美国国家公共电台 NPR--Thousands of nurses at 2 NYC hospitals are on strike after negotiations fail

Thousands of nurses at 2 NYC hospitals are on strike after negotiations¹ fail

Transcript²

The New York State Nurses Association announced the strikes early Monday morning after late-night bargaining failed. The nurses are striking at Montefiore Hospital and Mount Sinai Hospital.

DWANE BROWN, HOST:

Union-organized nurses at two of New York City's biggest hospitals say they are going ahead with a strike this morning. Nurses at Mount Sinai Hospital's main campus in Harlem got up early to get ready to picket³. In fact, that's where we find Caroline Lewis of member station WNYC in New York. Caroline, good morning.

CAROLINE LEWIS, BYLINE⁴: Good morning.

BROWN: Yeah. Get us up to speed. Why have the nurses decided⁵ to strike?

LEWIS: Well, nurses are - you know, they're fighting for better pay and health benefits, but I think the main issue here is staffing. You know, there are hundreds of unfilled nursing positions at both hospitals that are striking today. And staffing has really been an issue that has been exacerbated⁶ by the pandemic, with a lot of people leaving to become travel or, you know, temp nurses and hospitals struggling to keep up with pay that can compete with how lucrative⁷ those positions are.

BROWN: So staffing and pay, those are just two of the issues - patient care, as you pointed⁸ out. What do the hospitals say about the impact as it relates to patient care?

LEWIS: Well, you know, in New York City, they're diverting ambulances away from these hospitals today. The hospitals, you know, I know, are definitely going to be shelling out a lot of money for temporary staff to fill in while the strike is ongoing⁹. But the patient care has still been affected¹⁰, you know, with elective surgeries postponed¹¹. And I know both hospitals were trying to either discharge or transfer as many patients as they could safely over the weekend.

BROWN: And, Caroline, remind us what happened with contract negotiations. Where did they break down?

LEWIS: Well, I think, you know, specifically the staffing issue, again, has really been the issue. You know, both hospitals are offering raises that are similar to what has been offered at other hospitals where strikes have been avoided in recent days. But, you know, nurses say that they really want commitments from these hospitals to fill the open positions and to put in place enforcement mechanisms¹², you know, if they're failing to staff up properly. You know, nurses are saying that they are just taking on, you know, more patients than they safely can in these different units. And I think, you know, the mood here is really exuberant¹³, but a lot of nurses say they're really sad that it's come to this.

BROWN: And I guess the final question is, what are the unions asking to happen now?

LEWIS: Well, you know, the - Governor Hochul last night really tried to avoid a strike at the last minute, saying that, you know - she basically said that the hospitals and nurses should enter into arbitration¹⁴ to avoid a strike. And the hospital said they were open to that. But the nurses said, you know, they want these hospitals to meet their demands. And they're, you know, going to move forward with the strike until that happens.

BROWN: And how long do we expect this to go on?

LEWIS: That's unclear. You know, I mean, other hospitals, again, like, have been able to reach deals, you know, in recent days. So I think that's promising¹⁵. But there are other hospitals that still might strike after this. You know, there's another hospital in Brooklyn that has issued a strike notice for the coming days if they don't reach a deal. And so I think they're willing to stay out here until they have their demands met.

BROWN: We'll leave it there. Caroline Lewis of member station WNYC in New York.

1 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。

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 picket   

n.纠察队；警戒哨；v.设置纠察线；布置警卫

参考例句：

• They marched to the factory and formed a picket.他们向工厂前进,并组成了纠察队。
• Some of the union members did not want to picket.工会的一些会员不想担任罢工纠察员。

4 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。

5 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

6 exacerbated   

v.使恶化，使加重( exacerbate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The symptoms may be exacerbated by certain drugs. 这些症状可能会因为某些药物而加重。
• The drugs they gave her only exacerbated the pain. 他们给她吃的药只是加重了她的痛楚。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 lucrative   

adj.赚钱的，可获利的

参考例句：

• He decided to turn his hobby into a lucrative sideline.他决定把自己的爱好变成赚钱的副业。
• It was not a lucrative profession.那是一个没有多少油水的职业。

8 pointed   

adj.尖的，直截了当的

参考例句：

• He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
• She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。

9 ongoing   

adj.进行中的，前进的

参考例句：

• The problem is ongoing.这个问题尚未解决。
• The issues raised in the report relate directly to Age Concern's ongoing work in this area.报告中提出的问题与“关心老人”组织在这方面正在做的工作有直接的关系。

10 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

11 postponed   

vt.& vi.延期，缓办，（使）延迟vt.把…放在次要地位；[语]把…放在后面（或句尾）vi.（疟疾等）延缓发作（或复发）

参考例句：

• The trial was postponed indefinitely. 审讯无限期延迟。
• The game has already been postponed three times. 这场比赛已经三度延期了。

12 mechanisms   

n.机械( mechanism的名词复数 )；机械装置；[生物学] 机制；机械作用

参考例句：

• The research will provide direct insight into molecular mechanisms. 这项研究将使人能够直接地了解分子的机理。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He explained how the two mechanisms worked. 他解释这两台机械装置是如何工作的。 来自《简明英汉词典》

13 exuberant   

adj.充满活力的；（植物）繁茂的

参考例句：

• Hothouse plants do not possess exuberant vitality.在温室里培养出来的东西，不会有强大的生命力。
• All those mother trees in the garden are exuberant.果园里的那些母树都长得十分茂盛。

14 arbitration   

n.调停，仲裁

参考例句：

• The wage disagreement is under arbitration.工资纠纷正在仲裁中。
• Both sides have agreed that the arbitration will be binding.双方都赞同仲裁具有约束力。

15 promising   

adj.有希望的，有前途的

参考例句：

• The results of the experiments are very promising.实验的结果充满了希望。
• We're trying to bring along one or two promising young swimmers.我们正设法培养出一两名有前途的年轻游泳选手。