新奇事件簿 全美快餐业员工示威求加薪

Fast-food workers in 58 cities in the USA did not go to work on Thursday. They went on strike because they want more money. The workers currently¹ get paid the minimum wage. This was set at $7.25 in 2009 and has not changed since then. Many workers say they cannot afford to live on that. The price of everything has gone up but their wages have stayed the same for five years. The workers want $15 an hour, which is double their current rate. Julio Wilson, a cashier at a pizza restaurant, told the BBC he earns $9 an hour. He said that wasn't enough to support himself and his five-year-old daughter. He said: "I know I'm risking my job, but it's my right to fight for what I deserve."

周四，美国58所城市的快餐员工并没有进行工作。他们进行了罢工，希望增加工资。快餐员工挣的是最低工资。价格为7.25美金，而这一数字自2009年定价以来就没有更改过。许多员工称他们无法生计。物价上涨，但是他们的工资五年来未曾改变。员工希望每小时工资应该在15美金，增加一倍。一家披萨餐厅的收银员胡里奥·威尔逊对BBC称，他每小时挣9美元。他称这无法让他维持生计，以及养活5岁的女儿。他称：“我知道我可能会丢掉工作，但是我有权利要回属于我的东西。”

McDonald's and Burger King both spoke² about the strike. They said they did not make decisions about how much to pay workers in most of their restaurants. They said each restaurant is an independent franchise³ and the manager decides how much to pay the staff. McDonald's profits were over $5.5 billion in 2011. The burger giants did say that an increase in wages would mean more expensive burgers. America's National Restaurant Association said the wages were low because the staff are young and have little work experience. It said: "Only five per cent of restaurant employees earn the minimum wage and those that do are [mainly] working part-time and half are teenagers."

麦当劳和汉堡王就此次罢工发表了声明。他们称就绝大多数餐厅来说，他们无法决定员工的工资。他们称每家餐厅是一个独立的个体，只有经理有权决定员工的工资。2011年，麦当劳的收益超过了55亿美元。汉堡王称工资上涨就意味着汉堡的价格上涨。美国餐馆协会称工资过低的原因是员工年轻，工作经验不足。协会称：“只有5%的餐厅员工争取最低工资，这些人也主要是兼职，其中一半还是青少年。”

1 currently   

adv.通常地，普遍地，当前

参考例句：

• Currently it is not possible to reconcile this conflicting evidence.当前还未有可能去解释这一矛盾的例证。
• Our contracts are currently under review.我们的合同正在复查。

2 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

3 franchise   

n.特许，特权，专营权，特许权

参考例句：

• Catering in the schools is run on a franchise basis.学校餐饮服务以特许权经营。
• The United States granted the franchise to women in 1920.美国于1920年给妇女以参政权。