'Come on, Lucy, " Sid said. " With all those degrees you have, you can get a job anywhere. I thought you were working with those welfare people. Why do you have to come here?"

"Are you scared of your big sister? " she asked.. "Dad picked you to be the manager instead of me, but I'm not trying to show he was wrong. I want to change jobs, and I'd rather help the family business than anybody else"

"Doesn't Larry feel insulted that you go to work? It's like you're trying to wear the pants in the family."

" Cut it out, " she said. "Now you're insulting him and me. Just tell me, will you let me come?"

. "If anybody else came to me with your attitude, I'd kick him out of the building," he said. "I want to think about it, and I'll let you know over the weekend."

Lucy rose from the chair. She walked out, slamming the door. Sid's secretary called out a greeting, and Lucy waved in return, but she continued the walk to the elevator without looking left or right. She was burning with anger. How could her father have turned over the business to that dummy? Probably because he'll fight the union, just like Dad did. So the union will fight back, and together they'll run the business into the ground. Maybe I ought to stay on the welfare job. Then I wouldn't have to watch the business fall apart!

She thought back to the time, twenty years ago, when she told her father she wanted to work for the firm. She smiled as she recalled his reaction. Like son, like father. Dad had remarked, with some hostility, "Why don't you look for a job someplace else? You listened to your mother against my advice and became a social worker. We're not in the social work business. We make ladies' clothes, period. Go someplace else."
But Dad didn't have his way; her mother overruled him. After all, it was Mom's family business. She wanted Lucy in, and she wanted Lucy to do social work. For five years after that, Lucy had been the head of personnel and angered her father with demands that the shop follow safety regulations and improve working conditions. Dad wasn't happy at work until Lucy left to have her first child. When Mom died shortly after the child was born, leaving Dad as the owner, her father refused her request to be reinstated in the job. She was too proud to tell him that she really had to work; Larry was a free-lance musician, a cellist. She was glad that he was into music because he brought this talent into the family gene pool. Making a decent living was another matter; his income was too uncertain.

She was surprised when Sid telephoned later. "Okay, " he said, "maybe I'm being agreeable because you didn't sue when Dad left me the business." She could hear him chuckle. " Maybe I'm a nicer guy than you think. You can come, but understand this: I don't want any of your bleeding- heart union crap. You represent management and not the workers. Just keep that in mind!"

Lucy didn't argue; she felt it was right for her to be in the factory. Once there, it wouldn't be long before she'd be cooperating with the union. That was second nature to her; you keep the workers happy with their jobs, get on a solid footing with the union, and the business benefits. In her mind, these were incontrovertible truths. Two weeks later, Lucy reported for work. The night before she came, she called her brother to ask if he would have time to see her during shop hours. "Don't bother me with that stuff," he told her. "Just make like a personnel manager, whatever that is, and don't make trouble for me." She puzzled over that. Why did he take her on if he had no idea what her tasks should be?

She came in early and found her office with the help of Dotty, Sid's secretary . The office was handsomely furnished with a big desk, a couch and several chairs, a metal filing cabinet, and some prints on the walls. The filing cabinet was bare of any records. She called Dotty and learned that she kept the information about current and recent employees, but there were no other data. Lucy smiled as she thought about the fate of the painstakingly-written reports she had prepared for her father. Dad had probably thrown them out with other trash.

Since she had to start from scratch, her first inclination was to walk around the shop floor and see whatever, maybe even someone who had worked there long enough to remember her. As she opened the door of the production room, she heard angry voices above the whir of the machines. A man in shirtsleeves and a woman in work dress were in the middle of the floor, shouting and gesturing.

"Hold on, stop it," Lucy said when she reached the battle scene. "What's…."

"Who the hell are you, and what are you doing here?" the man turned toward her menacingly. His opponent, a short woman in her forties and red-faced with anger, had an odd look as she stared at the peacemaker.

"You're Miss Lucy, aren't you?" the woman said and then turned to the man. "Shut up, gangster. This lady is the boss's sister.."

"Did you start all this, Lucy? " It was her brother, still wearing his coat. "Joe and Bessie, listen- cut out this bullshit, and act like grown-ups. Lucy, this is Joe. He's the foreman, He reports to me, so you just let him do his job. And Joe, this is my sister, and she's working for us. She's a social worker, and maybe that's what she wants to do here. If she gets in your way, tell me . And you, Bessie, don't let being union steward go to your head. We've got to make dresses, or we're all out of a job. Now, Joe, tell everybody to get back to work!"

