美国国家公共电台 NPR--Examining the railway labor deal. Is it a win for both sides?

Examining the railway labor¹ deal. Is it a win for both sides?

Transcript²

NPR's Rachel Martin talks to labor expert Art Wheaton, who explains how years of rail cost cuts and consolidation³ predated a tentative deal that averted⁴ a potentially disastrous⁵ strike.

RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:

After being battered⁶ by the COVID-19 pandemic and bruised⁷ by a series of natural disasters, America's supply chain barely avoided another blow this week. A rail strike was averted with just hours to spare. The Biden administration brokered⁸ a last-minute deal in the early hours of yesterday morning between freight companies and unions. Biden called it a big win for both sides and a big win for America. For analysis of this deal, we are joined by Art Wheaton. He is director of labor studies at Cornell University's School of Industrial and Labor Relations. Thank you for being with us this morning.

ART WHEATON: It is my pleasure.

MARTIN: Is it true that this is a big win for both sides, as the president suggests?

WHEATON: It is a big win for both sides. It's a big win for the company, big win for the government, big win for the employees.

MARTIN: Well, if it was - if it's such a big win, it would suggest that the solution was obvious. So why was this so difficult for so long?

WHEATON: Negotiations¹⁰ are always difficult because everybody is trying to fight to get as much as they can for their constituents¹¹. And it's not unusual for negotiations to go close to or right up to the strike deadline.

MARTIN: So this was about pay to a big degree. But as I understand it, it was also about burnout. It was about workers demanding more reprieve¹², more work-life balance. Did they get that?

WHEATON: They got everything that they were asking for, for the most part. They'd always want more of a work-life balance. But it really wasn't over money. Money wasn't the big sticking point for this negotiations. A lot of it is over trying to be able to go to the doctor and not get fired, that there were some very, very strict attendance policies that was creating havoc¹³ for the employees that were on call, many times, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. And that can be very difficult for work-life balance. Trying to go to a kid's football game or going to a doctor's appointment, all of those could get you in trouble if you did not plan months in advance.

MARTIN: And, I mean, this happened - people were stretched so thin because there just weren't enough people, right? That's because the railroad industry slashed¹⁴ almost 30% of its workforce¹⁵ six years ago. Why did that happen in the first place?

WHEATON: A lot of times, it has to do with trying to get higher profits so that you can look good for Wall Street to get more investment. So they try to reduce cost as much as they can. And it's happened in many different industries, including health care, where they don't have enough people to do it. And then after you start looking for more people, if the work-life balance is not very attractive, then they can't get new workers that are willing to sign up.

MARTIN: Do you expect the deal to be ratified¹⁶ by the union rank-and-file, because that is still a hurdle¹⁷ that needs to be cleared?

WHEATON: I do expect it to get ratified. Had they come up with a deal, say, two or three weeks ago or a month ago, it may not have been ratified because a lot of times, the employees or the workers want to know, did you fight as hard as you could to get what you needed at the table? And I don't think there's anyone who doesn't think that both sides worked really hard to try to come to an agreement. So if you get the president, the secretary of the transportation, secretary of labor all directly involved in the negotiations, you know you tried really hard.

MARTIN: I mean, this is a very significant deal. It averted a crisis when it comes to America's already vulnerable supply chain. Are there lessons to be learned from how this negotiation⁹ went down?

WHEATON: The lessons are - is, from the union's perspective, is if you all stick together and you work really hard, you can try to come up with a resolution. And I think the lesson learned for the government is the best solutions come at the bargaining table. So that - this was not something where Congress said, here's your deal. Take it or leave it. This was something where both the company and the union were able to sit down and find an agreement that works. It's not what everybody wants, but it's the best solution that both sides can live with.

MARTIN: What did labor have to compromise? What did the freight companies get?

WHEATON: Freight companies got continued workforce. And the workers had to give up not getting the amount of flexibility¹⁸ they wanted. They got improved flexibility, but they did not get everything they wanted, and they never do. And the employers keep the trains running and they can continue to make billions of dollars in profits and keep the freight moving.

MARTIN: Are Wheaton of Cornell University's School of Industrial and Labor Relations. Thanks for your time this morning. We appreciate it.

WHEATON: Thank you.

