評論
打印
50,000 Workers On Strike at G.M. After Talks Fail.
談判失敗，通用5萬工人罷工
By Neal E. Boudette
文/尼爾·E.布德特
The United Automobile Workers union went on strike at General Motors, sending nearly 50,000 members at factories across the Midwest and South to picket lines on Monday morning.
周一上午，美汽車工人聯合會(UAW)在中西部和南部地區集結了近5萬名通用公司工人向通用罷工示威。
With the two sides far apart,
由于此前雙方在談判時分歧很大，
U.A.W. regional leaders in Detroit voted unanimously on Sunday morning to authorize the strike, the union’s first such walkout since 2007.
周日上午，UAW底特律地區領導層投票批準了這一自2007年以來該工會批準的規模最大的一次罷工。
It began at midnight, after the union’s current bargaining agreement expired on Saturday.
工會的談判協議已于周六到期，周日午夜時分，罷工正式拉開序幕。
“Today, we stand strong and say with one voice,
“今天，我們帶著一致的心聲堅定地站在了一起，
we are standing up for our members and for the fundamental rights of working-class people in this nation,”
為我們的工會成員和這個國家的工人階級的基本權利搖旗吶喊。”
Terry Dittes, a union vice president, said after the meeting.
工會副主席特里·迪特斯在會后表示。
The U.A.W. is pushing G.M. to improve wages, reopen idled plants, add jobs at others
這次罷工旨在推動通用汽車提高工人工資，重新開放閑置工廠，同時增加其余工廠的就業機會，
and close or narrow the difference between pay rates for new hires and veteran workers.
縮小新員工和老員工之間的工資差距。
G.M. wants employees to pay a greater portion of their health care costs, and to increase work-force productivity and flexibility in factories.
通用汽車則希望提高員工支付的醫療保健費用，同時提高工廠勞動力的生產率和靈活性。
Although the company has been earning substantial profits in North America — and it made $8.1 billion globally last year —
該公司在北美的利潤一直頗為客觀——去年其全球利潤高達81億美元——
it has idled three plants in the United States as car sales slide and overall demand for vehicles weakens.
但隨著汽車銷量下滑和市場對汽車的總體需求減弱，該公司在國內已有三家工廠停產。
The strike is unfolding as President Trump’s trade war with China wears on manufacturers and has stirred fears of a slowdown.
當前，特朗普總統與中國的貿易戰已經逐漸波及到制造商，也引發了人們對經濟放緩的擔憂。
It could disrupt local economies in factory towns in several swing states like Michigan and Ohio,
密歇根和俄亥俄等搖擺州坐擁多個工業城鎮，特朗普總統曾承諾增加這些地區的制造業就業，
where President Trump has promised to increase manufacturing jobs.
然而，這次罷工或將擾亂當地經濟。
But any impact on the broader economy will depend on how long it lasts.
不過，此次罷工對美國整體經濟的影響將取決于罷工的持續時間。
The auto industry, even if it is far from its employment heights in the 1970s,
盡管當前的汽車制造業已經遠不如上世紀70年代就業高峰時的情形，
remains crucial to the economy, counting some 220,000 people who work to manufacture cars.
但對美國經濟仍然至關重要，汽車制造工人的數目就高達22萬人左右。
According to the Alliance of Auto Manufacturers,
據汽車制造商聯盟透露，
the broader vehicle industry supports 9.9 million jobs and historically accounts for about 3 percent of gross domestic product.
整個汽車行業提供的就業崗位為990萬個，從歷史的角度來看，約占國內生產總值(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, labor has become more assertive in recent years.
工會人數在美國勞動力中所占的比例已經從上世紀50年代峰值的三分之一持續下降，但近年來，勞工的自信已經提升。
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，在教師罷工和多城市酒店工人罷工的鼓舞下，
buoyed by teacher walkouts and a multi-city hotel workers strike.
參與1000人以上規模的罷工的人數已經上升至上世紀80年代以來的最高水平。
譯文由可可原創，僅供學習交流使用，未經許可請勿轉載。
