A Fetish-charm for Feynman - Tales from the Yards, Pacifica, 836 AS.

A Fetish-charm for Feynman - Riss Shipyards, Pacifica Base

SYNDICNEZ ARCHIVVERZICHNIS - 1679271

The history of the Unioners is tied to Alster. Conditions were appalling in the yards, worker safety being a tertiary concern of the owners. Coupled with the excessively long shifts, worker morale gradually deteriorated until a major accident killed several hundred in 512 AS. Three months later, the Alster Union was formed. Because of workers' highly specialized skills, the management had no choice but to capitulate to their demands. During the next century the Union strengthened and expanded to the dockworkers on the Altona Station. By the 80-Years War, the Union demanded increasingly high wages and progressively fewer annual hours for its members. When the war ended, demand for ships plummeted.

The bloated headcount of Alster was now a sore point as management desperately tried to restore profitability. After almost 200 years of acceding to union demands, Republican fired tens of thousands and pried major concessions from the remaining workers. Centuries of gains were lost in a matter of days. As unemployment rocketed towards 30%% in Hamburg, a radicalized version of the Union emerged. Freeport 2 in Bering proved alluring to the nascent Unioner movement -- following the Popular Revolution of 700 AS, the station’s population exploded. In 720 AS the Zoners laid down the ultimatum: Take your criminal activities somewhere else. As a result, the Unioners carved Pacifica Base out of an asteroid in the Tanner Belt.

Today, the Unioners scavenge Bering for war salvage to feed Pacifica’s drydocks, with spare construction capacity often sold to the Liberty and Rheinland underworld. During the Rheinland Civil War, the Unioners fought for the Imperial cause, however they quickly became disillusioned when Republican rebranded to Imperial Shipping and used its political influence to marginalize them, stymying promised reforms. As a result the Unioners continued to engage in piracy and smuggling despite an armistice established by the Holstein Accords. By 829 AS the Unioners had been outlawed again, with strikes on Alster Shipyard and Altona resuming in earnest. Smuggling continues to be a lucrative business for the Unioners, with Corsair Artifacts, Corse Nox and stolen Hessian Diamonds all regularly pass through Pacifica’s bays.

LOCATION: Gantry Three
SUBJECT: Arbeitnehmerin Emílie Beelek
CHAPTER: #1, The Cold Welder's Tale
ERA: Early 836 AS

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