Efforts to unionize workers has taken off across the country

Efforts to unionize workers has taken off across the country

Transcript¹

Votes are being counted in union elections at Amazon warehouses³ in New York and Alabama. Starbucks is also seeing a rapid rise in union activity.

A MARTINEZ, HOST:

In two different parts of the country, two Amazon union elections hang in the balance. On Staten Island in New York, workers have been voting on a unionizing effort that was started by a former employee who was fired two years ago. Another election in Bessemer, Ala., is a do-over after complaints about company practices during the first vote. For more on all this, we're joined by NPR's Andrea Hsu. Andrea, lots of drama, lots of suspense⁴ here; catch us up on where we are with the count.

ANDREA HSU, BYLINE⁵: Well, yeah, let's start in Bessemer, Ala. They finished counting the votes yesterday, and the no votes finished ahead, but it was close, and there are more than 400 challenged ballots⁶. You know, these may be ballots from workers whose eligibility⁷ is being questioned by one side or the other. So there's going to be a hearing to determine if any of those can be counted, but we may not get a final result for weeks. Now, on Staten Island, the counting is going to resume this morning. And as of last night, the yes votes had a pretty sizable lead, but there are still quite a lot of ballots left to count.

MARTINEZ: OK. So it looks like maybe Staten Island might actually vote to unionize. How big of a deal would that be?

HSU: A huge deal, A. No Amazon facility in the U.S. is unionized. And what's especially notable is that unlike the Alabama campaign, which is backed by this national union, the one in Staten Island is truly a grassroots operation. They call themselves the Amazon Labor⁸ Union, and its leader is this guy Christian⁹ Smalls. He's in his early 30s. He was working at the Staten Island warehouse² when COVID hit. And just around this time two years ago, he organized a walkout over safety concerns. Some workers had caught the virus. And he was fired that same day. Now, Amazon said he had violated COVID safety protocols¹⁰. He had been asked to quarantine because of an exposure to COVID, but he showed up for the walkout. So then he launched this upstart union drive, which he financed through GoFundMe, and he got some of his former co-workers on board. And their thinking was that as insiders with access to the workers, they might have better success than an outside group.

MARTINEZ: What are the organizers asking for?

HSU: They're looking for a whole range of things, like longer lunch breaks and better health care plans and higher wages. On Staten Island at the Amazon facilities, the pay starts at $18.25 an hour, but this is New York. It's an expensive place to live. And Chris Smalls has said that a lot of workers take on second jobs to earn enough for themselves and their families, and some even rely on public assistance.

MARTINEZ: And Amazon isn't the only place seeking union activity right now.

HSU: Yeah. You know, this has been bubbling up in a lot of different places. And one place that we're watching closely is Starbucks. There has been a wave of organizing at Starbucks locations, and the elections that have taken place so far have been tiny compared to the Amazon ones because they're store by store. But the campaign is really taking off fast. Nine stores have voted to unionize so far. And these are stores in Buffalo¹¹, N.Y., Knoxville, Tenn., Mesa, Ariz., and Seattle. So they're all over the country. And more than 180 stores have filed petitions for union elections, with more added almost every day.

And what I'm hearing from workers is they want more money. They want more respect from the companies that they helped make profitable through the pandemic. Meanwhile, you know, companies like Amazon and Starbucks are pointing to the raises that they've given workers recently and the great benefits they offer. You know, at Amazon, health insurance is offered on day one to new full-time¹² employees. And both of those companies offer education benefits, you know, tuition reimbursement¹³. So they're saying we've done all of this without unions, and we don't need them now.

MARTINEZ: NPR's Andrew Hsu, thanks a lot.

HSU: Thanks so much, A.

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 warehouse   

n.仓库；vt.存入仓库

参考例句：

• We freighted the goods to the warehouse by truck.我们用卡车把货物运到仓库。
• The manager wants to clear off the old stocks in the warehouse.经理想把仓库里积压的存货处理掉。

3 warehouses   

仓库，货栈( warehouse的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The whisky was taken to bonded warehouses at Port Dundee. 威士忌酒已送到邓迪港的保稅仓库。
• Row upon row of newly built warehouses line the waterfront. 江岸新建的仓库鳞次栉比。

4 suspense   

n.（对可能发生的事）紧张感，担心，挂虑

参考例句：

• The suspense was unbearable.这样提心吊胆的状况实在叫人受不了。
• The director used ingenious devices to keep the audience in suspense.导演用巧妙手法引起观众的悬念。

5 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

6 ballots   

n.投票表决( ballot的名词复数 )；选举；选票；投票总数v.（使）投票表决( ballot的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• They're counting the ballots. 他们正在计算选票。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The news of rigged ballots has rubbed off much of the shine of their election victory. 他们操纵选票的消息使他们在选举中获得的胜利大为减色。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 eligibility   

n.合格，资格

参考例句：

• What are the eligibility requirements? 病人被选参加试验的要求是什么？ 来自英汉非文学 - 生命科学 - 回顾与展望
• Eligibility for HINARI access is based on gross national income (GNI). 进入HINARI获取计划是依据国民总收入来评定的。

8 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

9 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。

10 protocols   

n.礼仪( protocol的名词复数 )；（外交条约的）草案；（数据传递的）协议；科学实验报告（或计划）

参考例句：

• There are also protocols on the testing of nuclear weapons. 也有关于核武器试验的协议。 来自辞典例句
• Hardware components and software design of network transport protocols are separately introduced. 介绍系统硬件组成及网络传输协议的软件设计。 来自互联网

11 buffalo   

n.(北美)野牛；(亚洲)水牛

参考例句：

• Asian buffalo isn't as wild as that of America's. 亚洲水牛比美洲水牛温顺些。
• The boots are made of buffalo hide. 这双靴子是由水牛皮制成的。

12 full-time   

adj.满工作日的或工作周的，全时间的

参考例句：

• A full-time job may be too much for her.全天工作她恐怕吃不消。
• I don't know how she copes with looking after her family and doing a full-time job.既要照顾家庭又要全天工作，我不知道她是如何对付的。

13 reimbursement   

n.偿还，退还

参考例句：

• He received reimbursement for his travel expenses.由于出差的花费他可以得到公司的补偿。
• Which forms do I need to complete for my travel reimbursement?我需要填什么表来报我的旅费？