In this chapter, we learn that there's going to be a big labor day on November 23rd, which means that people are going to have to show up at work and say thanks to their bosses and co-workers. This is going to make a lot of people nervous, since they don't know that they're unemployed. In fact, some of the unemployed people in the area are going so far as to kidnap them and force them to say thanks. The narrator is all, "Gee, that's a good idea. I'd like to thank all the people who work for this company, but I'm not sure how to do it. I mean, I've been unemployed for a long time now, and I'll be unemployed for the rest of my life, so why should I have to say a thank you to anyone? Is that a passive-aggressive comment, or is that a commitment to being productive? The narrator doesn't want to talk about himself, but rather about the people around him who are waiting for him to do something. He's not talking about himself at all, he's talking about people who lurk in the background. He wants to thank everyone who works for the company, not just those who show up to work. In other words, he wants to be thanked for being a good employee, not for being lazy. He also wants to show thanks for not being a part of the company's culture.