In a construction workers union local, consisting overwhelmingly of laborers with little or no education or opportunity for education, Ybarra has decided to start an informal program of literacy classes... reading and writing... meeting in the little meeting hall. The union's simple request for an after-hours teaching space at the construction site itself - which would be a great convenience to the laborer/students - is rejected by the superintendent. The union appeals to the company's administration. This is happening even as the union is faced with a sizable layoff, which will unfairly affect the older workers. Among those who will be affected is Alberto, who has been planning a first-time vacation to visit a brother, and hoping, too, to retrieve a guitar he has offered as security for a lone. The company administration, in the end, accedes to the space demand, even as the layoff is averted.