Intermediate 3 Unit 3

Unit 3
Problems At Work

News
a. Do you remember the news report about the steel plant strike? Mark the following
statements true ( ) or false ( ).
/
1. The steeI workers and technicians intend to waIk out of their jobs next week.

2. The workers are striking because their wages haven’ t been increased.

3. The workers have gone on strike in the past.

4. Experts beIieve it is stiII possibIe to save the steeI pIant.

5. AII negotiations have stopped.

6. ln the past, the company aIways kept its promises.

7. The workers are optimistic of a Iast minute settIement.

8. SoIid SteeI may have to cIose down.

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Intermediate 3 Unit 3

b. Read the following statements. Mark whether the workers or the management of Solid
Steel made them.

Workers Management

1. “We tried to Iisten to their demands but they are

determined to quit their jobs.”
2. “We toId them that we refuse to keep working without
getting a raise in pay.”
3. “They keep accusing us of threatening them, but aII we
want is to be taken seriousIy.”
4. “We were prepared to give them some incentives, but
they weren’t prepared to Iisten.”
5. “We thought that another strike wouIdn’ t be effective.
We decided to take a more dramatic stand.”

c. A reporter decided to interview David Warren, chief warehouse clerk at the plant. Complete
the radio interview with the phrases below.

accept incentives • caII for a strike • cIose down

continue with negotiations • increase in wages • throughout the worId
waIk out of

Reporter: ls it true that your men pIan to (1) _____________________ their jobs if
their demands aren’t met?
David Warren: DefiniteIy. Our workers have had no (2) ________________ for the Iast five
years. lf negotiations faiI then the company wiII have to (3) ____________.
Reporter: Why didn’t you (4) ________________________________ as in the past?
David Warren: The Iast one didn’t heIp. We beIieve that the management needs to act
now. After aII, they have the money. SoIid SteeI is the Iargest steeI pIant in
the area and its products are weII known (5) ________________________.
Reporter: ln other words, Mr. Warren, are you saying there’s IittIe hope in reaching
a settIement?
David Warren: Quite honestIy, my men won’t (6) _________________ to go back to
work. They aIso do not want to (7) _______________________________.
Reporter: WeII, thank you for the interview, Mr. Warren. lt seems that it may indeed
be too Iate to save SoIid SteeI Corporation.

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 Intermediate 3 Unit 3

d. The workers decide to prepare signs to explain the reasons for the walk out. Write the
text for the signs. Share your slogans with the class.

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Intermediate 3 Unit 3

Fifty Days and Counting

a. Do you remember the text “Fifty Days and Counting”? Mark the correct answers to
the following questions.
1. What caused the waIkout at FIemming SteeI?
( bad working conditions / a cut in wages / the strike)

2. Who did Chuck Roste blame for the difficult situation?

( the foreign competition / the workers / the management)

3. Who did the workers bIame?

( the management / their wives / foreign competition)

4. What has so far prevented the pIant from cIosing?

( the workers’ wives / the management / both the workers and the management)

5. Why is the titIe of the story “Fifty Days and Counting?”

( The strike will only last fifty days. / The strike started fifty days ago and no one knows
when it will end. / The strike is fifty years old.)

b. The writer of the newspaper article tries not to repeat the same words and uses synonyms.
Find the synonyms in the text for:
1. a waIkout ___________________________
2. a cut in wages ________________________
3. shut down ___________________________
4. workers _____________________________
5. cIosing its doors ______________________

c. Complete the following sentences.

1. lf the management (1) ___________________________ (be aware) of the strength of the

competition, we (2) ___________________________ (be) in the pIant now.
2. lf it (3) ___________________________ (not be) for the pIant, many peopIe
(4) ___________________________ (not be able) to make a Iiving.
3. lf it (5) ___________________________ (not be) for the IoyaIty of the workers, the
pIant (6) ___________________________ (not survive) as Iong as it has.

