Workers of the world, unite!

Workers of the world, unite! is the slogan that turns Ragen’s political conviction into a concrete search. After distributing Communist Party leaflets, he finds the same call to solidarity on his car and treats the sticker as a clue to where the local group might meet.

Political Meaning

Ragen’s interest in the slogan grows out of his stated sympathy for the Communist cause. He says he has seen slave labor in sweatshops and factories, and, after handing out leaflets, keeps the last one for himself. He wants to learn where meetings are held so he can join the Communist Party; having watched Tommy and Allen at Lancaster Electro-Plating, he has concluded that revolution is the only way to improve the lot of the downtrodden.

From Slogan to Clue

The words appear on a bumper sticker attached to Ragen’s car: “workers of the world unite!” He believes the old couple who gave him leaflets must have put it there. The slogan’s effect is immediate: it sends a thrill through him, and he kneels to inspect the sticker, noticing the name of a Columbus silkscreen company printed in its lower-right corner. What began as an abstract political declaration becomes a possible route to the local organization he wants to find.

The Sticker’s Material Trail

Ragen looks up the company in the telephone directory, drives to its address, and watches the store from his car. Before returning, he cuts the wires in two nearby phone booths with his cable cutters. The owner denies that the company printed the Communist Party stickers and says they were ordered by a printer in north Columbus. The phrase thus sets Ragen in motion, even as his first lead redirects rather than confirms his search.