美国国家公共电台 NPR AFL-CIO President Touts Labor's Role In Improving New Trade Deal

 

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

So it looks like there is finally a trade deal to replace NAFTA, which candidate Donald Trump¹ had pledged to scrap². A new U.S., Mexico and Canada trade deal - USMCA - overwhelmingly passed the House yesterday. And a top national labor³ leader tells NPR's Don Gonyea that labor pushed the president to make it better.

DON GONYEA, BYLINE⁴: This week, President Trump was onstage rallying supporters in Michigan, one of those states where dislike of NAFTA runs high. Much of his speech focused on the day's big story, impeachment⁵. He also offered up a narrative⁶ of a presidency⁷ doing great things, including the new trade deal.

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PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: But we have a great USMCA that we negotiated with Mexico, with Canada.

GONYEA: But if the USMCA isn't yet a household name, the trade pact⁸ it's replacing is.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

TRUMP: We're getting rid of NAFTA, which I think is the worst trade deal ever.

(CHEERING)

GONYEA: Yesterday in Washington, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi was also saying great things about the USMCA. But in her telling, much credit for an improved trade deal does not go to the president but to the AFL-CIO, which, for the first time ever, played a significant role as a trade deal was being negotiated. I sat down with the labor federation's president, Richard Trumka, yesterday as the House was taking up the new trade deal. He stresses the earlier version the Trump administration initially⁹ pushed was no better than NAFTA. He's blunt in describing what Trump first proposed.

RICHARD TRUMKA: A sham¹⁰.

GONYEA: It's been fixed¹¹?

TRUMKA: It has been.

GONYEA: Unions blame NAFTA for the loss of hundreds of thousands of jobs as production shifted to low-wage plants in Mexico. The new trade deal ups how much domestic content cars must have to avoid tariffs¹². But more importantly, says Trumka, unions have a greater voice in enforcing the deal. Still, he knows there are skeptics. I asked him about a conversation I had with a local union activist¹⁴ in Ohio who pointed¹⁵ to the recent closing of the giant GM Lordstown assembly plant.

He said to me, sure, it's better on paper, but I'm not going to feel good about this until I actually see it put to the test. And then he added, it's not going to bring Lordstown back. What do you say to a skeptic¹³ like that? What do you hear in his voice?

TRUMKA: I hug him and say, I'm in the same place. I mean, look. We're gunshot. We've had 25 years of trade agreements that have been nothing but hurt workers in the American economy.

GONYEA: The AFL-CIO leader then cautions...

TRUMKA: If we get complacent¹⁶, if we look the other way - we stop enforcing it - he's absolutely right - it'll just slide back to where it was.

GONYEA: Then I ask about something President Trump said at his rally in Michigan stating, quote, "union labor loves me." Richard Trumka grimaces¹⁷ a bit at that.

TRUMKA: You have to look at the entire package. And we've been keeping score for three years now.

GONYEA: Trumka then lists the things where Trump has failed union members. He says the president has gutted¹⁸ health and safety rules, packed the National Labor Relations Board with corporate¹⁹ lawyers and proposed eliminating overtime²⁰ pay for millions.

He will be using the new USMCA as a campaign pitch next year.

TRUMKA: He should be careful in doing that.

GONYEA: Why?

TRUMKA: I'll make you a deal. I'll be willing to let him take credit for that if he takes ownership of all the bad things he did to workers, as well.

GONYEA: As we wrap up the interview, the new trade deal clears a hurdle²¹ in the House. Final House passage comes late afternoon. To the AFL-CIO president, it's an early Christmas present for union members.

TRUMKA: NAFTA is no more. It's been replaced by a bill that is far more worker-friendly and more effective.

