Scenario:Labor
Matt Shoemaker, 2012

Background – The industrial revolution brought about new ways to conduct business and provide products and services. This was no different for the railroad industry that required large amounts of workers to build its trains and rails, run and maintain its engines, service its customers and mine its coal. Labor disputes were inevitable as Americans and American businesses sought to try to balance working conditions, hours and pay with profits. As a result, the railroad industry saw several labor disputes, two of which involved the Philadelphia and Reading Railroad during 1877 while the Long Depression was in full swing.[i]

Scenario description:As executives of 19th century railroad companies, players must try and strike a balance between their profits and labor satisfaction to win the game. Each player has their own labor satisfaction scale, from 1 to 10, which can trigger events and affect their profits and ability to win the game. It is also possible for a random economy event to take place at the beginning of a turn which may make a player more likely to change their previous stance with labor.

Beginning of Game – The board is set up as it would be for a standard game and resources are doled out as normal with the exception that each player begins the game with 5 gold instead of 3. Each player begins with a labor satisfaction score of 7. The higher the number, up to a maximum of 10, the more workers are satisfied with your business practices and attitudes towards laborers. The lower the number, to a minimum of 1, the more likely labor willtake steps in order to attempt to improve the situation for workers.

State of the economy - The player who begins the game rolls one die before taking their turn. They do this before every turn they have for the duration of the game. On a 1-2 roll,the economy is doing well and each player may take 2 gold from the supply at the start of their next turn.A 3-4 roll means a typical year and no businesses or penalties arise. With a roll of 5 or 6, the economy is doing poorly and resource prices have dropped. On their next turn, the player rolling the dice for the production phase does not collect any resources or gold from the rolled result. The outlaw is played as normal if a 7 is rolled.

Labor Phase – This phase occurs before the production phase of each player. There are 3 parts to this phase:

  1. The labor action roll is made.
  2. Player labor actions, if desired, are made. The labor action roll is modified if any of the player labor actions call for modification to the result of the roll.
  3. The effects from the labor action roll take effect.

The workers and labor unions may choose to act positively or negatively for a player each turn depending on the player’s labor satisfaction score. Players with a labor satisfaction score lower than 6 or higher than 7 make a labor action roll by rolling two dice and adjust their result according to the below table:

Labor Satisfaction Score / Roll Adjustment
1 / -4
2 / -3
3 / -2
4 / -1
5 / 0
8 / +3
9 / +4
10 / +5

The adjusted die roll has the following effects for the player’s turn for labor action. These effects are the last thing implemented in the player’s labor phase:

1 or lower:Unrest! Labor has become so dissatisfied that they have turned to violence. For every city you have on the board over 3, remove one of the player’s rail pieces.* The affected player selects the first rail piece removed, with subsequent pieces removed by other players starting with the player to the affected player’s right. The player does not collect any resources or compensation during the production phase. If the player rolls a 7 during their production phase, the player on their right places the outlaw. The outlaw must be placed so it affects at least one of the affected player’s cities. The player may not purchase or build any rail or train pieces this turn, and they may not move trains this turn.

2:Strike! Labor has had enough and demands something be changed. The player does not collect any resources or compensation during the production phase. If the player rolls a 7 during their production phase the outlaw must be placed in a desert tile. The player may not purchase or build any rail or train pieces this turn, and they may not move trains this turn.

3:Labor is on the verge of strike due to how you treat them and their performance suffers. For the duration of this turn: settler, train and rail pieces and development cards cost 2 extra resource cards (player’s choice) or 2 gold extra to purchase. Trains only move a maximum of 1 space instead of 3 for 1 coal.

4:Labor is dissatisfied with how you treat them and their performance suffers. For the duration of this turn: settler, train and rail pieces and development cards cost 1 extra resource card (player’s choice) or 1 gold extra to purchase. Trains only move a maximum of 2 spaces instead of 3 for 1 coal.

5-14: No effect

15 or higher: Labor is very satisfied and the workers are more productive. During the player’s production phase this turn, they receive 2 resource cards instead of 1 for each tile that produces a resource for the player. If they receive no resources during this production phase they receive 3 gold instead of 1 for compensation. During the player’s action phase for this turn they may place 2 rail for 1 ore and 1 lumber.

Following the adjusted die roll, the player may choose to take the following actions to alter their labor satisfaction score and/or the effects from the labor action die roll which just occurred. Players may choose to enact multiples of the below actions as long as they can meet the cost requirements to enact them.

Wage increase – Effect: increase labor satisfaction score by 1. Cost: 2 gold.

Wage decrease – Effect: Receive 1 gold in your next production phase. Cost: decrease labor satisfaction score by 1.

Improve working conditions – Effect: Increase labor satisfaction score by 2. Cost: 4 of any single resource must be returned to the supply.

Use Chinese labor[ii] – Less expensive labor from China is hired to build more rail at less cost. Effect: Receive 1 gold from the supply in your next production phase. In your next action phase you may place 2 rail for returning 1 ore and 1 lumber to the supply instead of the normal 1 rail. This effect occurs only once for each “Use Chinese labor” you employ in your labor phase. Cost: decrease labor satisfaction score by 2.

Hire Pinkertons – Private security is hired to disrupt and discourage labor organization. Effect: Adjust the labor action die roll by +2. Cost: 1 gold, decrease labor satisfaction score by 1.

Influence Government – The player excerpts their influence and wealth on government officials in order to convince them to use the military to stop labor disruption.Effect: The effect from this turn’s labor action die roll is ignored. Labor satisfaction score is set to 6. Cost: 10 gold.

Once the player labor actions have been selected, the labor action die roll effects, if applicable, are implemented. The player then begins their production phase and the rest of their turn proceeds as in a normal game.

*= If any player has a cavalry development card(s) they may be played during the labor phase to prevent the removal of 1 rail piece per cavalry card.

Victory conditions: The game ends when one of the players delivers all of their goods. This player may not be the winner, however. Once the last goods piece has been delivered the players receive the below points. The player with the most points wins the game.

2 points for delivering all of your goods

1 point for every 5 gold you have

1 point for having a labor satisfaction score of 8, 9 or 10

1

[i]Verbatim report of the general meeting of the share and bondholders of the Philadelphia and Reading Railroad Company held at the City of the Perkiomen Railroad Company held at the City Terminus Hotel, Cannon Street, London, June 6th, 1877: Thomas Wilde Powell, Esq., in the chair. pp. 5-7, 10, 15, 16, 31.

To the public [in respect to the conflict with the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers]: Philadelphia, April 24th, 1877.

Western Pennsylvania Railroad lockout 1913.

I did not pull sources dealing with the larger strike of 1877 that occurred after the conflict with the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers. Sources covering this event would detail more about that more violent labor dispute and the calling out of the military to squelch it.

[ii]Special report of a reconnoissance of the route for the Northern Pacific railroad between Lake Superior and Puget Sound, via the Columbia River: made in 1869. p. 36.