美国国家公共电台 NPR--'The Simpsons' production workers go union, saying they deserve a place at the table

'The Simpsons' production workers go union, saying they deserve a place at the table

Transcript¹

Production workers at the long-running animated² television shows The Simpsons, American Dad! and Family Guy have gained voluntary recognition from their parent company, 20th Television Animation³, to join The Animation Guild⁴.

According to a statement from the union, "the production workers won with 90% support across all three shows."

Workers said they are hoping to receive benefits, such as health care and retirement⁵, but also to change the way production work is seen in the industry.

Jobs like production supervisor⁶, coordinator⁷ and writers assistant are often seen as stepping-stone jobs, said Ashley Cooper, a production manager for The Simpsons, even though they're integral to making sure shows get on the air.

But for many people, these jobs become careers.

"So people can wind up spending many years in something that's seen as a job for a young person to do for six months," said Cooper.

Unionizing isn't rare in animation. Animators, actors and writers are all a part of their respective guilds⁸. But production work has long been excluded from these unions. And as such, production workers often receive much worse benefits than the union counterparts they work with every day to get the show on the air.

"It doesn't feel like everything is equal," said Laura Smalec, a production coordinator at Family Guy. "You cannot have a show without production workers. So I think that's the moral of the story at the end of the day."

In recent months, smaller groups of production employees at different workplaces have unionized – these include the animation studio Titmouse, and the workers at Rick & Morty and Solar Opposites.

Jason Jones, a production supervisor for American Dad!, said that he hopes the move is a beacon⁹ to other animation production workers. "I would hope that it galvanizes everyone else to organize and recognize their own self-worth and not believe in that old studio construct that production is somehow a stepping stone to a better career path."

Because, says Jones, many of them love the jobs they have now. They don't want to move on to something else.

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 animated   

adj.生气勃勃的，活跃的，愉快的

参考例句：

• His observations gave rise to an animated and lively discussion.他的言论引起了一场气氛热烈而活跃的讨论。
• We had an animated discussion over current events last evening.昨天晚上我们热烈地讨论时事。

3 animation   

n.活泼，兴奋，卡通片／动画片的制作

参考例句：

• They are full of animation as they talked about their childhood.当他们谈及童年的往事时都非常兴奋。
• The animation of China made a great progress.中国的卡通片制作取得很大发展。

4 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。

5 retirement   

n.退休，退职

参考例句：

• She wanted to enjoy her retirement without being beset by financial worries.她想享受退休生活而不必为金钱担忧。
• I have to put everything away for my retirement.我必须把一切都积蓄起来以便退休后用。

6 supervisor   

n.监督人，管理人，检查员，督学，主管，导师

参考例句：

• Between you and me I think that new supervisor is a twit.我们私下说，我认为新来的主管人是一个傻瓜。
• He said I was too flighty to be a good supervisor.他说我太轻浮不能成为一名好的管理员。

7 coordinator   

n.协调人

参考例句：

• The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, headed by the Emergency Relief Coordinator, coordinates all UN emergency relief. 联合国人道主义事务协调厅在紧急救济协调员领导下，负责协调联合国的所有紧急救济工作。
• How am I supposed to find the client-relations coordinator? 我怎么才能找到客户关系协调员的办公室？

8 guilds   

行会，同业公会，协会( guild的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• View list of the guilds that Small has war on. 看目前有哪些公会是我们公会开战的对象及对我们开战的对象。
• Guilds and kingdoms fit more with the Middle Age fantasy genre. （裴）:公会和王国更适合中世纪奇幻类型。

9 beacon   

n.烽火，（警告用的）闪火灯，灯塔

参考例句：

• The blink of beacon could be seen for miles.灯塔的光亮在数英里之外都能看见。
• The only light over the deep black sea was the blink shone from the beacon.黑黢黢的海面上唯一的光明就只有灯塔上闪现的亮光了。