VOA慢速英语2021 疫情让美国工人更强大？

（单词翻译）

Labor¹ Day: Will American Workers Be Stronger Because of the Pandemic?

Monday, September 6, is Labor Day this year in the United States.

9月6日星期一是美国的劳动节。

The day to celebrate working people became a federal² holiday in 1894.

1894年，劳动人民的节日成为了联邦假日。

U.S. President Grover Cleveland signed the law making the first Monday in September a holiday.

美国总统克利夫兰签署了这项法案，将9月的第一个星期一定为假日。

Because Labor Day started so many years ago, many Americans do not think about the meaning of the holiday.

由于劳动节始于许多年前，许多美国人并没有思考这个节日的意义。

Instead, it is a day to enjoy free time with friends and family. It is also considered the unofficial end of summer.

相反，这一天变成了与朋友和家人一起享受自由时间的日子。它也被看作是夏季的非正式结束。

Many children go back to school after Labor Day, and many traditional summertime businesses, like amusement parks and ice cream shops, reduce their hours after Labor Day.

许多孩子在劳动节后回到学校，许多传统的夏季商业，如游乐园和冰淇淋店，在劳动节后缩短了他们的工作时间。

In 2021, however, people around the U.S. thought a lot about the way they make a living.

然而，在2021年，美国各地的人们对他们的谋生方式进行了很多思考。

That is because the COVID-19 health crisis³ changed many things in the U.S.

因为新冠疫情改变了美国的许多事情。

Many businesses shut down or had employees work from home starting in March 2020.

从2020年3月开始，许多企业关闭或员工居家办公。

Many office workers feel as if they are better off working at home because they do not have to spend time getting to their work place each day.

很多办公室职员觉得他们在家里工作更好，因为不必每天花通勤时间到达工作地点。

They now have more time to spend with family and do fun activities.

现在他们有更多时间和家人在一起，做有趣的活动。

But people who own manufacturing⁴ and food businesses are in trouble.

但是拥有制造业和食品业的人却陷入了困境。

There are shortages⁶ of some products because factories were shut down.

工厂关闭，导致一些产品出现了短缺。

Drinking places and restaurants are having trouble finding⁷ workers.

酒吧和餐馆都很难招到工人。

Now, some restaurants are paying workers more money and offering extra pay to people who start jobs.

现在，一些餐馆会付给工人更高的工资，并为开始工作的人提供额外报酬。

In Washington, D.C., the owner of Busboys and Poets, a popular restaurant and bookstore, recently announced every employee would earn at least $15 an hour. Andy Shallal is the owner.

在华盛顿特区，人气颇高的餐馆兼书店Busboys and Poets的老板最近宣布，每位员工的时薪至少为15美元。安迪·沙尔是店主。

He told a local television station that he will also help his employees go to college and get better medical care.

他对当地一家电视台表示，他还将帮助他的员工上大学，并获得更好的医疗保健。

During the health crisis, workers are thinking of finding new jobs or going back to school.

在这场健康危机期间，工人们正在考虑找一份新工作或重返校园。

A study by the Washington Post and George Mason University in Virginia found that about 30 percent of workers under 40 are planning to change jobs soon.

《华盛顿邮报》和弗吉尼亚州乔治梅森大学的一项研究发现，大约30%的40岁以下的工人计划很快换工作。

Other workers tried to organize in 2021.

其他工人试图在2021年组织起来。

For example, people who work for online seller⁸ Amazon in the southern state of Alabama tried to form a labor union earlier this year.

例如，今年早些时候，在南部阿拉巴马州的在线销售商亚马逊工作的人试图组建工会。

Unions are organizations of workers who negotiate⁹ as a group to ask their employers¹⁰ for more money, better conditions or more time off.

工会是工人组成的组织，他们作为一个团体进行谈判，要求雇主增加工资、改善工作条件或延长休假时间。

Ruth Milkman is a professor at the City University of New York.

露丝·米尔克曼是纽约城市大学的教授。

She studies labor. Milkman said more people are interested in being in unions today than before.

她研究的是劳动。米尔克曼说，现在有更多的人对加入工会感兴趣。

"You know, among young people, and especially college-educated young people, unions are cool again.

“你知道，在年轻人中，尤其是受过大学教育的年轻人中，加入工会又变成了一件很酷的事。

You know, there's a real interest, that we haven't seen for quite some time, in organizing."

他们对组织产生了一种我们很长时间没有看到过的真正的兴趣。”

One reason for that is the difference in income between the highest paid workers in the U.S. and the average worker.

