Billy looked to his left and saw nothing but more work ahead of him. He hated this time of year. And working overtime for less pay and fewer benefits than last year made his mood even worse. He stood there at his station for a moment and watched the procession of products heading down the conveyor belt toward him. God, I’ll be here all night, he thought.

At the meeting last night held at the union hall, the strike was put on hold for the second time. Billy thought it would finally happen, but the strike organizers decided to wait a few more days. “We need to put some heat on the Corporation by timing our strike just right,” they had said. The main concerns by the workers were being ignored by Mr. C., so they intended to go on strike some time within the next week.

But for now, all Billy could do was continue to work and wait. He trusted his union to do the right thing at the right time. And the North Pole was no place to be staging an unplanned walkout and risk going without a paycheck.