Yesterday, we received the strike declaration and an express telegram from the coat-and-jacket sewing workers. According to their statement, garment workers have already secured a wage increase of 18 cents per piece; therefore, inspectors and long-term employees in coat-and-jacket shops should likewise be granted a modest raise. How just and well-founded this demand is! Consider the sewing workers who toil in these shops: from early morning, after breakfast, they remain at their worktables, working through all three meals of the day. Where, pray tell, is there any respite? Moreover, their evening shifts are particularly grueling—regardless of the weather, hot or cold—often extending well past midnight. After such late finishes, they must still rise at dawn to serve their employers’ breakfasts. How much sleep can they possibly get? With wages that fail to provide for their parents, wives, and children back home, they can no longer endure hunger and deprivation. Their decision to strike was one made out of sheer necessity. I believe shop owners ought to recognize the legitimacy of their demands. Surely your consciences would not condone subjecting these proletarian workers to such brutal exploitation and oppression; why then resort to threats of legal action to intimidate them? Shopkeepers of every street, please think clearly: these are different times than before. Their union is strong and united. No amount of oppressive tactics or menacing rhetoric will compel them to abandon their fight for higher wages. Our final, earnest counsel is this: resolve the matter through constructive means by acceding to their just petition. Act according to your moral principles: do not turn on your fellow workers, nor emulate the conduct of the obstinate few. Remember, if the union secures even a small wage increase, you will undoubtedly be able to raise your retail prices accordingly—so what real loss could you possibly suffer? Shopkeepers of every street, I urge you once more to reflect carefully upon this.