GONYEA: Senate passage is still required. That is expected early next year. Don Gonyea, NPR News.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

1 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。

2 scrap   

n.碎片；废料；v.废弃，报废

参考例句：

• A man comes round regularly collecting scrap.有个男人定时来收废品。
• Sell that car for scrap.把那辆汽车当残品卖了吧。

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 impeachment   

n.弹劾；控告；怀疑

参考例句：

• Impeachment is considered a drastic measure in the United States.在美国，弹劾被视为一种非常激烈的措施。
• The verdict resulting from his impeachment destroyed his political career.他遭弹劾后得到的判决毁了他的政治生涯。

6 narrative   

n.叙述，故事；adj.叙事的，故事体的

参考例句：

• He was a writer of great narrative power.他是一位颇有记述能力的作家。
• Neither author was very strong on narrative.两个作者都不是很善于讲故事。

7 presidency   

n.总统(校长，总经理)的职位(任期)

参考例句：

• Roosevelt was elected four times to the presidency of the United States.罗斯福连续当选四届美国总统。
• Two candidates are emerging as contestants for the presidency.两位候选人最终成为总统职位竞争者。

8 pact   

n.合同，条约，公约，协定

参考例句：

• The two opposition parties made an electoral pact.那两个反对党订了一个有关选举的协定。
• The trade pact between those two countries came to an end.那两国的通商协定宣告结束。

9 initially   

adv.最初，开始

参考例句：

• The ban was initially opposed by the US.这一禁令首先遭到美国的反对。
• Feathers initially developed from insect scales.羽毛最初由昆虫的翅瓣演化而来。

10 sham   

n./adj.假冒(的)，虚伪(的)

参考例句：

• They cunningly played the game of sham peace.他们狡滑地玩弄假和平的把戏。
• His love was a mere sham.他的爱情是虚假的。

11 fixed   

adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的

参考例句：

• Have you two fixed on a date for the wedding yet?你们俩选定婚期了吗？
• Once the aim is fixed,we should not change it arbitrarily.目标一旦确定，我们就不应该随意改变。

12 tariffs   

关税制度； 关税( tariff的名词复数 )； 关税表； （旅馆或饭店等的）收费表； 量刑标准

参考例句：

• British industry was sheltered from foreign competition by protective tariffs. 保护性关税使英国工业免受国际竞争影响。
• The new tariffs have put a stranglehold on trade. 新的关税制对开展贸易极为不利。

13 skeptic   

n.怀疑者，怀疑论者，无神论者

参考例句：

• She is a skeptic about the dangers of global warming.她是全球变暖危险的怀疑论者。
• How am I going to convince this skeptic that she should attention to my research?我将如何使怀疑论者确信她应该关注我的研究呢？

14 activist   

n.活动分子，积极分子

参考例句：

• He's been a trade union activist for many years.多年来他一直是工会的积极分子。
• He is a social activist in our factory.他是我厂的社会活动积极分子。

15 pointed   

adj.尖的，直截了当的

参考例句：

• He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
• She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。

16 complacent   

adj.自满的；自鸣得意的

参考例句：

• We must not become complacent the moment we have some success.我们决不能一见成绩就自满起来。
• She was complacent about her achievements.她对自己的成绩沾沾自喜。

17 grimaces   

n.（表蔑视、厌恶等）面部扭曲，鬼脸( grimace的名词复数 )v.扮鬼相，做鬼脸( grimace的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Mr. Clark winked at the rude child making grimaces. 克拉克先生假装没有看见那个野孩子做鬼脸。 来自辞典例句
• The most ridiculous grimaces were purposely or unconsciously indulged in. 故意或者无心地扮出最滑稽可笑的鬼脸。 来自辞典例句

18 gutted   

adj.容易消化的v.毁坏（建筑物等）的内部( gut的过去式和过去分词 )；取出…的内脏

参考例句：

• Disappointed? I was gutted! 失望？我是伤心透了！
• The invaders gutted the historic building. 侵略者们将那幢历史上有名的建筑洗劫一空。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

19 corporate   

adj.共同的，全体的；公司的，企业的

参考例句：

• This is our corporate responsibility.这是我们共同的责任。
• His corporate's life will be as short as a rabbit's tail.他的公司的寿命是兔子尾巴长不了。

20 overtime   

adj.超时的，加班的；adv.加班地

参考例句：

• They are working overtime to finish the work.为了完成任务他们正在加班加点地工作。
• He was paid for the overtime he worked.他领到了加班费。

21 hurdle   

n.跳栏，栏架；障碍，困难；vi.进行跨栏赛

参考例句：

• The weather will be the biggest hurdle so I have to be ready.天气将会是最大的障碍，所以我必须要作好准备。
• She clocked 11.6 seconds for the 80 metre hurdle.八十米跳栏赛跑她跑了十一秒六。