42

WHEN HE THOUGHT ABOUT it afterwards, George Ryder realized that he was ill prepared for the meeting. He was remiss in not suspecting what Doug Fiore would say and do. But if he was ever to learn all the facts he was unaware of that day, he’d understand that there was nothing he could have done to change things.

Ryder was barely seated in the chair across from Fiore’s desk on Tuesday morning when Doug began to show his outrage. “I thought we had an understanding that you’d have a copy of the Ocean State Wire negotiating notes and the latest proposals on my desk the day after you met with them. There was nothing here yesterday from either your last Thursday or Friday sessions. Your secretary told Dana you didn’t give her any notes to type.”

Ryder reached for the folder he set down moments earlier next to his chair and began opening it. “I didn’t give Myra anything because I wanted to type them up myself at home on Friday night while everything was still fresh in my mind.” He pulled several papers from the file and put them on the desk when Fiore didn’t reach out to take them.

Ryder continued. “I came by here yesterday morning at about 9:15 to give them to you and explain a few things in the notes I hadn’t spelled out in detail. Dana said you’d be in meetings most of the day. I figured you probably wouldn’t have time to read them anyway, and that you might get concerned about what’s in there if I didn’t clear up a few things for you ahead of time.”

Fiore was trying to keep his displeasure under control. He didn’t comment on what Ryder said. The answer took some of the wind out of his sails. “Are you any closer to a settlement than you were the last time we spoke?” he asked.

“We’ve gotten a number of things off the table,” Ryder answered.

“Do you mean the small stuff, the language changes, sick leave, those kinds of things?”

“That’s right. It all takes time, Doug. I thought getting those items out of the way on Friday might help break the logjam on the big issues when we get back together again.”

“Are you and the Union any closer on wages?”

“No, there was no movement there.” Ryder bit his lip slightly and shook his head back and forth.

“What’s the Company’s last proposal on wages?” Fiore skipped through the notes as he asked questions.

“A freeze for the first two years and a one percent increase in the third.”

“Isn’t that the same thing it was two weeks ago?”

“That’s right,” Ryder said. “Hanley doesn’t want to move yet. He’s convinced the Company needs a two-year freeze. I think the Platts may have told him last week that they don’t want a strike on that issue because he gave me the OK to figure out the cost for small raises in the second and third years. But I’m not sure because he never mentioned having talked to either one of them. He may just be buying time before the contract runs out, hoping he can somehow persuade the Union to go along with what he’s looking for.”

Fiore turned his chair so that it was facing a side wall and continued reading the notes. Ryder started looking inside the bulky file folder for his own copy. Doug spoke without looking over toward him.

“At the Thursday meeting—the one the week before last—the Union lowered its demands in half, for the second and third years, from a buck more an hour down to half a buck, right?”

“That’s right.”

“And you guys stood pat.”

“Right.”

“Then this past Thursday they moved again, cutting the increase to a quarter an hour.”

“Yes. On Thursday morning.”

“And after that you gave them the same two-year freeze proposal all over again?”

“On wages, yes, but we changed it slightly on medical.”

“Goddammit,” Fiore hissed, ignoring the last comment. He returned to the notes. Ryder began reviewing his copy also. Suddenly, Fiore was out of his chair and standing by the door to the conference room. The anger about to be unleashed was foreshadowed by the rapid flush appearing on his face. Fiore had already concluded that it was too late to give Ryder the settlement guidelines he received from Sandy Tarantino. He thought that since Ryder wasn’t certain whether the Platts had communicated any instructions to Hanley on what they wanted to see in a new contract, Ryder might figure that Fiore was calling the shots. He might also conclude, as Fiore was aware he had during the negotiations three years earlier, that Doug was ready to force a settlement favorable to the Union in order not to risk losing the client through a work stoppage regardless of what Hanley thought he had to have in the contract. It was better, Fiore decided, to handle the situation in a way that wouldn’t prompt Ryder to have those thoughts.

