Sweat

Scene 1 of Act 2 shows Jason and Chris returning to visit their mothers. Jason finds that Tracey has a significant pill addiction. Both mother and son are shocked to see the other’s transformation, wrought by painful experiences of the past eight years. Chris finds Cynthia living in a small, rundown, messy apartment, and is saddened to learn that she lost her house. Both scenes end with mutual exclamations of “What happened?”.

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.