#Wages

Collective bargaining is the ritual in which companies and workers face off across a table to wage a psychological war over wages and conditions. Both sides chant the mantra of "compromise" while secretly trying to unnerve their opponent. The endless cycle of demands and concessions resembles a marathon that only multiplies exhaustion. The final agreement is celebrated not for its achievement but for the relief of its conclusion, as both parties know they must return to the same table tomorrow. Beneath the veneer of dialogue lies the ever-looming battlefield of the next round.