After the group broke up, Lucy walked with Bessie as she went back to her machine." I want to talk to you," Lucy said. "When you get your lunch break, why don't you come eat in my office." Bessie stared at her as Lucy turned away.

Shortly after the lunch whistle sounded, the union steward walked into Lucy's office. Lucy had put another chair near her desk. Bessie greeted her cautiously, and they both began eating.

"I remember when you first came," Lucy said, and then in an inquiring tone, "you've stayed a long time. Does that mean you liked working here?"

Bessie looked at her thoughtfully. "I was new to the shop then, Miss Lucy, but I remember that the union people thought you were pretty fair and stood up for us against your father. I could just give an easy answer to your question, but there's something else on my mind," Bessie pursed her lips, looked searchingly at her companion and continued. "Right now I can just say there's a serious problem in the shop, and it started even before your brother took over. I don't want to talk to you about it --yet. So let's enjoy lunch and talk. I hope you won't mind telling me what you've been doing all these years. And maybe you won't mind if I tell about myself for a little bit."

Bessie said she had come to work in the shop right after graduating from high school. She wanted to go to college, but she was an only child, her father was sickly, and her mother was needed at home to take care of the father. Somebody had to bring money into the home, and Bessie decided that she was the one. The first day on the job, she joined the union. That was a proud moment for her. When she was a little girl, her father used to take her to union headquarters on Saturday mornings. She loved to listen to Pop argue with his friends about union actions and national politics. She smiled as she told Lucy that even nowadays her idea of the way to enjoy the week-end was to go down to the union on Saturdays and mix with other union stalwarts. Then they would all eat lunch together and go to a movie. They were all her sisters and brothers; they were family.

"You sound like you never married," Lucy said.

" That's true," Bessie answered. "A guy in the crowd asked to go out just with me. Gee, that must have been more than ten years ago. He was a good union man, and I liked him. But I couldn't separate from the others. Like I said, they were my family."

Lucy talked about herself, her husband and children, and did not hesitate to tell of her conflicts with her father and brother. Lucy enjoyed telling her about it; she sensed that there would be a strong bond between her and Bessie.

One evening a week later, Lucy had a phone call. "Excuse me for calling you at home, " Bessie said." Is it possible for you to come to the union some evening this week? It's this thing I couldn't talk about in your office."

Luey said yes without hesitation and an appointment was set. Afterwards, she felt some qualms about the covert character of the affair. Perhaps she should talk to her brother? She concluded that would be unfair to Bessie, but she had to talk to someone. She walked to the den, interrupted her husband's cello practice, and asked for consultation. He listened, and then said to tell Bessie that he would be coming with her. That sounded right to her, so she called Bessie who agreed to check this out with the union. Before the evening was over, Larry was accepted as a participant.

When Lucy and her husband arrived, Bessie first greeted and then led them to an office. She knocked, and the door was opened by a man in shirtsleeves. A woman and another man were in the room; both arose as the visitors entered. The woman was introduced as Janet, president of the local union; the second man, wearing a jacket and tie, said that his name was Sal Bando. Janet added proudly that Sal was the president of the international union. The man in shirtsleeves said his name was Tony and he was the chair of the local's grievance committee. Bessie remained in the room.

"Thanks for coming, Mrs. Miller, and I'm glad you brought your husband," Janet said. "I hope you won't mind if I call you Lucy," to which the latter nodded agreeably. "I hope you understand that this is a serious matter dealing with the shop. It would not be wise to talk about it with any others- at least not at this point.
"Five years ago the union called a strike at your family factory. It was in early summer, and companies want to get out their fall lines as quickly as possible. The strike went on for several weeks, and we guess your father felt desperate about getting work done on time. In the third week of the strike, we had a small picket line, almost all women strikers, when several vans, followed by a bus, parked near our line. Ten tough-looking guys got out of the vans, and about thirty people, mostly women, came out of the bus. The men formed a line with the women behind them and pushed their way into the building.

" We saw that we needed some men on the picket line and the steelworkers union volunteered to help.. There were daily fights between us and the strikebreakers. Both your father and the union were hurting, so we came to a compromise after five days."

Janet paused. "Now I'll get to the heart of the matter. We learned some weeks after the strike that we had been fighting gangsters, and that they intended to stay in the shop. You met the foreman, Joe; he's one of them. They probably have others around the shop whom we don't know; maybe they're even members of the union. *" We are pretty sure that your father made an agreement with the Mob that lets them stay in the company. What the terms are we don't know. Bessie tells us that suspicious-looking men visited your father at the office. Some are coming to see your brother now."

