After weeks of silence from the factory owners, Robert Irons has brought them to the negotiating table. The boulevard fell silent as Irons asked the picketing workers to make a space for the owners to enter the factory, unharmed, to begin their talks.
Over the last 3 weeks, not a single puff of smoke has come from the stacks of these factories. The street outside has seen workers making camps to stay for the duration of the strike, eager to see the results. Shop keeps and restaurants in the area have brought provisions for the picketing workers on the boulevard.
“This isn’t just for the factory workers anymore. This is us Irregulars showing the city that we are not nothing. We are just as important as you fancy people are.” Said shop owner Olivia Benson who has three children that work on Factory Row.
Since the strike began, Irons has been in the crowds, talking to the people who are looking to him to represent them. Ernst Longway, a 30 year veteran of the assembly line said, “He has not left us alone. Not once. He has been here, right beside us. That’s a man you can follow and know you won’t be left behind.”
Irons has not spoken to us directly as he has prepared for the meeting today. He walked with absolute focus through the crowd as he escorted the owners into the building and closed the doors behind them this morning. Now, as twilight descends on the city, we look toward a new day dawning on Factory Row.