1 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。

2 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。

3 consolidation   

n.合并,巩固

参考例句：

• The denser population necessitates closer consolidation both for internal and external action. 住得日益稠密的居民，对内和对外都不得不更紧密地团结起来。 来自英汉非文学 - 家庭、私有制和国家的起源
• The state ensures the consolidation and growth of the state economy. 国家保障国营经济的巩固和发展。 来自汉英非文学 - 中国宪法

4 averted   

防止，避免( avert的过去式和过去分词 )； 转移

参考例句：

• A disaster was narrowly averted. 及时防止了一场灾难。
• Thanks to her skilful handling of the affair, the problem was averted. 多亏她对事情处理得巧妙，才避免了麻烦。

5 disastrous   

adj.灾难性的，造成灾害的；极坏的，很糟的

参考例句：

• The heavy rainstorm caused a disastrous flood.暴雨成灾。
• Her investment had disastrous consequences.She lost everything she owned.她的投资结果很惨，血本无归。

6 battered   

adj.磨损的；v.连续猛击；磨损

参考例句：

• He drove up in a battered old car.他开着一辆又老又破的旧车。
• The world was brutally battered but it survived.这个世界遭受了惨重的创伤,但它还是生存下来了。

7 bruised   

[医]青肿的，瘀紫的

参考例句：

• his bruised and bloodied nose 他沾满血的青肿的鼻子
• She had slipped and badly bruised her face. 她滑了一跤，摔得鼻青脸肿。

8 brokered   

adj.由权力经纪人安排（或控制）的v.做掮客（或中人等）( broker的过去式和过去分词 )；作为权力经纪人进行谈判；以中间人等身份安排…

参考例句：

• a peace plan brokered by the UN 由联合国出面协商的和平计划
• Your husband brokered the deal to go in, transfrer the assets and get our man out. 你丈夫后来插了一脚，把生意都抢了过去，我们的人也被挤了出来。 来自电影对白

9 negotiation   

n.谈判，协商

参考例句：

• They closed the deal in sugar after a week of negotiation.经过一星期的谈判，他们的食糖生意成交了。
• The negotiation dragged on until July.谈判一直拖到7月份。

10 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。

11 constituents   

n.选民( constituent的名词复数 )；成分；构成部分；要素

参考例句：

• She has the full support of her constituents. 她得到本区选民的全力支持。
• Hydrogen and oxygen are the constituents of water. 氢和氧是水的主要成分。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 reprieve   

n.暂缓执行（死刑）；v.缓期执行；给…带来缓解

参考例句：

• He was saved from the gallows by a lastminute reprieve.最后一刻的缓刑令把他从绞架上解救了下来。
• The railway line, due for closure, has been granted a six-month reprieve.本应停运的铁路线获准多运行6 个月。

13 havoc   

n.大破坏，浩劫，大混乱，大杂乱

参考例句：

• The earthquake wreaked havoc on the city.地震对这个城市造成了大破坏。
• This concentration of airborne firepower wrought havoc with the enemy forces.这次机载火力的集中攻击给敌军造成很大破坏。

14 slashed   

v.挥砍( slash的过去式和过去分词 )；鞭打；割破；削减

参考例句：

• Someone had slashed the tyres on my car. 有人把我的汽车轮胎割破了。
• He slashed the bark off the tree with his knife. 他用刀把树皮从树上砍下。 来自《简明英汉词典》

15 workforce   

n.劳动大军，劳动力

参考例句：

• A large part of the workforce is employed in agriculture.劳动人口中一大部分受雇于农业。
• A quarter of the local workforce is unemployed.本地劳动力中有四分之一失业。

16 ratified   

v.批准，签认（合约等）( ratify的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The treaty was declared invalid because it had not been ratified. 条约没有得到批准，因此被宣布无效。
• The treaty was ratified by all the member states. 这个条约得到了所有成员国的批准。

17 hurdle   

n.跳栏，栏架；障碍，困难；vi.进行跨栏赛

参考例句：

• The weather will be the biggest hurdle so I have to be ready.天气将会是最大的障碍，所以我必须要作好准备。
• She clocked 11.6 seconds for the 80 metre hurdle.八十米跳栏赛跑她跑了十一秒六。

18 flexibility   

n.柔韧性，弹性，（光的）折射性，灵活性

参考例句：

• Her great strength lies in her flexibility.她的优势在于她灵活变通。
• The flexibility of a man's muscles will lessen as he becomes old.人老了肌肉的柔韧性将降低。