"What's also happening," the international president interjected, "is that the Mob is spreading into other shops. We are determined to stop them."

" Why don't you call in the FBI?" Larry asked.

"Two reasons," the president replied. "We don't have any solid facts, and we don't like to bring the FBI into union business. They start mixing into all our affairs. Look, the Mob has tried to take over unions for years. When we had the will to stop them, we did."

"I don't know what the union is planning to do," Lucy said, " but if you called me here to ask if I would help, the answer is yes. My first inclination is to talk to my brother, Sid, about this story. Would you rather I waited before I did that?"

"Whatever we decide to do, will be done soon," Janet replied. "We only ask that you not tell him anything about a union action. From now on, Bessie will be the contact person for any message you want to send us or we want to send you."

Driving home, Larry and she reviewed what they had learned, and decided she ought to phone her brother right away. Sid was at home when she called..

" There's an important matter I want to talk to you about," she said. "Can I come over to your home tomorrow night?"

"Look," he complained, "I have business headaches for most of my day, and I don't want to take them home with me. Just do whatever you want on the job, and it's all right with me."

"What I want to talk over is not about my job. It's an important matter affecting the business. Please.."

"Well, okay," he said. "Remember, keep it short."

Lucy came right to the point when they sat down to talk the following evening. "I have been told that the Mob has come into our business. Is that right?" *"You and the union got together pretty quickly," he said. "Okay, I'll tell you the story. I was working in the shop when the strike took place, and I can tell you we were hurting. Dad never told me anything about bringing in the Mob. When I realized who these people were, I told him that I wanted to know what agreement he had made, and if he didn't tell me, I would quit. He said that they had offered to bring in the replacement workers and lend him money to buy the goods and other material he needed. And what did they want? A share of the business and the right to name the foreman and a few other management people.

"Dad begged me to stay. He said he was going to turn over the business to me, and he hinted that it would be soon. It came sooner than he expected. . A few months after the strike was over, he had the heart attack and died."

Sid stopped and stared at her. "That's the way it was, and that's how it is, and I wish it had never happened. And, sis, I'm sorry to drag you into it. If you want to quit, I'd understand."

Her mind was racing with conflicting thoughts. "I'm sorry you're in this terrible mess, " she said. "I have to think about all you told me, but one thing I know-- I'm not quitting. I just need time to think." She went over to him, kissed him on the cheek, and left.

When she came home, she told Larry that the Mob was involved in the shop, but she begged off from considering what steps she ought to take; it was all too overwhelming for her to think clearly. The next day Lucy managed to slip a note to Bessie asking to meet her at a nearby cafeteria after work. They sat down to coffee.

"My brother says that he did not know my father was going to take in the gangsters and begged him not to quit. Sid sounded as if he would like to get rid of them."

"Do you believe him?" Bessie asked, sharply.

"Do I believe him?" Lucy spoke aloud, but it was the question seething in her own mind. Was he capable of lying to her? Would he lie about his father who had been his defender in all family conflicts and who had given him the family business, lock, stock and barrel? She did not want to answer that question yet.

"I have to get back to the office," Lucy said. She rose from her chair and walked away. Back at the shop, she could not do any work; she called Sid's secretary and asked her to tell him she was leaving early. When she asked Larry at home to help her judge whether her brother had lied, he told Lucy he doubted that she or he could know. It was not fair to judge him by behavior as a child. Sid was a young teenager when they were married, and they had seen very little of him after that. She would have to find out why the union questioned his story.

The next day, Bessie came to Lucy's office. The union steward talked about some shop business while she handed a note to Lucy. The note asked her to come to the union hall that evening, and Lucy scribbled a quick sentence for Bessie to read: she would come if she could bring her husband with her. Bessie nodded in agreement.

At the union hall, Bessie led them to the president's office where they encountered the same officials who had attended the earlier session.

"I have unpleasant information for you," the president said, looking intently at Lucy. "When your brother told you that your father called in the Mob, he was not telling the truth. Your brother persuaded your Dad to use the gangsters. We have checked out carefully what I am about to say: Your brother has been working with the Mob for a long time. He probably saw the strike as a chance to bring them into the shop."

