VOA慢速英语2016 华盛顿活动人士为父母们争取带薪休假（在线收听）

AS IT IS 2016-07-07 DC Activists Aim to Offer Paid Leave to Parents 华盛顿活动人士为父母们争取带薪休假

Working parents in America are increasingly sharing childcare. In other words, both mothers and fathers go to a business or office, and both take care of family members at home – especially babies.

在美国，越来越多的有工作的家长分担育儿工作。换句话说，当母亲和父亲都去做生意或办公室，他们也都一起照顾家里的家人，尤其是孩子。

But the U.S. does not require employers to pay workers while they take time off to care for new family members. It is the only developed country in the world that does not mandate some kind of paid parental leave.

但是在美国，当员工请假照顾新家庭成员时，雇主不需要支付员工工资。它是世界上唯一的没有强制带薪产假的发达国家。

Instead, working parents in the U.S. must negotiate for time off directly with their employers. But a few states, as well as Washington, D.C., are trying to change parental leave laws.

相反，在美国，工作的父母必须为休假直接与雇主谈判。但在一些州，包括华盛顿特区，正在努力改变产假法律。

The Lott family

洛特家族

The Lott family in Washington, DC is one of many families advocating for the U.S. to change its parental leave policies.

在华盛顿特区的洛特家族是许多倡导美国改变其产假政策的家庭之一。

Rob and Jessica Lott both have jobs outside the home. They also have a 12-month-old daughter named Shulie.

罗伯和杰西卡·洛特都在外工作。他们也有一个名为苏蕾的12个月大的女儿。

When Shulie was born last July, both Rob and Jessica looked forward to spending time with her. They also needed to take care of her, and Jessica had to recover from childbirth.

去年7月苏蕾出生时，罗伯和杰西卡都希望多花时间和她在一起。他们还需要照顾她，并且杰西卡需要从分娩中恢复过来。

But Jessica's employer offered her just four weeks of paid leave. Rob's employer did not give him any.

但杰西卡的雇主只给她4周的带薪休假。而罗伯的雇主并没有给他任何带薪假期。

Instead, Rob used his vacation and sick leave to care for his wife and daughter for two weeks. He noted that these kinds of paid time off are not the same as parental leave.

相反，罗伯请了假期和病假来照顾他的妻子和两周岁的女儿。他指出，这类带薪假期与产假不一样。

“Certainly, having a child is not vacation, nor is it a sickness,” he said.

“当然，生孩子不是假期，也不是疾病,”他说。

Universal Paid Leave Act

通用带薪休假条例

Rob and Jessica Lott are part of a campaign to bring paid parental leave to all Americans, starting with those who live or work in Washington, DC.

罗伯和杰西卡·洛特是为所有美国人带来带薪产假的运动的一部分，这个运动是由那些在华盛顿特区生活或工作的人发起的。

Lawmakers here are considering a bill called the Universal Paid Leave Act. The act would require all businesses to give workers up to 16 weeks of paid time off to care for a family member or for themselves.

这里立法者正在考虑一项法案称为通用带薪休假法案。该法案将要求所有企业给工人16周的带薪假期照顾家庭成员或自己。

To cover the costs of the program, every employer would contribute 1% of each worker's salary into a common pool of money.

为了支付计划的成本，每一个雇主将拿出每个工人1%的薪水到一个共同的资金池。

Joanna Blotner is the manager of the D.C. Paid Family Leave campaign. She said the program does not hurt small businesses because it spreads costs across the entire workforce.

乔安娜是特区带薪探亲假竞选经理。她说，这个项目不伤害小企业，因为它的成本是由整个劳动力市场共同负担的。

And, she said, businesses with fewer than 20 employees do not have to hold someone's job while he or she is away from work. That employee will still be paid for the time off, but each employer can decide whether to fill the position before the worker returns.

她说，员工少于20个的企业不需要在他或她是离开工作时为其保留工作。员工在离开期间仍将得到支付，但每个雇主都可以决定是否在职工回来之前要填补这个职位。

Stronger families

强大的家庭

Charles Allen is a local lawmaker and the father of a young child. He supports the legislation.

查尔斯·艾伦是一个当地的议员，也是一个年轻孩子的父亲。他支持这项立法。

Allen listened to Jessica Lott and other parents share their stories around a conference table in his office.

在他办公室的会议桌上，艾伦听杰西卡·洛特和其他家长分享他们的故事。

“We know that families will be stronger when you have this [bill],” Allen told them. “The connection you get to have with your kid -- that just makes a stronger family.”

“我们知道，当你有这个(法案)之后，家庭将会更强，”艾伦告诉他们。“你和你孩子的联系，只会让一个家庭更强大。”

Cost and flexibility

成本和灵活性

But some people oppose D.C.'s family leave bill.

但是有些人反对华盛顿特区的家庭休假法案。

Marc Freedman works for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. He said the bill would be too financially difficult for employers.

马克·弗里德曼在美国商会工作。他说法案将给雇主带来称重的负担。

“Our feeling is that employers provide leave as they are able to provide leave,” Freedman said. “Many do so happily, and if they can't afford it, then that's generally why they don't provide it.”

“我们的感觉是，当他们想要离开时，雇主让他们离开，”弗里德曼说。“很多这样的做法会让人很开心，但是如果他们负担不起，那通常就是他们为什么不提供这种待遇。”

In addition, Freedman says, he believes the program will be more expensive than activists are saying. And, he wants employees – not just businesses – to pay for part of the cost, too.

此外，弗里德曼说，他相信这个项目会比活动人士说的更昂贵。他希望员工——不仅仅是企业——也支付一部分成本。

Freedman notes he does not have the perfect solution. But, he suggests that businesses should not be required to give employees paid time off. Instead, he says, businesses should be able to be flexible about what they offer, and to benefit from leave programs, too.

弗里德曼指出他没有完美的解决方案。但是他认为企业不需要给员工提供带薪假期。相反，他说企业应该能够灵活的决定他们提供什么，和从离开项目中受益。

Words in This Story

mandate – v. to officially demand or require

leave – n. a period of time when someone has special permission to be away from a job or from military service

negotiate – v. to discuss something formally in order to make an agreement

pool – n. an amount of money that has been collected from many people for some purpose