The Dead by Michael Swanwick

"The Dead" is a 1996 science fiction short story by Michael Swanwick. It is about a company that re-animates dead people - using zombies as a cheap form of labor. Non-Spoiler Summary In A Nutshell: "The Dead" follows Donald, a man who is being courted by a new company with a simple premise: bring the dead back to life and they can be used as a type of cheap, non-complaining, never-get-sick-or-hurt workforce. Sounds great doesn't it? Donald has a few reservations, however, so the company sends someone to help him see the light. As he eats out, watches a boxing match and argues with his lady he comes to see the true value of a zombie work force. Three boy zombies in matching red jackets bused our table, bringing water, lighting candles, brushing away the crumbs between courses. Their eyes were dark, attentive, lifeless; their hands and faces so white as to be faintly luminous in the hushed light. I thought it in bad taste, but "This is Manhattan," Courtney said. "A certain studied…