Lucy sat there, almost in shock. Her brother a gangster? How could that be? There must be a mistake. "I find it hard to believe that," she said. "I know he was a wild child, and that he didn't like unions, but a member of the Mob?"

There were tears in her eyes. "Would you rather leave now?" the president asked. "We would understand."
Her mind was in turmoil, but Lucy's agitation was gone. "No, please let me stay. I promise you that I will not tell my brother what you plan to do. It's my obligation to try to redeem my family's honorable name. Maybe it will also force my brother to break his connection with those awful people."

Wife and husband sat quietly through long hours of discussion, as the president outlined a proposed strategy for driving the Mob out of the plant, how workers would take control, and the ultimatum that would be given to Sid and the mob leaders. Suggestions for changes in tactics were made by other participants. A day would be designated within the next few weeks for the workers at the plant to take over the shop.
As the session was about to wind down, Janet said that when the takeover was completed, a meeting would be held with all the workers to talk about the future of the business.

On the drive home, Lucy did not speak. They sat down to a cup of coffee, when they arrived. "I'm grateful that you're with me through all this, Larry," she said. "If I were alone, I could not have handled these mind-boggling stories about my family. Dad always had to have things his way, but it's hard for me to picture his accepting gangster partners. I suppose a hard-fought strike could have made him frustrated and determined to destroy the enemy. But what they say that Sid is a long-time member of the Mob-it's just inconceivable!"

"The critical fact," her husband said, "is that gangsters are in the shop. It is not just the union that says so; your brother told you that too. Whether your father or Sid let them in voluntarily or were forced to do it, I think the union is right; we have to drive the gangsters out."

During the next few days Lucy was in a steady state of tension. Would the action quicker, louder, and the foreman was screaming all the time .take place that day? Would Sid be attacked? Would the Mob rush in with their weapons? It seemed to her that everyone in the shop was on edge. The sewing machines were
In the early afternoon of the third day, Bessie came to Lucy's office, began talking about a shop matter, and handed her a note. Lucy's hands were trembling as she read, In ten minutes, Janet and the international president will come to the shop with about 15 union men, and go into Sid's office. Sid is there right now. Workers on the floor are being told by my assistants to leave their machines and go to the office . Five people have been assigned to the foreman there.. We need you at the office too.

Lucy nodded her head in agreement, and Bessie left. The minutes dragged on as Lucy waited, on edge, dreading the impending explosion. Suddenly, the machines were silent. Then she heard voices shouting and the heavy tread of many feet. Lucy rushed to the door and saw the foreman being dragged toward the company offices. The disorder and chaos frightened her, but in a moment Bessie was at her side, taking her hand, and leading her through the crowd that surrounded her brother's office.

When she entered the room, Sid was seated in his chair, a half-smile on his face, looking at the union officials gathered near his desk. He wheeled the chair around and saw his sister holding Bessie's hand. He stared at them for a moment, and then, speaking softly, he said, "Et tu, Brute?" Lucy looked steadily, unashamedly, into his eyes.

"Mr. Gordon, the workers in this factory have risen in protest," said Janet. "They do not want the Mob in the shop. Together with our union, we will make sure that your friends will be driven out of the dress industry."
"I don't know whom you call "my friends"," Sid replied, "but I do know that you have seized my property and assaulted my foreman and me. Are you also going to hold me captive, and stop me from calling the police?"
"I don't think you or your friends will call the police," Janet said. "We have documented evidence that Mob money from drug sales is being laundered through the operations of this firm. Our lawyers are prepared to give this information to proper authorities.

"We will let you and your foreman leave this building but before you go I will tell you our offer to take over your business. Our accountants will look over the books, examine your inventory, and then propose a fair price to buy out you and whoever else is a legal owner ."

"You're just like the Mob," Sid said. "You come here and want to take over my business. I don't want to sell, and you can go to hell."

Janet ignored his remark. "If we do not have a signed agreement by 4 o'clock tomorrow, we will go to the police and the FBI with our information. If we are attacked in this factory by your gangsters, or if a worker here, or any member of a worker's family is attacked at any time, we will go straight to the authorities with our story. Now get out and take your foreman with you."

"C'mon, Joe, " Sid said, talking to the foreman as he arose from the chair, " let's get over to a bar and have a drink. These crazies are in for the surprise of their lives." Sid stopped in front of his sister and made a sweeping bow.

"Okay, Bessie, " the president said, "make sure that all the guards are at their stations. Then tell the workers that we will have a meeting on the shop floor in ten minutes."