“You’re supposed to be guiding Brad Hanley to a settlement, George. But you guys are bogged down in the mud. The Union makes two big moves in a row, dropping from a buck down to a quarter, and Ocean State pisses all over them. I don’t understand what’s going on.”

Ryder tried to stay calm, but he could see that Fiore was loaded for bear. “I explained in the notes that I had a talk with Hanley afterwards. I let him know he’s being unrealistic at this stage of the negotiations. As I just told you …”

Fiore cut him off. Ryder gave him just the opening he was looking for, the chance to act as if he was incensed by the lack of progress in the negotiations. He took full advantage of it. “Are we going to watch this company go on strike just because Hanley says he doesn’t give a shit? Strikes cost money, for Chrissake. You know that. What if the Platts decide they don’t need the aggravation or the rotten publicity and shut it down? Where does that leave us? It leaves us without a client that pays its big bills on time, that’s where. And I’m not about to let that happen because Brad Hanley wants to act like an asshole. Maybe you’re ready to just sit by his side and watch him steer the damn boat onto the rocks, but I’m not. Someone else is going to handle the tiller.”

Ryder didn’t immediately grasp what Fiore was telling him. “I’m meeting with him tomorrow, Doug. I’ve gone over all his numbers again, every which way. I’m pretty sure I can convince him to put some money on the table for the Union.”

Fiore returned to his chair. He leaned back in it and stared hard at Ryder as he plunged the verbal sword into the older lawyer’s chest. “We’re not giving Hanley any more time to show us he can be reasonable. The Platts and the Tarantinos have both expressed concern that the negotiations seem to be going nowhere, that there hasn’t already been a settlement. They’re coming up with the numbers they can live with and they want us to guide Hanley into a settlement on that basis as soon as possible, whether he likes it or not.”

Fiore lowered his voice, speaking almost conspiratorially as he continued. “I think he’s been walking all over you, George, right from the beginning. He’s ready to keep holding out to the last minute, hoping the Union will crack, no matter what you advise. That kind of brinksmanship could screw up everything. So we’re going to shake him up right away by taking you out of the negotiations. Paul Castillo’s going to handle it from here on in and he’ll give Hanley the message from the owners.”

Ryder was stunned, and almost at a loss for words. His first thought was how losing Ocean State would affect his billable hours. A rumble had already begun in the pit of his stomach. He wanted to defend himself, but knew Fiore well enough to understand it was futile to argue with him. Maybe he played right into his hands, he thought. He should have realized there was some danger on the horizon when Doug first told him he wanted to see the notes of all the meetings. There was no sense arguing at this point that the decision was unfair or that he was a far more experienced negotiator than Castillo.

“I wish you told me how the owners felt before switching to Paul. I would have liked one more crack at it on that basis. My feeling was that if the Platts weren’t complaining to me about the progress, they understood what Hanley was trying to do. I was sure they knew he’d back off before he got into trouble. And I didn’t know the Tarantinos were even involved.” Ryder spoke softly. He told himself that he was going to hold onto his dignity while the conversation lasted.

“You had plenty of time to get it done,” Fiore said. “The Platts probably don’t know the first thing about negotiating a contract. If I was around the last two weeks, maybe we could have tried it another way and put more pressure on Hanley to reach an agreement. But I wasn’t, and now we’ve got to do what’s best for everyone.”

“Ocean State was one of the few things keeping me busy,” Ryder said. “I hope there’s some other work Paul can let me have as long as he’s going to be putting in the time on this. Is that something you should talk to him about?” Hearing Ryder beg for work was music to Fiore’s ears. He was so pleased at what a great client Ocean State Wire turned out to be. It brought him Pat Hanley and soon it would let him get rid of George Ryder.

“I told him before to try and give you work whenever he was pretty full. Has he been doing it?”

“Some, yes. Nothing very big.”

He ignored the negative part of the answer. “Then there’s no reason he should stop now.”

Fiore got up again, but stayed behind his desk. “Leave the file here, George. I’ll see that Paul gets it. And don’t bother calling Hanley about this. I’ll take care of it myself.”