国际组织动向—新世纪的劳工组织

Labor¹ Unions for the New Century

新世纪的劳工组织

 

A steady decline in the power of labor unions in the United States and European has led to some speculation² that collective organizing of working people to campaign for their rights may be turning into a relic³. Many analysts⁴ say labor associations worldwide are regrouping and looking for ways to better respond to global economy.

 

Declining Membership

 

Earlier this month, an alliance of twelve labor groups in California defeated all four of Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger’s ballot⁵ measures that would curtail⁶ workers’ rights and benefits. The alliance representing two-and-a-half million workers -- proved that U.S. labor is still able to wield⁷ power. But membership in labor unions has steadily⁸ declined since the 1950s when one third of the U.S. work force was organized.

 

David Brody: We are now toward the very bottom of the industrialized countries in terms of the representation of workers.

 

David Brody is a professor of labor history at the University of California and author of the new book: Labor Embattled.

 

David Brody: In the private sector⁹, we are below 8 percent now and that’s lower than it’s been for more than a century.

 

By comparison, union membership is almost ten times higher in Scandinavian countries. More than 80 percent of the work force in Sweden and nearly 80 percent in Denmark and Finland are unionized. Union membership in other western European countries ranges from 20 percent to 50 percent of the labor force. At only nine percent of the labor force, France has the lowest union membership of all western European nations. But its workers have been known for organizing massive strikes that garner¹⁰ media attention and get results.

 

U.S. Labor Focuses on Economy

 

Robert Tobias, professor of public management at American University in Washington and former president of the National Treasury¹¹ Employees Union, says the European unions are involved in politics far more than the American unions.

 

Robert Tobias: The European unions differ quite dramatically from the American unions in the sense that American unions have pursued the rights of individual workers through the negotiation¹² of collective bargaining agreements. In Europe, the unions have become a part of the political process and the political effort, and have pursued rights to the creation of legislation.

 

Many countries, including the United Kingdom, Australia and Israel have labor parties representing their interests. The American labor movement has always been focused on the economy and job markets. Many historians say this has made it more independent and flexible. The power of American unions, they say, is based on the solidarity¹³ of workers and their willingness to go out on strike. But that changed dramatically in 1981 when President Ronald Reagan broke an air-traffic controller’s strike, replacing government employees who had walked out. Since then, economic changes have eroded¹⁵ the power of unions in many parts of the world.

 

Labor in Global Economy

 

Many analysts say this is due to the growing power of multi-national corporations that can move their production lines from one country to another in search of cheap labor. Corporate¹⁶ leaders have responded by accusing unions of making the workforce¹⁷ inflexible¹⁸. They also say too many workers’ protections make it hard to jumpstart sluggish¹⁹ economies and decrease unemployment. Labor and socialist²⁰ parties in many countries, including Britain and Germany, have succumbed²² to some of these economic pressures. University of California’s history professor David Brody says losses in the labor movement do not signal its inevitable²³ demise²⁴.

 

David Brody: It’s not as if this is unprecedented²⁵ what we are seeing now. That is, where so much manufacturing has now moved to less developed countries, in earlier days, a similar process took place within the United States, where you had a heavily industrialized sector in the northeast focusing around textiles, and industries like that, clothing [for example]. In the south, they opened up factories competing with those northeastern factories, but with cheap labor. And the northeastern industries declined.

 

Professor Brody says that as many U-S industries developed from local to regional and then to a national level, so did unions. Today, he argues, the globalization of industries and services requires the internalization of labor unions. But he concedes it may be difficult due to different legal systems governing unions in different countries.

 

But Steve Stallone, a spokesman for the California-based International Longshore and Warehouse²⁶ Union, says globalization can also work in employees’ favor. He cites a 1998 example in which his union supported the quest of a maritime²⁷ union in Australia.

 

Steve Stallone: Basically, a lot of their longshore workers were locked out and the government brought in police to kick the union workers off the docks and tried to run the dock with scabs. The very first ship that was scab-loaded and sent to the U-S, we just refused to touch it. We would not unload it. And the cargo²⁸, which on this particular ship was refrigerated beef and lamb, just sat in the harbor in Los Angeles and rotted. We weren’t the only union in the world to take similar actions against scab-loaded ships from Australia and so the result was that basically they had to cave in and make a new deal with the union and gave the workers back their jobs.

 

Most analysts say regardless of the number of union members, the labor movement will not die as long as there are employers and employees. If workers feel they are exploited, sooner or later they find ways to organize and fight for their interests.

 

For focus, I’m Zlatica Hoke.

 

注释：

speculation [7spekju5leiFEn] n. 思索

curtail [kE:5teil] vt. 缩减，剥夺（某人的）特权

wield [wi:ld] vt. 支配；掌握

garner [5^B:nE] v. 收集

solidarity [sRli5dAriti] n. 团结；一致

erode¹⁴ [i5rEud] vt. 侵蚀

sluggish [5slQ^iF] adj. 缓慢的

succumb²¹ [sE5kQm] vi. 屈服，屈从

inevitable [in5evitEbl] adj. 不可避免的，必然的

demise [di5maiz] n. 死亡

maritime [5mAritaim] adj. 海员的

longshore [5lRNFC:(r)] adj. 沿岸的，在海岸工作的

lock out 把……关在外面

dock [dCk] n. <美> 码头

scab [skAb] n. 不参加罢工的工人

exploit [iks5plCit] vt. 剥削

1 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。

2 speculation   

n.思索，沉思；猜测；投机

参考例句：

• Her mind is occupied with speculation.她的头脑忙于思考。
• There is widespread speculation that he is going to resign.人们普遍推测他要辞职。