With all the workers assembled, seated at their machines or makeshift resting places, Janet addressed the group. She first congratulated them on their successful and peaceful action.

"I want to explain what we want to accomplish with all this," she said. "Sure, we want to get rid of the Mob. We have proposed to your boss that the union will buy the shop from him and whoever else is a legal owner. We will pay a fair price. Perhaps they will not want to sell but I have told him that we have clear evidence of illegal Mob activity in running this shop, and if we need to, we will give the proof to authorities.

" I want to make clear the broader aim we have in mind. Our intention is to transfer ownership to you, to make this a cooperative of those who work here."

There was a stir of excitement in the audience. Someone whistled, and then the applause became deafening. Janet quieted them down.

"All this won't happen tomorrow or the day after. It will take time. When we become the owners, and I am confident that we will, there will be a management committee with representatives from the shop whom you will elect, and representatives from union headquarters."

The crowd could not be restrained. Many rose to their feet, applauded, cheered, danced, and sang. Bessie took the gavel and quieted them. "Right now," she said, "we have to settle what we do tonight, and every day and night until the shop is ours. We still have to be wary. Some of us will have to stay here tonight, and all of us will have to be here tomorrow. We have guards here, members of the steelworkers union, and they will be here day and night while the shop needs them.. For those who stay over tonight, and any night, we will have food brought in. So, everyone tell your section chief whether you stay or go tonight. But everybody be here tomorrow without fail!"

About half of the workers went home. Many of those who stayed wanted to call home Bessie said the office phones could be used, but she limited conversations to three minutes. Lucy also phoned and Larry asked if he could join her at the factory, to which Bessie agreed. Boxed dinners were brought in, and everyone ate around the center of the shop.

Two of the guards, each holding an arm of a shop worker who walked between them, approached Bessie who was eating with some friends. A guard whispered to her. She rose to her feet and led the way to one of the offices.

"What happened, Tom?" she asked one of the guards.

"I opened the boiler room door, turned on the light and saw something move.

I held my club ready to strike, looked around, and found her crouching in a corner. I asked her why she was in the boiler room. She said the shop was too chilly, and she came here to warm up. I called Harry (pointing to the other guard). We didn't look in her bag; I thought it was better to do that with you present."

"What were you doing there, Gracie?" Bessie asked.

"Like I told him," the woman said defiantly, "I was cold. And you got no right

to look in my bag; I'll sue if you do."

Bessie was remembering something about the woman. She had been hired by Joe, the foreman. Bessie had immediately complained to the boss because the union always sent the new workers. Also, Gracie was not a member of the union, though she said she would sign up and pay her dues right away. Sid dismissed the complaint, "You got a new union member, so why worry?" Maybe the woman was working for the Mob?

" If you don't let us see what's in your bag," Bessie said, "we're going to figure that you're on the Mob's payroll, and you were trying to plant something in the boiler room."

" I don't give a damn what you figure. You got no right to look in the bag," Gracie said.

Bessie told her that union headquarters would be informed that she worked for the gangsters, and then led Gracie to the building exit. The union leader complimented the guards on preventing potential sabotage. Bessie returned to the shop floor, called all the workers to attention, and told them what had happened. She urged everyone to be watchful for other hostile actions, and arranged for everyone to do some guard duty through the night.

It was a restless night for all the workers, but early the next morning a caterer brought in coffee and breakfast food. Shortly after that Janet arrived, bringing with her three people. She explained to the workers that the newcomers were business appraisers who would be examining the books and the merchandise to determine a fair price. There had been no word from the present owners, but she was confident there would be. Workers who had gone home returned, people walked around chatting with friends, but Lucy suggested to Bessie that perhaps everyone could get together and talk about how a cooperative could manage the work that needed to be done. Bessie liked the idea and asked Lucy to lead the discussion when the meeting started.

Lucy stared at her. "Me ?" she asked, incredulously. " I'm not even a member of the union!"

"We'll have to change that soon," Bessie said, "but it will wait until after the meeting."

The shop steward called the people together, introducing Lucy as a prospective member of the union and the new cooperative. Lucy told her audience that all who worked at the shop needed to think and talk about how a cooperative would work in their dress factory. She suggested one issue: should each person's pay be based on piecework, as they had been paid? She suggested other subjects too: how to decide the salary of shop management, and what kinds of grievance procedure were appropriate She then asked the eighty people present to form groups of eight, and talk about whatever issues their members chose. At the end of the discussion period each group would report to the whole assembly.

