Hampton Manor (12 page)

“What on earth’s going on?”

Daniel got out of the car and walked up to the first man he recognized. “Karl, what’s going on here?

“I’m not sure, Mister McKnight. Our local called us in this morning, gave us the signs and told us to get out here and picket. There are some guys out at the Arena too. I’m real sorry, but you’ll have to talk with the hall.”

Local 33 of the Sports & Entertainment Workers Union (SEWU) represented ninety three workers at Daniel’s sports stadiums including security, ticket takers, maintenance workers, groundskeepers, equipment handlers, electricians, food and beverage vendors and souvenir sellers plus concessionaires at dozens of other sports venues within a forty mile radius; four hundred twenty five workers in total. The football schedule at McKnight Stadium ran from late September to February. The stadium was then used for baseball from May to early September. The Blizzards skated at McKnight Arena from October to April. Some employees worked both locations, but most were exclusively at one or the other.

Daniel returned to his car and gave Lauren a quick update. The crowd of picketers opened a path to allow him to drive into the parking lot. Judy met them at the door.

“Mister McKnight, I’m so glad you’re here. I tried to reach you,” she said excitedly. “I couldn’t get through to your cell phone. This started about an hour ago, after we all got to work. I hope there won’t be a problem when we go home this afternoon.”

“I’m sorry about the phone. I left my charger behind and my batteries went dead. I wouldn’t be concerned, Judy. Right now I need to talk to Gil Parsons at the Union Hall. Try to locate him for me, please. I’ll be in my office.”

“Yes, sir. I’ll make the call right away. I’m glad your back. I hope you both had a nice trip.”

Daniel turned to Lauren. I guess we’ll be here a little longer than I planned. Is that okay?”

“Of course it is. You go do what you have to do. I’ll show off my rings to the girls.”

Lauren caught up with Judy and Daniel heard a squeal as she showed Judy her engagement and wedding ring. Judy turned back to him and mouthed congratulations. He was at his desk thumbing through the new Wildcats program when Judy buzzed to tell him that Gil Parsons was on the phone.
 

“Gil, what’s going on? You can’t set up picket lines without a formal strike notice.”

“If you weren’t out gallivanting around the country you would know what’s going down. In your absence we delivered the strike notice to your attorney.”

“For your information, although it’s none of your business, I wasn’t gallivanting around the country, as you put it. Lauren and I got married in Las Vegas and we took a few days for a honeymoon. As for the negotiations, I thought we had an agreement that your members would stay on the job as long as we were bargaining.”

Gil ignored Daniel’s wedding news and continued their discussion. “I’ve always acted in good faith. Then you disappear for a week, leaving us to deal with your attorney. He has the right to be served in your name, so we did just that. He doesn’t seem to be very empathetic to the plight of the working man. The bottom line is that unless you’re ready to meet our demands right now, you can kiss Saturday night’s opener goodbye.”

“Aren’t you acting rash. I know that we haven’t always seen eye-to-eye on issues, but I thought we had made considerable headway towards a new contract at our last meeting. You can’t just pull a strike on me like this.”

“Can and did. We agreed to work past the expiration date of the last contract because you led me to believe that you understood where we’re coming from. You violated the agreement, not me. You seem to forget that whether your teams win or lose, the workers from Local 33 are the backbone of your business. Without us your teams would be nothing but a bunch of bozos playing games on a sandlot field.”

“Get off your soapbox, Gil. This is Daniel you’re talking to. This doesn’t sound like your doing. Who is really pulling the strings?”

“I’m president of this local and I answer to no one but the Sports & Entertainment Workers Union and they authorized the strike. Settle or shut down, it’s your choice.”

“We’ll see about that,” Daniel answered as he slammed the phone down. He buzzed Judy. “Get me Harrison on the phone.”

“Mister Harrison’s office delivered an envelope first thing this morning. Did you look at it yet? It’s in your in-box.”

“Okay, hold the call until I get a chance to look at it. Ask Lauren to come in.”

“She’s right here and on her way in. I’m so happy for both of you. I wish you all the best.”

“Thank you, Judy.”

Daniel gave Lauren a brief update on the situation. “I think I’m going to be here a while. Why don’t you go on home and do what you need to. Take the car. I’ll get a ride from Judy. I’m going to try to find out what’s really going on. There’s more to this than just the labor negotiations. I have the feeling that Adam is involved in this somehow. Maybe I’m a little paranoid, but when I was talking to Gil, I sensed that he wasn’t leveling with me. I think that there’s more to this than meets the eye. I got a nagging feeling that Adam has something to do with this.”

“Trust your instincts, Daniel, they’re usually right. I wouldn’t put it past Adam to do something mean spirited, especially if he somehow got wind of us getting married. You remember how nasty he got with that Luke Martin mess.”

“Well, you run along and leave this to me. I don’t want you to worry your pretty little head about anything. We’ll get past this.”

Adam answered the phone on the second ring. “Gil, how did it go with McKnight?”

“Okay, so far. The pickets really ticked him off.”

“Well, that’s the whole idea, isn’t it? What’s the attitude of your members?”

“They’re ambivalent about it. There tossed between higher wages and their loyalty to Daniel. It was a tough sell, but the promise of a retro on the wage increase made all the difference.

“Well, two weeks should do it. That should be enough time to teach that bastard a lesson.”

“Whatever you say, Mister Hampton. When will you be ready to move forward on our agreement?”

“Very soon, now. All the paperwork is completed for the transfer of ownership. I’ll be able to deliver at least four thousand workers to UNITE within two weeks.”

“That’s all I could ask for. Keep me informed.”

