Sweat

At the bar, Cynthia attempts to explain management’s plans for the factory. She warns Jason, Chris, Tracey, and Jessie that Olstead’s is shipping their machines to Mexico, where they can pay workers a much lower wage to work far longer hours. She urges them to accept the concessions the factory will offer, including a 60% pay reduction and massive cuts to their benefits. If they don’t accept the concessions, management will lock them out of the factory, and they will lose their jobs.

Cynthia’s fellow workers express feelings of anger and betrayal. Cynthia tries to explain that she’s doing everything she can to advocate for their interests, but management won’t listen to her concerns. 

After the factory locks out its workers—and Cynthia must stand with management on the other side of the door—she commiserates with Stan at the bar. She describes the painful process of locking out her own friends and the helplessness she felt trying to negotiate with management: “I fought, I begged. […] And you know what? I wonder if they gave me this job on purpose. Pin a target on me so they can stay in their air-conditioned offices” (77).

Tracey and Jessie enter the bar. Both women make their feelings of betrayal and frustration painfully visible for Cynthia. Tracey describes the hopelessness of their struggle. The union has very little money to offer striking workers, and they won’t be able to hold out for long.

Tracey tells the story of an outing she took to Atlantic City many years ago with Cynthia and Brucie. On this trip, Tracey observed a woman sitting down next to Brucie and flirting with him. Cynthia became enraged, and she pounced on the woman and fought her. Tracey reflects, “I remember thinking that’s my friend. […] She’ll fight for what she loves, even if it means getting scrappy and looking ugly” (82).

Through this story, Tracey urges Cynthia to reclaim this “fighter” identity and join the workers in their struggle against management. Cynthia responds, however, that in order to truly fight, one of them must remain standing.

Chris and Jason enter the bar and see Brucie slumped over. Chris is relieved to find his father, who has been disappearing lately for days at a time. Brucie explains that the strike is eating away at something inside of him. He describes a dark moment a few days prior wherein it began to rain torrentially, and he found himself unable to leave the picket line. He just stood in the rain, as though absorbing the profound hopelessness of the situation.

Chris tells his father that in the midst of his own strike, he has often recalled a powerful moment from his childhood. In this moment, Chris observed Brucie at a union meeting in their home, as he declared, “We…we will not continue to bare out backs for them to strike us down” (88). Chris has cherished the memory of his father’s strength and tried to channel this strength into his own fight for Olstead’s union.

Brucie responds that the fight isn’t worth it, that management doesn’t even see him. When Chris replies that he will “make ‘em see [him]” (88), Brucie darkly insinuates that his son doesn’t “really” want to know where he’s been.

Oscar goes to work as a “scab” at Olstead’s. Stan warns Oscar that the striking workers will be angry and might take their anger out on him. Oscar responds that he doesn’t care what they do because he is simply trying to earn a better living. In Oscar’s words: “If they don’t see me, I don’t need to see them” (92).

Tracey enters the bar and orders a drink. Stan insists that she pay up front. The bar’s manager, Howard, has been concerned about the large volume of regular customers who haven’t been paying for drinks. Tracey struggles to pay, and Stan informs her it’s on him this time. He uses this gesture as an opportunity to flirt with Tracey, who turns him down. Stan suggests, “Life might be a little easier” (94) for both of them if they were romantically involved.

Tracey glares at Oscar and threatens him. Stan breaks up the confrontation, but it is clear that tensions are rising.

Chris and Jason burst into the bar, adrenaline rushing. Picketers have just been in a physical confrontation with the “scab” workers.

Stan expresses his disapproval. Stan claims that violence won’t help their cause, especially violence toward people who did not make the decisions that affected their jobs. He also advises Chris and Jason to get out of Reading and see the world while they’re still young. He warns, “You stay put for too long, you get weighed down by things, things you don’t need. […] Nostalgia’s a disease. I’m not gonna be one of those guys that surrenders to it” (96-97).

Stan’s words resonate with Chris, who begins to contemplate the value of their strike, knowing there is very little hope of success. Jason attempts to dissuade him, but Chris replies, “Stan said it, the writing’s on the wall, and we’re still out here pretending like we can’t read” (98).

Tracey and Jessie enter the bar. As they drink, Oscar enters to retrieve his belongings. Tension immediately erupts, and Jason calls Oscar a racist slur. Though Stan attempts to diffuse the charged atmosphere, Tracey encourages her son to fight Oscar with comments, such as “Did you see the way he looked at you guys?” (101) and “Hey Jason, he’s heading out to cash your check” (103). When Jason begins to threaten physical violence, Stan retrieves his baseball bat and orders everyone to sit down.

As Oscar attempts to leave, Jason blocks his way, and they begin to punch, kick, and shove one another. Chris tries to break up the fight, but joins in when Oscar head-butts him, igniting his anger. Jason intercepts the baseball bat, but accidentally hits Stan in the head when he tries to grab it away. The blow to Stan’s head results in a traumatic brain injury.

Scene 7 of Act 2 returns to the parole office. Evan separately advises Chris and Jason that it isn’t “guilt or rage that destroys us in the end,” but “the shame that eats us away until we disappear” (109). By the end of the scene, both Jason and Chris have resolved to meet with one another and face the consequences of their actions.

Jason and Chris meet at the bar. Oscar is now the manager, and the place seems to be doing well. He notes that the bar now offers craft beer and other refinements to cater to a new crowd of college students.

Stan enters the bar, clearly physically and intellectually disabled by the traumatic brain injury. He tries to wipe down tables—just as Oscar did in the play’s early scenes—but he struggles even with this basic task. It is clear that Oscar employs him out of empathy, the desire to give Stan a sense of purpose. Jason and Chris solemnly reflect that it is kind of Oscar to take care of Stan.