Groups formed quickly, scattered throughout the shop, and soon there was the loud hum of many voices speaking. At times, dissonant sounds were heard, but others soothed injured feelings. After two hours of talk, as Lucy prepared to stop the discussions Janet returned with several other officials, and everyone gathered around her.

"I have just talked with a lawyer representing the present owners," she said, in a high pitch of excitement. "We will be meeting at our union hall tonight with the lawyer and, as he put it, several other gentlemen representing the owners. I remind you that until this is settled, we all have to be watchful. Bessie told me about one of the women here who probably spied for the Mob. You have to be alert, and we who deal with their lawyers have to be alert. Always keep in mind that they are dangerous enemies. "

Her cautionary words could not quench the jubilation. Workers leaped and shouted. Someone yelled a warning, "Check them for guns before you let them in." Janet yelled back, "You bet we will!"

Before the president left to go to the union hall, she told Bessie that special care should be taken throughout the night, in case the Mob's agreement to meet was a ploy to catch them off-guard at the shop. Bessie relayed this to the workers and asked all those who could to remain that night. The phone lines were again busy with messages to housemates. Many stayed over, including Lucy and her husband.

While people were eating the dinners that arrived soon after Janet left, Bessie told Lucy that her brother was downstairs and wanted to talk to her. Larry insisted that he be present during the conversation. Two guards accompanied Sid, as he joined his sister in an office.

"I know you're union-minded, " he said, "but how could you turn against your family? They're driving us, your family, out of a business we've owned for a hundred years."

"That's not the real question," Lucy said, bitterly. "When you brought the Mob in, it was no longer our business. What madness led you to join up with gangsters? How could you shame our family by linking us with these evil people?"

Sid smiled. "You don't want to believe that your father did it, do you? Suppose I told you that it started even before Dad. Maybe this company began years ago with the help of shady characters, and the present mob leaders could be their grandchildren. I'll bet Mom knew about it--so there goes your family's good name!"
Lucy stared at him, her face distorted in anger. "You miserable liar," she said. "You don't want to take responsibility for your despicable actions, so you blame this catastrophe on dead people who can't defend themselves."

Sid shook his head, sadly "I knew you wouldn't believe me. It's always been that way. You want to think I'm lying, but I'm not. Maybe you'll feel better when I tell you that many little businessmen avoid bankruptcy by making the same Faustian bargain. For all I know, the big ones do too. Anyhow, I'm selling out, and I came to offer you part of what I'll get. After all, you're my sister, and it was your family business too."

She sensed that he was trying to reach out to her. "I don't want the money," she replied. "I say to myself that you're acting, wanting my sympathy. You better leave now. Maybe you ought to go far away, get away from those men" She looked at him, and suddenly saw him as a child, sobbing helplessly. She added, "If you leave the area, let me know where you are."

Sid stared straight ahead, not looking at her. Then he got up and walked out. After awhile, she turned to Larry . "Do you believe him?" Larry shrugged his shoulders and murmured, "Who knows?"

In the early morning, when most of the people were asleep, except those assigned to be on watch, loud and boisterous singing awakened the weary sentinels. Janet led a parade of headquarters people singing Solidarity Forever and shouting "We won! We won!" Great jubilation prevailed in the shop; cheering, singing, and noise-making were pervasive. But Lucy could not find the will to take part; she stayed on the edges of the crowd, with Larry beside her.

Bessie came over and asked Lucy and Larry to join her in an office.

"I understand why you can be both happy and sad with what's happening. After all, he was your brother, and he wasn't a bad boss, and it was your family."

"Thanks for all you say and do," Lucy said., "but it's all too much for me to take in at one time. And I'm tired; I want to go home."

"Of course. You and Larry have earned our thanks, and you should go home and get some rest. But before you do, I want to say that you will be on the management committee for the new cooperative. The Executive Committee at Headquarters has chosen you as one of its representatives, that is, providing you sign a union card in the next few days. Another thing, we have a meeting of the whole shop here tomorrow. We have to start making dresses, and for that we need to decide on some beginning rules like the questions you asked the groups to talk about."

Bessie stopped for a moment, her eyes glistening with tears. " We're going to be a cooperative now, and we have to make it the best cooperative in the world."

Lucy walked over to Bessie and hugged her. " Don't worry, I'll be here, and I'll sign whatever card you put in front of me. I'm going to vote for you to be the head of the management committee, and I know you won't rest until we become the best cooperative in the world!"