美国国家公共电台 NPR--After forming a union, negotiating a contract can be an uphill battle

After forming a union, negotiating a contract can be an uphill battle

Transcript¹

Workers are winning union elections across the country, but the next step might be more difficult. Collective bargaining can take years, and some workers never see a contract.

LEILA FADEL, HOST:

Union elections are creating lots of excitement these days. They're happening all over - at Amazon warehouses², at hospitals and colleges and, of course, at Starbucks, where dozens of stores have voted to unionize. But winning the union election is only the first step. As NPR's Andrea Hsu reports, negotiating a contract can be even harder.

ANDREA HSU, BYLINE³: About this time last year, the staff of the Washingtonian magazine hit peak frustration⁴. They had clashed with their bosses over canceled vacation time. Then came the possibility they'd be forced back to the office. Workers began signing union cards, officially indicating their interest in forming a union.

ANDREW BEAUJON: We had a tremendous number of people sign the cards.

HSU: That's senior editor Andrew Beaujon. Within a few months, it was a done deal. The staff voted 15-2. in favor of joining the News Guild⁵. Now Beaujon knew the next step, getting a contract, would be harder. He says they went in with what they thought were reasonable expectations.

BEAUJON: We thought it would be about a year. Now it seems wildly optimistic. I mean, the pace that we're going at now, we haven't agreed on a single thing yet. We haven't even agreed on what holidays we're going to take off.

HSU: And they certainly don't agree on how the negotiations⁶ are going. Beaujon thinks management is intentionally⁷ stalling the process, and he's felt that way from the start.

BEAUJON: I'd say probably the first minute (laughter).

HSU: Meanwhile, the Washingtonian told us they think good progress is being made, and they look forward to a contract. Of course, getting a contract is the whole point of having a union. The idea is by banding together, workers get more say in their pay, their benefits, their job protections. It's called collective bargaining. Kate Bronfenbrenner, a labor⁸ historian at Cornell, says for employers who've never had a contract before, every issue is a fight.

KATE BROFENBRENNER: You're having to negotiate every word.

HSU: Her research has shown that fewer than half of organized workplaces had collective bargaining agreements within a year of their election. A third still had no agreement after two years. In reality, talks can go on and on and on unless one party or the other declares impasse⁹.

BROFENBRENNER: Impasse is where neither side can move. Anybody that's had a 2-year-old knows what impasse is.

HSU: At that point, the employer has the option of implementing¹⁰ their last, final offer. The employees have the option to strike. Now, there are times when collective bargaining goes smoothly¹¹. That's what happened at SPoT Coffee, a regional chain in upstate New York, in 2019.

KAY KENNEDY: I feel like we lucked out with how pleasant the experience was.

HSU: Kay Kennedy was working for SPoT Coffee in Buffalo¹² at the time. Despite a contentious¹³ union campaign, the negotiations that followed were fairly friendly and productive. Within eight months, the workers had a contract that for them underscored the power of unions. They got in writing a pay structure based on seniority, minimum guaranteed tips and one of Kennedy's priorities, just cause.

KENNEDY: They have to show just cause for any actions that they take against a worker.

HSU: Meanwhile, over at Starbucks, the company is still trying hard to dissuade¹⁴ workers from unionizing by telling them, you don't need a union. Starbucks even announced new benefits and policies, such as expanded training and credit card tipping but for nonunion stores only. Despite this, the union wins at Starbucks continue to pile up. And organizer Michelle Eisen, a barista at the first Buffalo store to unionize, says that's helping¹⁵ them at the bargaining table.

MICHELLE EISEN: Every single time we win another store, we have a little bit more power behind us.

HSU: Now, even at her store, which is the farthest along, contract negotiations have only just begun. Still, she says, the fact that they're happening at all gives her hope. Andrea Hsu, NPR News.

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 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。

3 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。

4 frustration   

n.挫折，失败，失效，落空

参考例句：

• He had to fight back tears of frustration.他不得不强忍住失意的泪水。
• He beat his hands on the steering wheel in frustration.他沮丧地用手打了几下方向盘。

5 guild   

n.行会，同业公会，协会

参考例句：

• He used to be a member of the Writers' Guild of America.他曾是美国作家协会的一员。
• You had better incorporate the firm into your guild.你最好把这个公司并入你的行业协会。

6 negotiations   

协商( negotiation的名词复数 )； 谈判； 完成（难事）； 通过

参考例句：

• negotiations for a durable peace 为持久和平而进行的谈判
• Negotiations have failed to establish any middle ground. 谈判未能达成任何妥协。

7 intentionally   

ad.故意地，有意地

参考例句：

• I didn't say it intentionally. 我是无心说的。
• The local authority ruled that he had made himself intentionally homeless and was therefore not entitled to be rehoused. 当地政府裁定他是有意居无定所，因此没有资格再获得提供住房。

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 impasse   

n.僵局；死路

参考例句：

• The government had reached an impasse.政府陷入绝境。
• Negotiations seemed to have reached an impasse.谈判似乎已经陷入僵局。

10 implementing   

v.实现( implement的现在分词 )；执行；贯彻；使生效

参考例句：

• -- Implementing a comprehensive drug control strategy. ――实行综合治理的禁毒战略。 来自汉英非文学 - 白皮书
• He was in no hurry about implementing his unshakable principle. 他并不急于实行他那不可动摇的原则。 来自辞典例句

11 smoothly   

adv.平滑地，顺利地，流利地，流畅地

参考例句：

• The workmen are very cooperative,so the work goes on smoothly.工人们十分合作，所以工作进展顺利。
• Just change one or two words and the sentence will read smoothly.这句话只要动一两个字就顺了。

12 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。

13 contentious   

adj.好辩的，善争吵的

参考例句：

• She was really not of the contentious fighting sort.她委实不是好吵好闹的人。
• Since then they have tended to steer clear of contentious issues.从那时起，他们总想方设法避开有争议的问题。

14 dissuade   

v.劝阻，阻止

参考例句：

• You'd better dissuade him from doing that.你最好劝阻他别那样干。
• I tried to dissuade her from investing her money in stocks and shares.我曾设法劝她不要投资于股票交易。

15 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。