Strikes and Demonstrations

　　Dialogue1

　　A:Do you have the day off today?How come you're not at work now?

　　B:I don't have the day off. Our labor union is staging a nationwide strike today,all of the workers in our department are supporting the labor union by participating and not going in to work this week.

　　A:Are you serious? Why would they have to go to such extreme measures like a strike? Doesn't your company have a pretty good corporate image? I'll bet the folks at headquarters are going nuts over something as serious as a strike....

　　B:It happens quite often,actually.Whenever there arises a dispute between the union and the executive group,the first thing they do is to call a strike. Usually it only lasts a day or two before both sides can come to an agreement and we start work again. Anyhow,it's a nice,unanticipated holiday....

　　Dialogue2

　　A:Did you hear what's going on downtown today? All the worders from the factory are staging a demonstration in the streets. Not one of the two thousand employees showed up for work today,and they have gathered outside the city hall to demand better working conditions for all factory employees.

　　B:Wow,sounds chaotic.... two thousand people in the streets carrying picket signs and shouting sloans. What gave them the motivation to finally organize and call management on the substandard working conditions?

　　A:I think they gained courage after the mayor's speech last week on equality and opportunity for all town citizens. Anyway,the sentiments have been brewing for quite some time.I mean, we all know the working conditions at the factory are quite horrendous.

　　B:So what kind of demands do they have? What are they asking for specifically?

　　A:They want raises and medical insurance, and I think they want to clean up the factory's safety hazards. That's probably the most important issue.