美国国家公共电台 NPR--Another warehouse in New York could become Amazon's 2nd U.S. workplace to unionize

Another warehouse¹ in New York could become Amazon's 2nd U.S. workplace to unionize

Transcript²

Workers at an Amazon warehouse near Albany begin voting on whether to unionize. The Amazon Labor³ Union formed last spring after employees at a Staten Island warehouse voted to unionize.

A MARTINEZ, HOST:

An Amazon warehouse in upstate New York could become the company's second workplace in the country to unionize. Supporters held a final rally before the start of voting today. From member station WAMC, here's Lucas Willard.

LUCAS WILLARD, BYLINE⁴: Protesters marched outside Amazon's million-square-foot facility in Schodack, tucked into the hills along the Hudson River.

UNIDENTIFIED PROTESTER: (Singing) We are a union.

UNIDENTIFIED PROTESTERS: (Singing) We are a union.

WILLARD: About 10 miles from Albany, the fulfillment center employs a diverse workforce⁵ of more than 800 people. It's here where workers will vote on whether to join the fledgling Amazon Labor Union. The ALU formed after employees at a Staten Island warehouse voted to unionize in the spring, a vote Amazon still objects to. A union push at another facility there this year failed. Schodack organizer and Amazon employee Heather Goodall says workers upstate are inspired.

HEATHER GOODALL: To see that workers have this power, even over a billion-dollar bully⁶, is incredible.

WILLARD: Goodall claims Amazon has retaliated⁷ during the union drive. In one example, she says she was disciplined after taking photos of warehouse conditions before submitting a complaint to the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration in July.

GOODALL: They ended up writing me up for their phone policy.

WILLARD: Amazon said it couldn't comment on a personnel issue. Safety is a primary concern among workers. A fire shut things down for a day last week. The cause remains⁸ under investigation⁹. Employee Sam Molik, who is on worker's compensation leave after a head injury, says his complaints are going unheard.

SAM MOLIK: All they tell you is, oh, we're working on it. We're working on it. We're working on it. Well, OK, it's been a month and a half. Why isn't that fire extinguisher replaced? All right, I told you, you know, three weeks ago about hard hats, and I just got injured, and there's still no hardhats here.

WILLARD: Amazon acknowledged a national uptick in injuries at a time when hundreds of thousands were being hired and trained to keep up with demand due to the pandemic. The retailer¹⁰ declined an interview to address specifics but, in a broad statement, said it has made hundreds of changes based on employee feedback. Asked about the missing hard hats and fire extinguishers, the company said those allegations were not true. Meantime, organizer Kimberly Lane says Schodack workers are being discouraged from voting yes in meetings with consultants¹¹ hired by Amazon.

KIMBERLY LANE: They filled people's heads with fear and intimidation¹² and psychological warfare¹³, basically.

WILLARD: Amazon says the meetings are to educate workers about the process of joining a union. The drive in Schodack comes as workers across the region show a renewed interest in unions. Mark Emanatian, executive director of the Capital District Area Labor Federation¹⁴, has been helping¹⁵ people organize in upstate New York for decades.

MARK EMANATIAN: We get calls every week now at my office saying, we're so-and-so, we have this little thing here, we'd like to be in a union. I match them up to a union. There's a meeting. They sit down. They start to organize. Five years ago, if you were to ask me that, I couldn't say that we were getting a call once a week. We would get a call maybe once a year.

WILLARD: If a new Amazon Labor Union local is formed in Schodack, national ALU President Chris Smalls says warehouses¹⁶ across the country will follow.

CHRIS SMALLS: After this building, there will be more.

WILLARD: Votes will be tallied¹⁷ on October 18 by the National labor Relations Board. If successful, the ALU will need to fight for a contract next.

For NPR News, I'm Lucas Willard in Schodack, N.Y.

1 warehouse   

n.仓库；vt.存入仓库

参考例句：

• We freighted the goods to the warehouse by truck.我们用卡车把货物运到仓库。
• The manager wants to clear off the old stocks in the warehouse.经理想把仓库里积压的存货处理掉。

2 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

3 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。

4 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

5 workforce   

n.劳动大军，劳动力

参考例句：

• A large part of the workforce is employed in agriculture.劳动人口中一大部分受雇于农业。
• A quarter of the local workforce is unemployed.本地劳动力中有四分之一失业。

6 bully   

n.恃强欺弱者，小流氓；vt.威胁，欺侮

参考例句：

• A bully is always a coward.暴汉常是懦夫。
• The boy gave the bully a pelt on the back with a pebble.那男孩用石子掷击小流氓的背脊。

7 retaliated   

v.报复，反击( retaliate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• When he once teased her for her inexperience, she retaliated. 有一次，他讥讽她没有经验，她便反唇相讥。 来自辞典例句
• The terrorists retaliated by killing three policemen. 恐怖分子以杀死三名警察相报复。 来自辞典例句

8 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

9 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

10 retailer   

n.零售商(人)

参考例句：

• What are the retailer requirements?零售商会有哪些要求呢？
• The retailer has assembled a team in Shanghai to examine the question.这家零售商在上海组建了一支团队研究这个问题。

11 consultants   

顾问( consultant的名词复数 )； 高级顾问医生，会诊医生

参考例句：

• a firm of management consultants 管理咨询公司
• There're many consultants in hospital. 医院里有很多会诊医生。

12 intimidation   

n.恐吓，威胁

参考例句：

• The Opposition alleged voter intimidation by the army.反对党声称投票者受到军方的恐吓。
• The gang silenced witnesses by intimidation.恶帮用恐吓的手段使得证人不敢说话。

13 warfare   

n.战争(状态)；斗争；冲突

参考例句：

• He addressed the audience on the subject of atomic warfare.他向听众演讲有关原子战争的问题。
• Their struggle consists mainly in peasant guerrilla warfare.他们的斗争主要是农民游击战。

14 federation   

n.同盟，联邦，联合，联盟，联合会

参考例句：

• It is a federation of 10 regional unions.它是由十个地方工会结合成的联合会。
• Mr.Putin was inaugurated as the President of the Russian Federation.普京正式就任俄罗斯联邦总统。

15 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

16 warehouses   

仓库，货栈( warehouse的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The whisky was taken to bonded warehouses at Port Dundee. 威士忌酒已送到邓迪港的保稅仓库。
• Row upon row of newly built warehouses line the waterfront. 江岸新建的仓库鳞次栉比。

17 tallied   

v.计算，清点( tally的过去式和过去分词 )；加标签（或标记）于；（使）符合；（使）吻合

参考例句：

• The girl tallied them with her eyes for a moment. 新娘用目光把这些化妆品清点了一下。 来自教父部分
• His account of the accident tallied with hers. 他对事故的陈述和她的相吻合。 来自辞典例句