The Trade Union

Formidable Bureaucracy

Once, the bravery of our ancestors granted us freedoms never before seen in the colonies. But the Empire was never content to let us keep that. They have enroached upon our way of life while we uphold our end of the deal they made. If they do not respect our right to rule ourselves, then the time will come again to band together and demand they respect it.

— Union, by Sagar Pol

Once an arm of the Empire created to help quell the revolutionary ideals found among the early colonies, the Trade Union has long since outgrown that purpose. They became more focused on serving the people than the Emperor, which ended in a long and bloody war that won them their independance. Since then, the Trade Union has struggled to keep itself functioning in places where the Imperial Nobility had previously had command. Despite those problems, however, they are still a force to be reckoned with, both politically and militarily.

History

Though it cannot compare to the long history of the Empire, the Trade Union is grounded in a lot of past events. The way it functions today can be traced directly back to the initial conflict between colonists and the Noble House designated to lord over them.

House Noclucor

The first colonies were founded not out of any desire for resources but instead a more benign, exploratory ideal. That slowly changed as more and more colonists found that they could become quite wealthy extracting the natural resources of their new homes and sending it back to Ilysium. This culminated in the appointment of House Noclucor, which had previously just been in charge of the markets on Ilsyium, to manage the shipments of goods to and from the colonies. Right from the start this was disliked, as now instead of the individuals finding wealth in this new frontier they were under the thumb of yet another Imperial lord. To counteract this somewhat, many of the colonists formed their own groups, called clans, to allow for greater bargaining power with the Noble House.

Clan Self-Governance

Eventually, this dissatisfaction with House Noculor, combined with a mishandling of several failed quarries of Sayles Marble, grew into an ire that demanded action. The clans, well-established as a part of many of the colonies at this point, briefly banded together to demand changes be made. When these calls were ignored, they took action, and overthrew House Noculor. The Empress at the time, Macrinia Inuorum VI, wary of starting another costly war like the Glessseal War that had concluded just two generations prior, instead struck a bargain with the clans of Sayles. They would collectively rule over all others, and pay the proper taxes to the Empire, but would otherwise be left alone.

Peacetime and War

The Trade Union continued to grow in prominence for several centuries, along with the clans it ruled on paper. The Empire tried to slowly re-assert control over the clans, but largely both sides stayed true to the deal struck with the Emperor, even as the Imperial House changed several times. The first iterations of what would be known as the Syndicate of Directors were perfected, and the Union Executors were formed, at first just as taxmen, but quickly encompassing many roles the budding organization needed filled. The first real upset in the Trade Union would come at the hands of a clan known as Vengeance of Liber. VoL was a pseudo-criminal clan, built around freeing slaves and stealing from Nobles, that quickly grew in size and power. The Trade Union was ordered to shut them down, and when they refused, the Empire sent a fleet to punish their treason. The scattered clans quickly banded together yet again, this time under the Trade Union's banner and armed with powerful warships. The war raged for over a full generation, and finally ended in a near-stalemate.

Modern Day

Since the end of the war, the Trade Union has slowly shifted from only regulating clans and clan actions to being fully self-governing. Several new systems, like the process for bringing up lawsuits between individuals, were implemented now that the Imperial Nobles in charge of Ilysium's every action are absent. Most recently, the position of Trade Union Chairperson switched from being appointed for life by the Emperor to being elected from the Union Executors by the people directly. A handful of these changes were introduced poorly, and there was some social backlash, but largely the process has been smooth.

The aforementioned is allocated three (3) days to investigate the accused, within the bounds of all restrictions imposed by TUSM-3442, with the sole exception provided by measure of SDED-5976.

— Executor Directive 76Z120-S34

Government and Politics

The Trade Union is composed of two main bodies: the Syndicate of Directors and the Union Executors. The former is composed of representatives of the clans themselves, and collectively they decide on the legislation directives of the Trade Union. The Syndicate is also responsible to act as the Trade Union's highest court, and listen to cases that make their way up the escalation of the legal system. Union Executors are responsible for making sure that the decisions made by the Syndicate of Directors are followed by all the citizens and clans who exist within the Trade Union. They have some limited power to act on their own, as well, but this power is rarely utilized.

Syndicate of Directors

When it was concieved, the Synidcate of Directors was a more formalized way for the clans to talk and agree on actions that would benefit the whole. However, as rules piled up on top of rules, the miasma of specific proceedings quickly turned into a thicket of rules nearly impossible to navigate. Currently, it is considered a busy week if two motions are fully listened to by the Syndicate of Directors, as it is incredibly tricky to bring new motions to the floor. That is not to say that the Syndicate does nothing, however. If a common person were to be allowed to peek their head into the chamber, they would find it most often filled with small groups of representatives measuring alliances and making deals. There is a complicated strategy to getting what you want passed through the Syndicate, and that means months of political maneuvering.

Union Executors

The more active face of the Trade Union are its Executors. The Executors themselves are fairly small in number, though they add more to their ranks to try to keep up with the number of clans they are overseeing. Executors are headed by the Chairman, Galick Segest, and each Executor leads their own team of Officials, who are the ones who actually act in the Trade Union's name. Officials wear many hats, from judges in a court case to taxmen, but most commonly, they - or the people they hire - investigate potential crimes committed by clans. On paper, they are responsible for petty crimes as well, but they are far too few to chase thieves or other individual lawbreakers. Instead, that work is usually outsorced to one of the many policing clans available.

Above all, Paperwork

The one common trait among all of the pieces of the Trade Union is their adherence to the letter of the law. Regulations and directives passed over the centuries of the Trade Union's existence rarely get removed or changed in any sense, and at this point the government is more red tape than not. Executors especially are very skilled in subverting the intent of the law without stepping a hair past the letter, but that does nothing to assuage the mountains of paperwork that end up required for any action.

General Information

Official Name:

The Trade Union of the Free Clans of Sayles

Capital:

Sayles

Clan Membership:

22% New Clan
18% Old Clan
17% Minor Clan
43% Clanless

Denonym(s):

Clansmen,
Trate (Imperial slur, from traitor)

Independance from the Empire:

Declaration:

56th Nadir,
899 IA

Treaty of Cirta:

139th Zenith, 956 IA

Currency:
Informally:

Union Credits
Creds

Pecuniary Oligarchy

The Syndicate of Directors has only equal clan representation in theory, as each clan only gets one representative. In practice, the major clans have far more power. There are very little restrictions on what a member of the Syndicate can or cannot do, and so many of the representatives of the smaller clans are bought by the representatives of larger clans.

Neodeism

Unlike in the Empire, worship of the Fullblooded is perfectly legal in the Free worlds. There is no official worship in any sense, but many of the Syndicate of Directors openly adhere to one of more of the deities.

Though there was anti-imperial sentiment in many colonies all over the Blue, really only the ones in or borderng the Dominion of Wealth were able to gain the wealth, and therefore, influence, to capitalize on it. It is no surprise, then that the borders fell where they are.

— Egnatia Diocletius, Professor of Free World History

Free Navy

The Trade Union has no official military of its own to speak of. They do have a collection of military-focused clans named the Free Navy, which functions under the understanding that during peacetime, they are as independant as any other clan, but during war they are to act as one unit. The Free Navy's leadership is actually elected by the sailors and marines themselves, which means that it is usually composed of the leaders of the largest military clans. This democratic approach to leadership relies on mutual understanding instead of strict obediance, and while there have been times this has failed, it often provides a flexibility unfound in the Imperial Navy.

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