LSFW Local 7 — League of Sand & Furnace Workers Vitreum

Organization • Union • Central Rishama — The Central Glassworks “The Vitreum”

Local 7 is the union of the Vitreum’s sand‑crew, furnace hands, rollers, drawers, annealers, and heliostat tenders—guarding pay, safety, and dignity in the empire’s largest standard‑glass works.

Quick Facts

Charter & Jurisdiction

• Recognition: Won via site‑wide vote; certified under Rishama labor law. Covers sand extraction, furnace operation, casting/rolling, drawing, annealing, heliostat maintenance, winch/gantry crews, and shop repair.
• Closed Shop (light): Open hiring, but union‑security requires dues or equivalent community‑service credits.
• Exclusions: Executive office, Proof Office inspectors, and Remnant Wardens are outside the unit.

Trades & Tiers (examples)

• Sand Crew: scoop‑masters, berm‑cutters, qanat keepers.
• Furnace Line: fire tenders, fluxers, crucible handlers.
• Sheet Court: rollers (S1–S4), cutters, annealers.
• Draw & Tube: rod drawers (R1–R4), tube teams (T1–T3).
• Mirror Field: heliostat riggers, aligners, lens‑polishers.
• Shops: fitters, mask techs, hoistwrights.

Apprenticeships run 2–4 years; badge tests at each tier; mask‑fit certification renewed quarterly.

Contract Wins (current CBA highlights)

• Three‑Bell Rotations with rest spacing; Sirocco Breaks when heat index exceeds posted limits.
• Heat & Hazard Pay: scaled differentials for furnace line, slag berm work, and mirror‑field alignment.
• Safety Regime: respirators & eye protection issued, fitted, and replaced; cadence horns: white (shift), amber (heat hazard), red (breach/fire).
• Price‑Cap Enforcement: Union stewards co‑post the Price Board at the company store; markup ≤ 4% over Nahrim street. Surprise audits with Council.
• Grievance Path: Foreman talk → Hall steward → Oath of Uncolored Ink hearing at the Proof Office → Council arbitrator.
• Education Credits: Ledger credits for process improvements convert to tuition stipends in Nahrim.
• Family Protections: On‑site clinic; injury leave; death benefit from the Mirror Fund.

Law, Safety & Remnants

• Remnant Policy: Opposes unreviewed remnant‑assisted machinery. Trials require Wardens + Safety board; echoes that imprint on repetitive labor must be sealed or strictly bounded.
• Quench/Flash Protocols: Mandatory line‑stops on quench‑tank fractures and mirror flash events; red cadence locks the field.
• Inspections: Quarterly Council audits; union observers ride along and publish shop notes to the Hall board.

Relations

• Vitreum Owner (Suleiman Qadr al‑Zujaji): Adversarial. LSFW‑7 has twice proven over‑markup at the company store; fines upheld. Suleiman rails at “sand in the gears.”
• Rihsama Council of Scholars: Formal allies on safety/proof; Local 7 supplies shop data that informs empire‑wide standards.
• Coastal Workshops: Cooperative—Local 7 trains apprentices who later specialize in bespoke glass in Siraj/Ras Talas.

Governance & Democracy

• Steward System: One steward per court/line; Hall Committee of nine. Votes by secret scratch‑slips.
• Strike Rules: Safety strikes (red cadence) are immediate and lawful; economic strikes require a two‑thirds vote and a 72‑hour notice to the Council.
• Strike Fund: The Mirror Fund covers half‑wages up to 21 days; extended action seeks Council mediation.

Culture & Life

• Union Days: Founders’ Pour (anniversary of recognition), Mask‑Fit Fête, and Mirror Blessing for new heliostat arrays.
• Hall Services: communal meals, child‑watch during bell shifts, tool library, reading room for proof standards.

Sites of Note

• Union Hall #7: Courtyard, dais for hearings, bulletin wall with job posts and price board copy.
• Clinic & Bath‑Block: Mask fitting, glass‑lung screening, heat exhaustion ward.
• Memorial Column: Names of the fallen; slag glass fused into a sun disk at the top.