Dark Chicago    The Usual Suspects    Power Brokers    Labor Unions      USW Local 1011

“They don’t strike first—but when they do, the city shudders. Steel bends for these boys, and so does the law if it wants to keep its teeth.”

Category: Labor Union
Primary Power Base: South Works / East Side / South Chicago industrial zone
Reach: Local
Veil Involvement: Rumored

Public Face:

The public sees a proud, gritty steelworkers' union representing the backbone of South Side labor. They host Sunday fish fries, sponsor Little League teams, and march in every parade from 79th to Calumet. Their office smells like coffee and iron, and the wall of honor bears more union pins than any museum.

True Influence:

Local 1011 quietly controls shipping schedules, payroll allocation, and the “employment list” that decides who eats in South Chicago. They have leverage with the building trades and a friendly ear in several ward offices. Their organizing base can shut down rail yards, slag dumps, and blast furnaces with a single vote—and everyone knows it.

Known Members:

• Edward “Red Ned” Zaleski, Union Chair – A third-generation steelworker with knuckles like railroad ties and a voice made of gravel and rage.
• Maureen Gorski, Financial Secretary – Handles the books and the bribes. Keeps two ledgers and knows which one to burn.
• Francisco “Cisco” Morales, Strike Captain – Former welder turned muscle, rumored to have Veil scars from a foundry collapse that wasn’t normal.
• Brother Alphonse, Retired Steward – Shows up at every vote. Keeps a rosary in one hand and a union badge in the other.

Allies & Rivals:

• Allies: 47th Street Market Association, Alderman Quinn’s Office (unofficially), Back of the Yards Industrial Trust
• Rivals: CPD Strike Unit, Non-union Southside outfits, Internal Veil-sensitives who push for “cleansing” the union

Assets & Quirks

• Asset: Access to old smelting sites layered with Veil residue—some used for “spiritual tempering” of union artifacts
• Quirks: Every monthly meeting ends with a moment of silence for “The Ironborn”—a half-forgotten group of workers who “never clocked out.”
• Quirks: The union seal has changed three times since 1946. No one talks about why.

Current Agenda:

Protect job lines during automation talks, expose a rogue gang infiltrating the iron haulers’ ranks, and investigate strange “heat events” near abandoned furnaces—events that have singed three picketers without any visible flame.

Rumors & Hooks:

• An old smelter deep in Zone 3 glows red during thunderstorms. No one’s connected it to the missing foreman yet.
• A strike in South Deering is being sabotaged by a rival union… or something wearing their faces.
• Red Ned was offered a bribe by a smiling man with no fingerprints. He hasn’t spoken of it since.
• A CPD Arcane unit is monitoring union meetings from an abandoned icehouse across the rail line.
• Someone is forging union cards with sigils baked into the paper—Veil-touched, but functional.
• A secret chamber beneath the old timeclock vault contains a rusted weapon with workers' names etched in bronze. Some are still alive.
• The crew is hired to smuggle out a list of “Names That Cannot Strike”—a blacklist tied to a supernatural pact from the 1920s.
• A missing organizer’s body is found in molten slag. Her boots are untouched. Her notebook is intact—and full of symbols.
• The union wants to push back against city pressure. They need muscle, money… or maybe something more arcane.

Type

Guild, Professional