美国国家公共电台 NPR 'Whatever It Takes': Government Workers Apply For Unemployment As Shutdown Drags On

 

LULU GARCIA-NAVARRO, HOST:

Federal workers have missed paychecks for the first time since the partial government shutdown started over three weeks ago. Now thousands are doing what once seemed unthinkable - applying for unemployment benefits. WAMU's Patrick Madden reports.

PATRICK MADDEN, BYLINE¹: Inside an auditorium² in a Maryland suburb of D.C., federal workers and their supporters gathered a few days ago to protest the shutdown, now the longest in U.S. history. Labor³ activists⁴ stood on stage to belt out a Woody Guthrie tune⁵, as many in the audience sang along.

UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: (Singing) This land is your land.

UNIDENTIFIED PEOPLE: (Singing) This land is my land. From...

MADDEN: But in the back of the room, it was hard not to notice a group of women wiping tears from their eyes. Michelle, a federal employee of more than 30 years, is getting tips on how to apply for unemployment.

MICHELLE: I show up to work. I do a good job. I'm doing everything a responsible adult is supposed to do. And all of a sudden, it's all blowing up, and I don't know what else to do.

MADDEN: Michelle, who doesn't want to give her full name for fear of retribution, says she can't believe she's found herself in this position.

MICHELLE: This is the first time in my working life I am going to have to go to my creditors⁶ and say, I don't know how to pay you. And it's embarrassing.

MADDEN: Since the shutdown began, thousands of federal workers and contractors⁷ have applied⁸ for unemployment. Officials expect that number to increase as people feel the pain of missing paychecks. And it's already starting to show at an unemployment office in Washington, D.C. One by one, government employees walked in. They signed their names and waited to get their claims processed.

STEVE: It's depressing a bit to - you know, to be unemployed⁹.

MADDEN: Steve, who also doesn't want to use his full name for fear of retribution, says he left a better-paying job in the private sector¹⁰ to work for the federal government.

STEVE: The reason that I chose a public sector job was the stability of the whole thing.

MADDEN: Steve says another big selling point was the sense of mission.

STEVE: You know, trying to make the world a safer place. And it's like - I don't know - might as well just go make some money somewhere else, I guess.

MADDEN: The federal government says this shutdown will cost at least $50 million a day in lost wages and productivity. And that's not just D.C. Eighty-five percent of federal workers live outside the Washington region. But there are hidden costs, too, that go beyond money, says Randy Erwin, president of the National Federation¹¹ of Federal Employees.

RANDY ERWIN: Who in the world's going to want to work for the federal government when people are not able to fill prescriptions¹², are bouncing checks, ruining their credit?

MADDEN: And their eventual¹³ unemployment checks will likely be far less than what they were making. And these claims take time to process, and bills can add up. And for federal employees who do receive unemployment, they'll have to reimburse¹⁴ the money when Congress gives them back pay. But federal contractors don't get back pay from the government. Some of them are janitors¹⁵ or cafeteria workers, like John Woodson. He spent 30 years working low-wage jobs at federal buildings. He arrived at the D.C. unemployment office unsure of what was next.

JOHN WOODSON: Might have to wash some cars or go back to detailing, whatever it takes - wash some windows - whatever it takes to, you know, put food on my table, you know?

MADDEN: You're here today to hopefully start receiving some unemployment benefits.

WOODSON: Hopefully. You know, who knows? He might got a way of putting the freeze on that, too.

MADDEN: The he, of course, is President Donald Trump¹⁶, who has said, without money for the border wall, the government will not be reopened, leaving these workers feeling like there's no end in sight. For NPR News in Washington, I'm Patrick Madden.

1 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。

2 auditorium   

n.观众席，听众席；会堂，礼堂

参考例句：

• The teacher gathered all the pupils in the auditorium.老师把全体同学集合在礼堂内。
• The stage is thrust forward into the auditorium.舞台向前突出，伸入观众席。

3 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。

4 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 tune   

n.调子；和谐，协调；v.调音，调节，调整

参考例句：

• He'd written a tune,and played it to us on the piano.他写了一段曲子，并在钢琴上弹给我们听。
• The boy beat out a tune on a tin can.那男孩在易拉罐上敲出一首曲子。

6 creditors   

n.债权人，债主( creditor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• They agreed to repay their creditors over a period of three years. 他们同意3年内向债主还清欠款。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Creditors could obtain a writ for the arrest of their debtors. 债权人可以获得逮捕债务人的令状。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 contractors   

n.（建筑、监造中的）承包人( contractor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• We got estimates from three different contractors before accepting the lowest. 我们得到3个承包商的报价后，接受了最低的报价。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Contractors winning construction jobs had to kick back 2 per cent of the contract price to the mafia. 赢得建筑工作的承包商得抽出合同价格的百分之二的回扣给黑手党。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 applied   

adj.应用的；v.应用，适用

参考例句：

• She plans to take a course in applied linguistics.她打算学习应用语言学课程。
• This cream is best applied to the face at night.这种乳霜最好晚上擦脸用。

9 unemployed   

adj.失业的，没有工作的；未动用的，闲置的

参考例句：

• There are now over four million unemployed workers in this country.这个国家现有四百万失业人员。
• The unemployed hunger for jobs.失业者渴望得到工作。

10 sector   

n.部门，部分；防御地段，防区；扇形

参考例句：

• The export sector will aid the economic recovery. 出口产业将促进经济复苏。
• The enemy have attacked the British sector.敌人已进攻英国防区。

11 federation   

n.同盟，联邦，联合，联盟，联合会

参考例句：

• It is a federation of 10 regional unions.它是由十个地方工会结合成的联合会。
• Mr.Putin was inaugurated as the President of the Russian Federation.普京正式就任俄罗斯联邦总统。

12 prescriptions   

药( prescription的名词复数 )； 处方； 开处方； 计划

参考例句：

• The hospital of traditional Chinese medicine installed a computer to fill prescriptions. 中医医院装上了电子计算机来抓药。
• Her main job was filling the doctor's prescriptions. 她的主要工作就是给大夫开的药方配药。

13 eventual   

adj.最后的，结局的，最终的

参考例句：

• Several schools face eventual closure.几所学校面临最终关闭。
• Both parties expressed optimism about an eventual solution.双方对问题的最终解决都表示乐观。

14 reimburse   

v.补偿，付还

参考例句：

• We'll reimburse you for your travelling expenses.我们将付还你旅费。
• The funds are supposed to reimburse policyholders in the event of insurer failure.这项基金将在保险公司不能偿付的情况下对投保人进行赔付。

15 janitors   

n.看门人( janitor的名词复数 )；看管房屋的人；锅炉工

参考例句：

• The janitors were always kicking us out. 守卫总是将～踢出去。 来自互联网
• My aim is to be one of the best janitors in the world. 我的目标是要成为全世界最好的守门人。 来自互联网

16 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。