10. Nicola
Background:
Nicola, 18, emigrated last year from Italy with his brother Bartolommeo. They live together in a tenement house and hope to save enough money to bring the rest of their family over from Italy.
Work:
Nicola has worked in several jobs since his arrival in Manchester but he and his brother recently found steady work at the Junko Foundry. They both signed yellow dog contracts upon being hired, but because of their limited English skills neither man understood that this meant they would be fired if they joined a union. Nicola is paid $1 a day for 12-hour shifts in the foundry.
Wants:
Unionize?
Nicola is very interested in socialism and trade unions. He reads and sometimes contributes to a socialist journal written in Italian and is becoming more active in the socialist party. He sees unions as a way to unite workers and thinks that a strike would benefit the workers at the Junko Foundry.
Background:
Nicola, 18, emigrated last year from Italy with his brother Bartolommeo. They live together in a tenement house and hope to save enough money to bring the rest of their family over from Italy.
Work:
Nicola has worked in several jobs since his arrival in Manchester but he and his brother recently found steady work at the Junko Foundry. They both signed yellow dog contracts upon being hired, but because of their limited English skills neither man understood that this meant they would be fired if they joined a union. Nicola is paid $1 a day for 12-hour shifts in the foundry.
Wants:
- Nicola wants his pay raised to $1.50 a day (a 50 cent raise)
- He needs to support himself, as well as send money back to Italy to his wife and children, who he hopes to bring to America as soon as he can afford to.
- Nicola also wants Mr. Junko to end the practices of yellow dog contracts and of hiring scab workers during strikes.
Unionize?
Nicola is very interested in socialism and trade unions. He reads and sometimes contributes to a socialist journal written in Italian and is becoming more active in the socialist party. He sees unions as a way to unite workers and thinks that a strike would benefit the workers at the Junko Foundry.