美国国家公共电台 NPR Disney Says Promised Bonus Depends On Workers Signing Wage Contract

 

MARY LOUISE KELLY, HOST:

When Congress passed a sweeping¹ tax overhaul² last December, it lowered the corporate³ tax rate, and dozens of companies promised to share the good fortune with employees. The Walt Disney Company was among them, offering its workers a thousand-dollar bonus. But as NPR's Yuki Noguchi reports, it turns out for many workers, there are conditions.

YUKI NOGUCHI, BYLINE⁴: Shortly after the Republican bill passed, Disney promised $1,000 bonuses to all non-management employees. But this month, Disney added a requirement that unions approve and ratify⁵ the company's latest contract offer before workers see their bonus. Eric Clinton is a veteran Disney World cast member in Orlando and president of the Unite Here Local 362 union.

ERIC CLINTON: I've seen the company do things that I think is wrong in the past. I've never seen them do something this outrageous⁶.

NOGUCHI: The Service Trades Council Union, a six-union coalition⁷ representing 38,000 Disney World workers, says the company is playing an illegal game of hardball. On Monday, the group filed a complaint with the National Labor⁸ Relations Board. Ed Chambers⁹ is that union coalition's president.

ED CHAMBERS: We are taking the position as a council they're two separate things. Give us the thousand-dollar bonus like everybody else. Continue to bargain a contract.

NOGUCHI: In December, an overwhelming majority of union members rejected the theme park's latest offer of a $200 signing bonus and a $1-an-hour raise over two years. Madeline Johnson voted against that deal. She's a ride operator at Disney's Animal Kingdom and says the company is retaliating¹⁰ against workers who voted no.

MADELINE JOHNSON: I just feel like I'm trying to be bribed¹¹, and I feel discriminated¹² against because I don't think it's right that we have to go through this and be blackmailed¹³ into accepting something.

NOGUCHI: Johnson says she wants to hold out for a bigger raise, which she says is worth far more to her than a one-time bonus. Disney did not respond to requests seeking comment. Maria Cornell, who works in a Disney Store, says she had plans for her bonus.

MARIA CORNELL: We were very excited for getting it. As a matter of fact, I was going to buy my new glasses.

NOGUCHI: Those plans are now on hold because both her bonus and the contract that her union voted to reject remain in limbo¹⁴. She wants to see Disney's latest offer ratified¹⁵.

CORNELL: I just want to get it over with.

NOGUCHI: Earlier this month, Disney reported a $1.6 billion one-time gain during its fiscal¹⁶ first quarter largely because its tax rate was slashed¹⁷. Yuki Noguchi, NPR News, Washington.

(SOUNDBITE OF NICHOLAS BRITELL'S "ONE DOLLAR - PRESS CONFERENCE")

1 sweeping   

adj.范围广大的，一扫无遗的

参考例句：

• The citizens voted for sweeping reforms.公民投票支持全面的改革。
• Can you hear the wind sweeping through the branches?你能听到风掠过树枝的声音吗？

2 overhaul   

v./n.大修，仔细检查

参考例句：

• Master Worker Wang is responsible for the overhaul of this grinder.王师傅主修这台磨床。
• It is generally appreciated that the rail network needs a complete overhaul.众所周知，铁路系统需要大检修。

3 corporate   

adj.共同的，全体的；公司的，企业的

参考例句：

• This is our corporate responsibility.这是我们共同的责任。
• His corporate's life will be as short as a rabbit's tail.他的公司的寿命是兔子尾巴长不了。

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 ratify   

v.批准，认可，追认

参考例句：

• The heads of two governments met to ratify the peace treaty.两国政府首脑会晤批准和平条约。
• The agreement have to be ratify by the board.该协议必须由董事会批准。

6 outrageous   

adj.无理的，令人不能容忍的

参考例句：

• Her outrageous behaviour at the party offended everyone.她在聚会上的无礼行为触怒了每一个人。
• Charges for local telephone calls are particularly outrageous.本地电话资费贵得出奇。

7 coalition   

n.结合体，同盟，结合，联合

参考例句：

• The several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
• Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。

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 chambers   

n.房间( chamber的名词复数 )；（议会的）议院；卧室；会议厅

参考例句：

• The body will be removed into one of the cold storage chambers. 尸体将被移到一个冷冻间里。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Mr Chambers's readable book concentrates on the middle passage: the time Ransome spent in Russia. Chambers先生的这本值得一看的书重点在中间：Ransome在俄国的那几年。 来自互联网

10 retaliating   

v.报复，反击( retaliate的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The administration will begin retaliating in six weeks if EC policies remain unchanged. 凯特先生说，如果欧共体一意孤行，美国政府将于六周后开始报复。 来自互联网

11 bribed   

v.贿赂( bribe的过去式和过去分词 )；向（某人）行贿，贿赂

参考例句：

• They bribed him with costly presents. 他们用贵重的礼物贿赂他。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• He bribed himself onto the committee. 他暗通关节，钻营投机挤进了委员会。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

12 discriminated   

分别，辨别，区分( discriminate的过去式和过去分词 )； 歧视，有差别地对待

参考例句：

• His great size discriminated him from his followers. 他的宽广身材使他不同于他的部下。
• Should be a person that has second liver virus discriminated against? 一个患有乙肝病毒的人是不是就应该被人歧视？

13 blackmailed   

胁迫，尤指以透露他人不体面行为相威胁以勒索钱财( blackmail的过去式 )

参考例句：

• He was blackmailed by an enemy agent (into passing on state secrets). 敌特威胁他（要他交出国家机密）。
• The strikers refused to be blackmailed into returning to work. 罢工者拒绝了要挟复工的条件。

14 limbo   

n.地狱的边缘；监狱

参考例句：

• His life seemed stuck in limbo and he could not go forward and he could not go back.他的生活好像陷入了不知所措的境地，进退两难。
• I didn't know whether my family was alive or dead.I felt as if I was in limbo.我不知道家人是生是死，感觉自己茫然无措。

15 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。

16 fiscal   

adj.财政的，会计的，国库的，国库岁入的

参考例句：

• The increase of taxation is an important fiscal policy.增税是一项重要的财政政策。
• The government has two basic strategies of fiscal policy available.政府有两个可行的财政政策基本战略。

17 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》