Slackbridge vs. Stephen

In Chapter 4 of Book Two, Slackbridge gives a powerful speech to a group of workers, expressing his strong feelings against the poor working conditions. He attempts to bring the workers together into a union that will fight for their rights to be treated better as workers. Although Slackbridge is described as an ill-made man who is considered sour and unfavorable compared to the honest workers, the crowd is moved by his speech and enthusiastically supports him. All but one of the workers are ready to form this union - all but Stephen Blackpool. This man cares more about keeping his job and sustaining a decent relationship between them and the employers rather than stand against them. As a result of this opposite opinion, he is then treated as invisible by the rest of the workers.

This simple picture of one man standing up for individual rights and another playing it safe holds a much deeper illustration behind it. Dickens displays the struggles of workers at the time, whether it be fighting for better working conditions or being so in need of work that it'd be best to side with the unfair employers. In terms of issues during the Industrial Revolution, what do Slackbridge and Stephen each represent to you? According to the portrayal in the novel, how do you think Dickens feels about working conditions of the time? What message do you feel he is attempting to convey through the characters of Slackbridge, Stephen, and the group of workers?