Wonderful story, Terry.

As you developed the idea that they needed a sound tech bad, I guessed it immediately and realized the genius of having him mention that he did it in college. I can't wait for them to see how good he really is.

I also like the gentle interest you're developing in them for each other. They both recognize their attraction to the other but it's just attraction for now. Do I foresee Clark getting asked to become their sound man, and how might he respond?

Let me get this straight. Terry has taken the "I'm the experienced veteran and you are the rookie hick, but no, wait, you're actually better than I thought you'd be but I'm not going to admit that to you because I like you too much" Lois and Clark dynamic and transposed it into the music world. Meanwhile, we've got the mirror image going in the reporting world where Clark is the veteran and Lois is the amateur in the best sense of the word. And Linda trying to be who we all expect Lois to be and failing.

What a tangled web. Loving it.

What HG said

Loved the banter but I have to admit you completely lost me on the music stuff.

Is this a US thing or a mob thing?

Michael

Woody - Clark becomes their permanent sound tech? Hmm. I might have to play with that one. Glad you like the back-and-forth attraction.

HappyGirl - I admit that I didn't deliberately plan to flip the relationship as you described, but it does work that way. My readers are always finding things in my stories that I didn't put in on purpose but which work better than I'd planned. You're very insightful.

Michael - sorry about losing you on the music stuff. Being a musician myself, I can't fake it. I actually worked hard at keeping some of it out! I didn't want the story to be just about the band. And as far as the union stuff is concerned, it isn't mob-related, at least not directly. A trucking company which is unionized by the Teamsters, for example, will not allow a non-union driver to take a route, even if a late delivery costs the company money. Working musicians (usually including sound techs) usually join the union for job opportunities, because the union doesn't like mixing union and non-union personnel. Besides, they keep the wages paid to sound techs and light techs and stage hands at higher levels.

Thanks for reading and commenting! The next chapter should be up sometime before Monday night (my time).

so....do you promise happy ending? the angst is subtle but oh so potent...

Hmm... interesting. So what would happen if someone did hire a non-union worker? Would the other workers go on strike? And wouldn't that in turn be illegal? This really does sound like a protection racket to my innocent ears Especially if the workers have to pay a membership fee to be part of the union. And if they're not, they won't find work.

Michael

Great part, Terry and just littered with gems.

Like ...

and ...

I have to admit I'm not completely sure what a 'stumblebum' is, but I can get the gist of it. We probably have an equivalent Aussie word.

I also loved Lois's coolness towards Clark and his response.

Great story

Corrina.

Michael, the union works because it makes employees part of a group, and the union says to the company, you do what we say, or none of us work. Companies don't have the time or the resources to find that many new workers in that time, so the unions are essentially able to run the show. The companies hire unions on contracts: we will pay this much, with this many benefits, etc. Workers join unions because despite the union dues, their wages and benefits are that much higher that they can come out better in the end. The risk is the strike. None of the union members are allowed to work by the union, and if one breaks ranks and does, he or she is shunned and called a scab. However, none of the union workers earns money if their striking, so said worker may need the wages and is willing to work, but is essentially handcuffed.

That is sort of a general view of how they work. I'm sure someone who is actually part of a union could greatly modify that explanation, but that is why Lois made that statement. If a job that is part of a contract is filled, even temporarily, by a non-union employee, they get mad because it threatens their power, and is, in their eyes, braeking the rules. And in America, unions have become so powerful that they nearly run most industries, deciding pay rates and all that and forcing corporations to say uncle if they won't accept.

Realistically, they wouldn't strike over one non-union employee. Strikes usually happen over contracts for the whole group. Realistically a bunch of union employees would show up out front to picket. There might even be a billboard put up front that says they are "unfair to workers" because the union feels it is unfair to hire workers who are non-union.

As an employee in a union industry (entertainment is very strongly pro-union), Lois would automatically hope that they don't get in trouble with the union. Should Charlie have a union card within 24 hours, it won't be a problem. The only mob aspect is that Charlie would have a union card that fast. Normally it takes a lot longer to "pay your dues."

Enough about chasing that rabbit...

I like how clearly we see Lois desire in this part. She doesn't want to play 2-bit clubs for the rest of her life. The tension throws her game off.


Elisabeth