By midafternoon we had the conveyor speeds down thirty per cent. The red
line on my cost chart soared precariously. The entire production line
slowed to a crawl. We waited.
At five o'clock it happened. Three Terms in the body shop went mad. It
started a chain reaction throughout the trim line. Six more Terms ran
amuck and had to be destroyed. Final assembly became a shambles. Starza
called me on the visicom, delighted. "Our Guild agent played right into
our hands, Jake. In forcing a production slump he's harming the workers.
His next move will probably be a bluff."