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Traditional unions may be stymied,but workers and activists are finding new ways to organize By Janet Paskin
傳統工會組織的力量也許受到阻礙，但雇員和積極分子們正在尋求新途徑組織罷工 珍妮特·帕斯金報道
According to the official records, U.S. workers went on strike seven times during 2017.
據美國官方記錄，2017年全國發生七次雇員罷工事件。
That's a particular nadir in the long decline of organized labor:
勞工組織效力衰退進入低谷期：
the second-fewest work stoppages recorded by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics since the agency started keeping track in the 1940s.
自美國勞工統計局20世紀40年代有記載以來，這一年的罷工次數位列倒數第二。
There was little reason to believe 2018 would be different, especially with the U.S. Supreme Court, in two decisions,
2018年情況好轉的可能性依然渺茫，特別是美國最高法院通過的兩項決策，
making it harder for public employees unions to fund themselves and restricting workers' rights to bring class actions.
使得政府雇員工會更難為本組織提供資金，同時決策還限制政府雇員提起集體訴訟的權利。
The power of employers appeared to be almost limitless. The unions were, if not busted, then certainly on the verge.
雇主的權力則似乎無限擴延，政府雇員工會面臨解散的危機。
Aggrieved workers, however, took matters into their own hands, using social media and other tech tools to enhance their campaigns.
然而，憤憤不平的員工們利用社交媒體和其他技術手段提升罷工勢頭，掌控了事態進展。
From industry walkouts to wildcat teachers' strikes, they made very public demands of their employers.
從行業聯合罷工到教師們自發組織的罷工活動，他們公開對雇主提出各種要求。
The official number of major work stoppages recorded by the BLS in 2018 nearly tripled, to 20.
2018年，美國勞工統計局記載的官方罷工數量幾乎增長兩倍，達到20次。
Off the picket line, workers also won a wide range of concessions.
雇員們也贏得來自雇主方面的各種讓步。
Facing employee pressure, Google and McKinsey & Co. dropped contracts for government work employees found objectionable;
面對員工施加的壓力，谷歌和麥肯錫公司均認為政府雇員勞動合同存在爭議，故而放棄簽約；
thousands of dismissed Toys "R" Us workers got a severance fund; and Starbucks Corp. expanded parental and sick leave policies.
玩具反斗城公司數千名被解雇的員工獲得了遣散費；星巴克公司則延長了員工的產病假政策。
In many cases, workers and their advocates bypassed their employers entirely.
在很多情況下，工人和他們的擁護者會完全地忽視他們的雇主。
Under continued pressure, the American Hotel & Lodging Association reversed its opposition to panic buttons
在持續的壓力下，美國酒店住宿協會改變了其反對使用緊急按鈕的立場，
to protect housekeepers from sexual harassment by guests.
以保護管家免受客人的性騷擾。
Model Alliance, an advocacy group for models, persuaded the organizers of New York Fashion Week to provide private changing areas.
模特權益倡導組織模特聯盟（Model Alliance）勸說紐約時裝周的組織者為模特提供私人更衣室。
"Workers aren't waiting for the traditional forms of organizing, as provided under labor law," says Tom Kochan,
湯姆·科尚是麻省理工斯隆管理學院工作與就業研究所的聯席所長，
co-director of the MIT Sloan Institute for Work and Employment Research.
他表示：“工人們想要的不是勞動法規定的傳統組織形式。”
"They're looking for new options, whether that's Google employees on a one-day walkout or workers filing online petitions with their management
“無論是谷歌的員工罷工一天，還是員工在網上向管理層提交從日程安排到福利的各種請愿書，
about everything from scheduling to fringe benefits.”
他們都在尋找新的選擇。”
Kochan has been studying what academics call "worker voice"—how much influence employees feel they have over their working conditions—since the 1970s.
自上世紀70年代以來，科尚一直在研究學者們所說的“工人的聲音”——員工們覺得他們對自己的工作環境有多大的影響力。
At the beginning of his career, about one-quarter of workers were represented by a union and another third,
在他職業生涯初期的時候，根據一項全國就業質量調查，大約有四分之一的工人都由工會代表，
according to a national Quality of Employment Survey, said the'd join one if they had an opportunity.
另外四分之三的工人們則表示，如果有機會他們就會加入工會。
The next time the question was fielded, in the mid-'90s, workers'interest in joining a union had barely budged.
90年代中期，當這個問題再次被提出時，工人們加入工會的興趣幾乎沒有變化。
