Item#: 7496

Containment Class: euclid

Secondary Class: none

Disruption Class: vlam

Risk Class: notice

The epicenter of SCP-7496's area of influence.

Special Containment Procedures: Foundation operatives within the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) are to categorically deny any petition to conduct a union election within ███████, Michigan.

Provisional Site-7496 has been established outside of ███████, Michigan to monitor and document SCP-7496 instances. Media coverage of humans affected by SCP-7496 is to be censored in line with general obfuscation protocols. Any non-human organisms affected by SCP-7496 are to be transported outside of SCP-7496's area of influence, upon which anomalous behavior should dissipate.

Foundation personnel are not permitted to enter into SCP-7496's area of influence in groups of two or more.

Description: SCP-7496 is a behavioral phenomenon localized within a ~7 km radius of an abandoned car manufacturing plant in ███████, Michigan that compels groups of associated individuals to form a labor union, regardless of the feasibility, legality, or rationality of doing so. Individuals affected by SCP-7496 attain a highly intricate knowledge of Michigan labor laws, and become capable of communicating such knowledge in some way, irrespective of previous cognitive abilities.

SCP-7496 appears capable of manifesting in any group of organisms, insofar as those organisms are motile and perform some variety of physical or mental labor.

Addendum 7496.1: Abridged List of SCP-7496 Instances

Date: 9/17/2007

Species: Homo sapiens

Number Affected: 35

Self-designation: UAW1 Local 2994

Notes: Students at a local kindergarten filed a complaint that an after-school daycare program was an "unauthorized extension of working hours." Alongside this, an eloquently-written field petition for a union election for the kindergarten class was submitted to the NLRB the next day, which prompted local media coverage. The Foundation was made aware of the anomaly after this event, and current containment protocols were instituted.

Date: 11/8/2007

Species: Oncorhynchus tshawytscha2

Number Affected: ~400

Self-designation: UFCW3 Local 7493

Notes: Several fishermen reported a drastic reduction in the number of Chinook salmon caught in the local area in the previous few weeks. Using sonar, the Foundation was able to track the location of the salmon, as well as irregular fin movements that were interpreted as Morse code. When translated, the affected salmon chastised fishermen for indefinitely withholding their paychecks in violation of a 1978 Michigan statute. The salmon also claimed that they would hold an election to unionize unless they were given at least fifteen paid days off in order to visit family in Lake Superior.

Date: 1/15/2008

Species: Saccharomyces cerevisiae4

Number Affected: ~1.72 trillion

Self-designation: BCTGM5 Local 668

Notes: A jar of sourdough starter at a bakery used air bubbles to spell out a long-winded complaint of the fact that it was forced to "work a shift over the entirety of Christmas break while other employees enjoyed vacation time off." It refused to "continue working" unless its demands for a union and a Christmas bonus of 200 grams of sugar were met. Amnestics were administered to all humans involved.

Date: 3/24/2008

Species: Various

Number Affected: ~700 trillion

Self-designation: UWUA6 Local 2670

Notes: The on-site septic tank at Provisional Site-7496 saw a drastic reduction in filtering efficiency. When investigated, it was revealed that anaerobic bacteria in the tank had been affected by SCP-7496 and were refusing to decompose discharged waste. Using discolorations in the water, it communicated to Foundation personnel its desire to unionize due to a lack of overtime pay during the Site's weekly Taco Tuesday nights. Further research on SCP-7496 has been paused while negotiations are ongoing.

Footnotes

1. United Auto Workers

2. Chinook salmon

3. United Food and Commercial Workers

4. Baker's yeast

5. Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers

6. Utility Workers Union of America