Gil Parsons has been President of Local 33 for six years. When Adam approached him with his offer, Gil saw a chance to advance his position with Sports & Entertainment Workers Union management. The SEWU could score big points with UNITE (Union of Needletrades, Industrial and Textile Employees) by arranging for the delivery of four thousand garment workers formerly employed by Elegant Sportswear, workers from non-union plants. Adam promised that Hampton Industries would not resist any organizing attempts at the new plants, virtually making the unionization of their facility a
fait
accompli
. The number of members, those paying dues, was the essential measurement of a labor union; especially when the numbers were growing at a significant pace. Often deals were made that did not provide any tangible benefits to the workers, but which added to the membership count. and it was not unusual for unions to make “sweetheart deals” with management in order to accomplish this goal; the workers be damned.

Chapter 18

Marcia looked at the stack of folders on the desk. Each had a bright yellow label identifying it as belonging to the Elegant Sportswear/Hampton Sportswear amalgamation. One month’s worth of detailed analysis was in the folders. A month of painstaking comparative study, elbow-to-elbow with Kane Masterson. She was gaining respect for the man. They were even on a first name basis now. She thought it remarkable that he could set aside any resentment he may harbor to assist in the orderly disintegration of Elegant Sportswear, his favorite Preston division.
He’s quite a guy.

Marcia ignored the phone when it rang. She decided to let it go to the machine, but over the sound of the answering machine’s message she heard Adam’s voice. “Pick up if you’re there, Marcia. I’ve got to speak with you, immediately.”

She waited for the end of the pre-recorded message and beep, before picking up the phone. “Adam, what’s up?”

“Legal just called. A number of Preston’s customers have cancelled their purchase agreements and switched to other manufacturers. They’re all effective the first of next month. That’s just two weeks from now. Take down these names. Norton Wholesale, Wellington Clothiers, Carson-Manners, Mesa-Verde Outfitters and Leighton& Sons. Did you get that?”

“Yes I did. As I recall, these are some of Preston’s largest customers. Probably all of our garment divisions will be affected. What do you want me to do, Adam?”

“This whole thing just doesn’t make any sense. Nobody can match Preston’s designs or quality. I want you to check with their buying departments to find out what triggered this, but before you talk with them, find out what their terms were with Preston. When you speak with them see if the door is still open for negotiations. It’s not fair for them to arbitrarily switch vendors without even giving Hampton a chance to compete. Also check to see if Masterson knew anything about this. I can’t believe he didn’t have any inkling of a change this big. Lastly, if these changes are irrevocable. I’ll need to know the impact the losses will have on our projected bottom line.
 

“I’ll get right on it, Adam. All five are west coast companies. It’s mid-afternoon out there. I should be able to reach them today.”

“I need this information fast. There may still be time to reverse their decisions. There was no way I could have seen this coming, but I’m wondering if these companies are bolting because Hampton took over Preston. Maybe, for some reason, they don’t want to do business with us. If that’s the case, I want to know the details that went into their decisions.”

“That could be it, but companies of this caliber are usually driven by quality of product and the bottom line, personal likes and dislikes aside. Still, it’s always possible that they’ve gotten some bad information about us. I’ll try to nail them down.”

“Thanks, Marcia. If you need any help from Finance, IT or Legal, just contact them. I’ll alert them right away and then I’ll be at home if you need me.”

“I’ll get back to you as quickly as I can. It may be tomorrow morning though, before I can put all the figures together. The bottom line impact will take time to re-calculate.”

“That’ll be fine. Just do it as quickly as you can and get back to me,”
 

Marcia spent the next two hours hunting down the appropriate contact at each of the companies. A picture slowly formed about what had happened. Each of the companies had been contacted by representatives of a consortium of European Common Market producers and offered supply agreements and designer contracts too good to turn down. The five year contracts were going into effect within two weeks, the decisions were irrevocable. Marcia was assured by each company that no one at Preston Industries could have had any prior knowledge of the negotiations or contracts. Everything had been done under a cloak of secrecy at an Italian villa.

Marcia slumped in her chair. She glanced at the stack of files she had brought home. They represented untold hours of painstaking research.
How much of that work is worthless now? The production and profits estimates require a stable sales base with a plus or minus variable of six percent. These five customers represent more than that; we’re
screwed
. She reached for the “Sales Projection” folder. Ten minutes later after a quick check of her original calculations she confirmed that the loss of the five companies would impact sales by at least thirty percent.
How
could
Preston
have
allowed
a small group of customers
to
have
such
a
major
impact
on
their
sales
and
profits
. Marketing was her strong suit and she knew that when a company or group of companies dominate the sales base, special customer support is required.
Why didn’t Kane have a preferred customer list? Ones that he handled personally as “house accounts”. While she had assurances that no outsider could have known about the change, someone as sharp as Kane should have had contingencies for the possibility of aggressive competitive bidding.

He should have known that the contracts with the five were nearing expiration. Personal agreements with the appropriate decision makers at the prime accounts would have assured that Preston would have had a chance to out-bid the competition. Maybe he is not the business genius that he is made out to be, or he just got too complacent. Damn! This is the worst thing that could happen now.

Marcia tried several times to reach Kane, but his cell phone was busy. She pushed her worksheets aside and leaned back in her chair.
What the hell are we going to do now? I’ve got to reach Kane. I’m going to need help with this mess.
She tried his cell again. This time he answered.

“Kane?”

“Yes. Is that you, Marcia?”

“Yes, and we’ve got a very big problem.” She spent several minutes updating him on what happened.

He smiled when she mentioned that every customer assured her that only the negotiating parties had any knowledge of the agreements prior to today’s announcement. He felt bad that Marcia was getting caught up in the middle of what was supposed to be his private retaliation against Adam and Hampton Industries. He was just beginning to see past her tough veneer and was liking what he saw.