Strikebreaker, also known as Male Strikebreaker, is a science-fiction short story by Isaac Asimov.
A standalone story, it was first published in the January 1957 issue of The Original Science Fiction Stories. It was later collected in 1969's Nightfall and Other Stories.
Summary[]
On the planetoid Elsevere, a rigid caste system dictates society. The Ragusnik family holds the sole, shunned responsibility of waste management, making them untouchables. When Igor Ragusnik goes on strike to demand an end to his family's isolation, the colony faces a crisis, as no one else will break the powerful taboo to operate the essential machinery.
Earth sociologist Steven Lamorak, visiting the colony, acts as an intermediary. Seeing the impending disaster, he reluctantly volunteers to operate the waste processing system himself, as an outsider unbound by their customs. Faced with the prospect of being permanently replaced by an imported outsider, Ragusnik is forced to end his strike and return to work.
Lamorak assures Ragusnik that his protest has drawn attention and change will come, but Ragusnik remains bitter. In a final, ironic twist, Ragusnik refuses to shake Lamorak's hand, viewing him as tainted by the strikebreaking action. Lamorak then learns he is now considered an untouchable by the rest of the colony and must leave Elsevere immediately.