工会成员们并不总是按照工会期望的投票

AS IT IS 2016-10-17 Labor¹ Union Members Do Not Always Vote as Unions Want 工会成员们并不总是按照工会期望的投票

American politicians have long appealed to organized labor for support during election campaigns.

The politicians know that thousands of labor union members generally vote for the candidates supported by their union leaders.

Most of the leaders support the Democratic Party and its candidates. And once in elected office, many Democrats² support organized labor.

But as the number of unions and membership has fallen over the past half century, so has the loyalty³ of union members to the Democratic Party.

VOA reporter Carolyn Presutti traveled to the state of Ohio to find out which side is winning the union votes there.

Johnny Nickum is 33 years old. He likes working with wood, and hopes to become a carpenter.

Nickum once worked in the hospitality industry. Many Americans work at restaurants, hotels or other hospitality businesses. Yet he found little growth in that field. So he changed careers, moving to manual labor.

His union supports former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton for president. But in a few weeks, on Election Day, Nickum will vote for her opponent, businessman Donald Trump⁴.

“I’d probably vote Trump right now.”

Labor unions were once a powerful voice in American politics. Some unions still are.

But in recent years, many businesses have closed or moved overseas. Millions of factory jobs that were once performed by union members no longer exist. Union membership has sharply declined.

In the late 1960s, when Clinton and Trump were in college, one in four American workers belonged to a union. That number has dropped to one in 10 now. Union membership was highest in 1979, when there were 21 million. There are now 15 million union members nationwide.

Unions represent about 670,000 workers in Ohio.

Don Vargo worked 52 years in the state’s steel mills and mines. Vargo says he is not sure whom he will support on election-day.

“One day I’m going to vote for Trump; next day I’m going to vote for Hillary. Next day, I ain’t going vote for any of them, you know what I mean?”

Leaders of his union, the United Mine Workers of America, have yet to express support for a presidential candidate. Cecil Roberts is the head of the union.

“This election’s tough for us at the very top because our people are so upset about losing their jobs over the course of the last few years. And we don’t have a recession in Appalachia -- we have a straight up depression.”

Johnny Nickum understands that labor unions have lost members and power. But he will not use his vote to try to help his union. He says he will make his own choice.

“You don’t have to be a follower⁵ all the time. That’s the best part of democracy is being able to choose and think for yourself.”

Words in This Story

carpenter – n. a person whose job is to make or fix wooden objects or wooden parts of buildings

hospitality – n. the activity of providing food, drinks, etc. for people who are the guests or customers of an organization — often used before another noun

manual labor – n. physical work

mill – n. a building in which a particular product is made

straight up – expression used for emphasis

1 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。

2 democrats   

n.民主主义者，民主人士( democrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Democrats held a pep rally on Capitol Hill yesterday. 民主党昨天在国会山召开了竞选誓师大会。
• The democrats organize a filibuster in the senate. 民主党党员组织了阻挠议事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 loyalty   

n.忠诚，忠心

参考例句：

• She told him the truth from a sense of loyalty.她告诉他真相是出于忠诚。
• His loyalty to his friends was never in doubt.他对朋友的一片忠心从来没受到怀疑。

4 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。

5 follower   

n.跟随者；随员；门徒；信徒

参考例句：

• He is a faithful follower of his home football team.他是他家乡足球队的忠实拥护者。
• Alexander is a pious follower of the faith.亚历山大是个虔诚的信徒。