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 Intermediate 3 Unit 3

d. Read a dialogue between some of the wives of the strikers. Complete the dialogue with
the words and phrases below.

cut in wages • financiaI difficuIties • IoyaIty • make a Iiving • pIant

predicted • quit • soIution • under the circumstances
unproductive

Nina: We can’t aIIow the pIant to cIose. How eIse wiII our husbands be abIe to
(1) ________________________________________?
Debra: l disagree. Our husbands can’t work on such Iow wages. They aIready took a
(2) __________________. How can we manage on so IittIe money? For the Iast
few years, we aII knew the pIant has suffered (3) ___________________.
No wonder my husband is ready to (4) ___________________; he feeIs the pIant has
no future.
Fiona: l bIame the management. They shouId have (5) ___________________ that foreign
competition wouId be harmfuI.
Nina: l agree. The management doesn’t appreciate our husbands’ (6) _________________.
The (7) __________________ wouIdn’t have Iasted this Iong without their good wiII.
Fiona: But what about a (8) ___________________ to the probIem? AII the negotiations
have been (9) ___________________.
Debra: l suggest we join the strike. l think we couId make a difference if we stand aIongside
our men.
Nina: BriIIiant idea! The radio and teIevision wiII Iove it! l can see the headIines, “Women
support striking husbands!” (10) ____________________ there’s no other choice!

e. Write a news report about the women’s decision to join the strike at Flemming Steel.
Remember to include:

• What happened
• When it happened
• Who was involved
• Why the event took place
• Quotes from the women (see activity d)
• A headline

f. Share your news report with the class.

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Intermediate 3 Unit 3

Quitting
a. Match the responses in column B to the statements in column A to form a dialogue.

A B
1. Are you thinking of quitting? ____ a. You were wrong.

2. l’ve heard you were pIanning to Ieave.___ b. Don’t be.

3. l’m thinking of quitting, myseIf. ____ c. Why do you ask?

4. l’m sorry to hear that. ____ d. You’re kidding.

b. Express your intentions about the following situations:

1. You feeI that you are not getting enough attention from your teacher.
______________________________________________________________________
2. Your boss asks you to work an hour Ionger every day without extra pay .
______________________________________________________________________
3. You win a miIIion doIIars in the Iottery.
______________________________________________________________________
4. The company you work at cIoses.
______________________________________________________________________

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 Intermediate 3 Unit 3

c. Look at the pictures of the people in unhappy situations at work. What do you think the
people intend to do? Write a sentence for each picture using an expression of intention
(thinking of, planning to)

I hate my boss. What are you going to do

about the cut in wages?

1. 2.

_________________________________ _________________________________

_________________________________ _________________________________

They’re wasting time. Why do they

take such long coffee breaks?

3.

_________________________________

_________________________________

d. Write three things that you are thinking of doing about a situation at work or at school.
Use expressions such as: I’m thinking of…, I’m planning to…, I intend to...,. Share your
sentences with a partner in class.

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Intermediate 3 Unit 3

More Relative Clauses: Non-Restrictive

a. Put commas around the non-restrictive relative clauses.

1. FIemming SteeI which is Iocated in HamiIton is the Iargest steeI company in the country.
2. David Warren who is chief warehouse cIerk at the pIant supported the workers’ demands.
3. The workers who are stiII striking had aIready had a decrease in saIary.
4. Foreign competition which was the cause of the company’s financiaI difficuIties was the
reason behind the pay cut.
5. Hank Wiskowski who represents the empIoyees beIieves that the management shouId
have seen the probIem.

b. Combine the two sentences into one sentence by using the relative pronouns, who or
which. Read the sentence to a partner.

1. Mrs. Smith went on strike with her husband. She is one of the worker’s wives.
______________________________________________________________________
2. SoIid SteeI is the Iargest pIant in our region. lt is going to cIose down tomorrow.
______________________________________________________________________
3. Hank Wiskowski disagrees with the management. He represents the empIoyees.
______________________________________________________________________
4. The workers are stiII striking. They went on strike fifty days ago.
______________________________________________________________________
5. lncentives were rejected by the workers. They were offered by the management.
______________________________________________________________________

c. Complete the sentences using an appropriate relative clause. Share your sentences with
the class.

1. My boss, ________________________________________________, is very successfuI.

2. The dress shop, _______________________, is now importing cIothes from the Far East.

3. My coIIeague, ___________________________________________, has decided to quit.

4. The management, _____________________________, has refused to negotiate with us.

5. The products, ____________________________________, have become too expensive.

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