The little things are what make a tough workplace at least somewhat bearable. Whether that's talking to your coworkers, getting a nice lunch, or maybe just having a short break every one-in-awhile, the little things most certainly count. At this construction company, it was the communal speaker.
According to the employee, who works in a computer position in the company, the construction firm employs a lot of Latino men for much of the physical portions of projects. While the work is difficult, these workers found respite in listening to Spanish music together to get them through a long day of work. This was more than fine with everyone, except for the boss of the company. According to the employee he "hated hearing music in Spanish." As a result, the Boss directly stole the speaker without any communication with his workers. Obviously, this went over poorly.
Seeing that his coworkers were dejected after having one of the brighter parts of their job stolen by an uncaring boss, the computer employee went behind the boss and bought them another speaker. When asked about the source of the replacement by his boss, the employee responded, "You can talk to me."
For the moment, it looks like the boss has backed down. The moral of the story, is don't be the guy who denies hardworking people the smallest pleasure that doesn't affect you.