in my head 😄
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You’ve captured Sandra’s frustration well. It sounds as though she’s ready for desperate measures. BTW, technical detail. Nylon is a synthetic material. Nylon thread was first used in garments (stockings) in 1940.
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It is when people feel desperate that they do things that have changed history.
An interesting fact about nylon. Thank you for sharing.
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The struggle for Worker’s Rights carries on. Many have died in the struggle and many more will. Your story brings it home.
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It seems never-ending, doesn’t it? Capitalism does not care about the ordinary person who works hard to have shelter and the means to buy food.
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No it doesn’t. I just thought of the expression, “fodder for the mill”, when I think of worker’s rights, that’ pretty much how capitalism regards workers. If one is injured, there are plenty more waiting to take the person’s place 😦
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I just don’t like it – the attitude that human beings are dispensable and easily replaced. And all because a few people want more money that they could not possible need.
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Sandra has a plan to put owners at their place. Hope she is successful.
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The best thing is that she is trying – that is definitely a win 🙂
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