原因之一是美国收入最高的工人和普通工人之间的收入差异。

Liz Shuler is president of the AFL-CIO, a big organization made up of 56 labor unions.

利兹·舒勒是美国劳联-产联(AFL-CIO)主席，这是一个由56个工会组成的大组织。

During a recent event organized by the Christian¹¹ Science Monitor newspaper and shown by the television network C-SPAN, she spoke¹² about income inequality.

在基督教科学箴言报最近组织并由电视网络C-SPAN播出的一次活动中，她谈到了收入不平等。

She said it takes Jeff Bezos, the former head of Amazon, seven seconds to earn the amount of money that the average Amazon worker makes in one year.

她说，亚马逊前总裁杰夫·贝佐斯只需7秒钟就能赚到亚马逊普通员工一年的收入。

"That's not right. There should be a way for workers to come together and actually get their fair share of the wealth that they're creating for companies like Amazon."

“不应该是这样的。应该有办法让工人们走到一起，真正公平地获得他们为亚马逊这样的公司创造的财富。”

Workers protested¹³ for fair pay and other protections in the early days of the labor movement in the U.S.

在美国劳工运动早期，工人们为争取公平工资和其他保护而抗议。

The Fair Labor Standards Act in 1938 established a minimum¹⁴ wage.

1938年的《公平劳动标准法》确立了最低工资标准。

The last time the federal minimum wage was raised was in 2009.

联邦最低工资上次提高是在2009年。

Some local governments in the U.S. want to make $15 the minimum wage.

美国一些地方政府希望最低工资能达到15美元。

However, the AFL-CIO believes the minimum wage should be closer to $24.

然而，AFL-CIO认为最低工资应该接近24美元。

The Congressional Budget Office does research for Congress¹⁵.

国会预算办公室是为国会做研究的机构。

It reported in February that if the U.S. were to raise the minimum wage to $15 by 2025 it would result in the loss of about 1.4 million jobs.

今年2月，它的报告表示，如果美国到2025年将最低工资提高到15美元，将导致大约140万个工作岗位流失。

But the office said about 900,000 people would no longer be considered poor.

但该办公室表示，同时将有约90万人脱离穷人层级。

President Joe Biden spoke about raising the minimum wage during his presidential campaign.

乔·拜登总统在总统竞选期间谈到了提高最低工资。

But an increase was dropped from the recent $1.2 trillion spending deal passed by Congress.

但是，在国会最近通过的1.2万亿美元的支出协议中，工资涨幅有所下降。

Some labor advocates say the best way for workers to earn more money is to unionize.

一些劳工倡导者说，工人们赚更多钱的最好办法是成立工会。

However, they say laws in the U.S. make it easy for businesses to interfere¹⁶ with employees who want to form unions.

然而，他们表示，美国法律让企业很容易干预想要组建工会的员工。

Labor unions want politicians to vote for a bill called the Protecting the Right to Organize Act.

工会希望政治家们投票支持一项名为《保护组织权法案》的法案。

Jonas Loeb is the Director of Communications for IATSE, a union that represents people who work for theater, movie and television productions.

乔纳斯·勒布是IATSE的传播总监，IATSE是一个代表戏剧、电影和电视制作人员的工会。

He said although people seem to support unions, it is often hard for employees to come together and join one.

他说，虽然人们似乎是支持工会的，但员工往往很难团结起来加入工会。

"Just because people want to join and form unions, doesn't mean that they will be able to, right?

“人们想要加入并形成工会，并不等同于他们就能做到，对吧?”

And this is why I think what happens next hinges¹⁸ so much on what happens in Washington."

所以我认为，接下来会发生什么很大程度上取决于华盛顿会发生什么。”

Milkman believes that the average person has a good opinion of unions, and has sympathy for low-paid workers and their problems.

米尔克曼认为，一般人对工会有好感，并同情低收入工人和他们所面临的问题。

But, she warned, gains made by workers during the coronavirus crisis may not last long.

但她提醒道，工人们在疫情危机期间取得的成果可能不会持续太久。

"Once the labor market is no longer one of a shortage⁵ of low-wage workers, I think you can assume¹⁹ that employers will cut wages."

“一旦劳动力市场不再缺乏低薪工人，可以料想到雇主会降低工资。”

Words in This Story

amusement park –n. a place with games and rides such as roller coasters

union –n. an organization of workers formed to protect the rights and interests of its members

minimum wage –n. an amount of money that is the least amount of hourly pay permitted by the law

advocate –n. a person who argues for or supports a cause or policy

hinge¹⁷ –v. to depend on; to be decided²⁰ by something

assume –v. to think something is true without knowing that it is true