纽约时报 谈判失败 通用5万工人罢工(1)

50,000 Workers On Strike at G.M. After Talks Fail.

谈判失败，通用5万工人罢工

By Neal E. Boudette

文/尼尔·E.布德特

The United Automobile² Workers union went on strike at General Motors, sending nearly 50,000 members at factories across the Midwest and South to picket³ lines on Monday morning.

周一上午，美汽车工人联合会(UAW)在中西部和南部地区集结了近5万名通用公司工人向通用罢工示威。

With the two sides far apart,

由于此前双方在谈判时分歧很大，

U.A.W. regional leaders in Detroit voted unanimously on Sunday morning to authorize⁴ the strike, the union’s first such walkout since 2007.

周日上午，UAW底特律地区领导层投票批准了这一自2007年以来该工会批准的规模最大的一次罢工。

It began at midnight, after the union’s current bargaining agreement expired on Saturday.

工会的谈判协议已于周六到期，周日午夜时分，罢工正式拉开序幕。

“Today, we stand strong and say with one voice,

“今天，我们带着一致的心声坚定地站在了一起，

we are standing⁵ up for our members and for the fundamental rights of working-class people in this nation,”

为我们的工会成员和这个国家的工人阶级的基本权利摇旗呐喊。”

Terry Dittes, a union vice⁶ president, said after the meeting.

工会副主席特里·迪特斯在会后表示。

The U.A.W. is pushing G.M. to improve wages, reopen idled plants, add jobs at others

这次罢工旨在推动通用汽车提高工人工资，重新开放闲置工厂，同时增加其余工厂的就业机会，

and close or narrow the difference between pay rates for new hires and veteran workers.

缩小新员工和老员工之间的工资差距。

G.M. wants employees to pay a greater portion of their health care costs, and to increase work-force productivity and flexibility⁷ in factories.

通用汽车则希望提高员工支付的医疗保健费用，同时提高工厂劳动力的生产率和灵活性。

Although the company has been earning substantial profits in North America — and it made $8.1 billion globally last year —

该公司在北美的利润一直颇为客观——去年其全球利润高达81亿美元——

it has idled three plants in the United States as car sales slide and overall demand for vehicles weakens.

但随着汽车销量下滑和市场对汽车的总体需求减弱，该公司在国内已有三家工厂停产。

The strike is unfolding as President Trump⁸’s trade war with China wears on manufacturers and has stirred fears of a slowdown.

当前，特朗普总统与中国的贸易战已经逐渐波及到制造商，也引发了人们对经济放缓的担忧。

It could disrupt local economies in factory towns in several swing states like Michigan and Ohio,

密歇根和俄亥俄等摇摆州坐拥多个工业城镇，特朗普总统曾承诺增加这些地区的制造业就业，

where President Trump has promised to increase manufacturing jobs.

然而，这次罢工或将扰乱当地经济。

But any impact on the broader economy will depend on how long it lasts.

不过，此次罢工对美国整体经济的影响将取决于罢工的持续时间。

The auto¹ industry, even if it is far from its employment heights in the 1970s,

尽管当前的汽车制造业已经远不如上世纪70年代就业高峰时的情形，

remains⁹ crucial to the economy, counting some 220,000 people who work to manufacture cars.

但对美国经济仍然至关重要，汽车制造工人的数目就高达22万人左右。

According to the Alliance of Auto Manufacturers,

据汽车制造商联盟透露，

the broader vehicle industry supports 9.9 million jobs and historically accounts for about 3 percent of gross domestic product.

整个汽车行业提供的就业岗位为990万个，从历史的角度来看，约占国内生产总值(GDP)的3%。

Even as the unionized share of the nation’s work force continues to fall, down from a peak of one-third in the 1950s, labor¹⁰ has become more assertive¹¹ in recent years.

工会人数在美国劳动力中所占的比例已经从上世纪50年代峰值的三分之一持续下降，但近年来，劳工的自信已经提升。

The number of people who participated in work stoppages involving over 1,000 workers rose last year to its highest level since the 1980s,

去年，在教师罢工和多城市酒店工人罢工的鼓舞下，

buoyed¹² by teacher walkouts and a multi-city hotel workers strike.

参与1000人以上规模的罢工的人数已经上升至上世纪80年代以来的最高水平。

1 auto   

n.(=automobile)(口语)汽车

参考例句：

• Don't park your auto here.别把你的汽车停在这儿。
• The auto industry has brought many people to Detroit.汽车工业把许多人吸引到了底特律。

2 automobile   

n.汽车，机动车

参考例句：

• He is repairing the brake lever of an automobile.他正在修理汽车的刹车杆。
• The automobile slowed down to go around the curves in the road.汽车在路上转弯时放慢了速度。

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 authorize   

v.授权，委任；批准，认可

参考例句：

• He said that he needed to get his supervisor to authorize my refund.他说必须让主管人员批准我的退款。
• Only the President could authorize the use of the atomic bomb.只有总统才能授权使用原子弹。

5 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

6 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

7 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。

8 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。

9 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

10 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。

11 assertive   

adj.果断的，自信的，有冲劲的

参考例句：

• She always speaks an assertive tone.她总是以果断的语气说话。
• China appears to have become more assertive in the waters off its coastline over recent years.在近些年，中国显示出对远方海洋的自信。

12 buoyed   

v.使浮起( buoy的过去式和过去分词 )；支持；为…设浮标；振奋…的精神

参考例句：

• Buoyed by their win yesterday the team feel confident of further success. 在昨天胜利的鼓舞下，该队有信心再次获胜。
• His encouragement buoyed her up during that difficult period. 他的鼓励使她在那段困难时期恢复了乐观的情绪。 来自《简明英汉词典》