3 relic   

n.神圣的遗物，遗迹，纪念物

参考例句：

• This stone axe is a relic of ancient times.这石斧是古代的遗物。
• He found himself thinking of the man as a relic from the past.他把这个男人看成是过去时代的人物。

4 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。

5 ballot   

n.（不记名）投票，投票总数，投票权；vi.投票

参考例句：

• The members have demanded a ballot.会员们要求投票表决。
• The union said they will ballot members on whether to strike.工会称他们将要求会员投票表决是否罢工。

6 curtail   

vt.截短，缩短；削减

参考例句：

• The government hopes to curtail public spending.政府希望缩减公共事业开支。
• The minister had to curtail his visit.部长不得不缩短访问日期。

7 wield   

vt.行使，运用，支配；挥，使用(武器等)

参考例句：

• They wield enormous political power.他们行使巨大的政治权力。
• People may wield the power in a democracy.在民主国家里，人民可以行使权力。

8 steadily   

adv.稳定地；不变地；持续地

参考例句：

• The scope of man's use of natural resources will steadily grow.人类利用自然资源的广度将日益扩大。
• Our educational reform was steadily led onto the correct path.我们的教学改革慢慢上轨道了。

9 sector   

n.部门，部分；防御地段，防区；扇形

参考例句：

• The export sector will aid the economic recovery. 出口产业将促进经济复苏。
• The enemy have attacked the British sector.敌人已进攻英国防区。

10 garner   

v.收藏；取得

参考例句：

• He has garnered extensive support for his proposals.他的提议得到了广泛的支持。
• Squirrels garner nuts for the winter.松鼠为过冬储存松果。

11 treasury   

n.宝库；国库，金库；文库

参考例句：

• The Treasury was opposed in principle to the proposals.财政部原则上反对这些提案。
• This book is a treasury of useful information.这本书是有价值的信息宝库。

12 negotiation   

n.谈判，协商

参考例句：

• They closed the deal in sugar after a week of negotiation.经过一星期的谈判，他们的食糖生意成交了。
• The negotiation dragged on until July.谈判一直拖到7月份。

13 solidarity   

n.团结；休戚相关

参考例句：

• They must preserve their solidarity.他们必须维护他们的团结。
• The solidarity among China's various nationalities is as firm as a rock.中国各族人民之间的团结坚如磐石。

14 erode   

v.侵蚀，腐蚀，使...减少、减弱或消失

参考例句：

• Once exposed,soil is quickly eroded by wind and rain.一旦暴露在外，土壤很快就会被风雨侵蚀。
• Competition in the financial marketplace has eroded profits.金融市场的竞争降低了利润。

15 eroded   

adj. 被侵蚀的，有蚀痕的 动词erode的过去式和过去分词形式

参考例句：

• The cliff face has been steadily eroded by the sea. 峭壁表面逐渐被海水侵蚀。
• The stream eroded a channel in the solid rock. 小溪在硬石中侵蚀成一条水道。

16 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。

17 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。

18 inflexible   

adj.不可改变的，不受影响的，不屈服的

参考例句：

• Charles was a man of settled habits and inflexible routine.查尔斯是一个恪守习惯、生活规律不容打乱的人。
• The new plastic is completely inflexible.这种新塑料是完全不可弯曲的。

19 sluggish   

adj.懒惰的，迟钝的，无精打采的

参考例句：

• This humid heat makes you feel rather sluggish.这种湿热的天气使人感到懒洋洋的。
• Circulation is much more sluggish in the feet than in the hands.脚部的循环比手部的循环缓慢得多。

20 socialist   

n.社会主义者；adj.社会主义的

参考例句：

• China is a socialist country,and a developing country as well.中国是一个社会主义国家，也是一个发展中国家。
• His father was an ardent socialist.他父亲是一个热情的社会主义者。

21 succumb   

v.屈服，屈从；死

参考例句：

• They will never succumb to the enemies.他们决不向敌人屈服。
• Will business leaders succumb to these ideas?商业领袖们会被这些观点折服吗？

22 succumbed   

不再抵抗（诱惑、疾病、攻击等）( succumb的过去式和过去分词 )； 屈从； 被压垮； 死

参考例句：

• The town succumbed after a short siege. 该城被围困不久即告失守。
• After an artillery bombardment lasting several days the town finally succumbed. 在持续炮轰数日后，该城终于屈服了。

23 inevitable   

adj.不可避免的，必然发生的

参考例句：

• Mary was wearing her inevitable large hat.玛丽戴着她总是戴的那顶大帽子。
• The defeat had inevitable consequences for British policy.战败对英国政策不可避免地产生了影响。

24 demise   

n.死亡；v.让渡，遗赠，转让

参考例句：

• He praised the union's aims but predicted its early demise.他赞扬协会的目标，但预期这一协会很快会消亡。
• The war brought about the industry's sudden demise.战争道致这个行业就这么突然垮了。

25 unprecedented   

adj.无前例的，新奇的

参考例句：

• The air crash caused an unprecedented number of deaths.这次空难的死亡人数是空前的。
• A flood of this sort is really unprecedented.这样大的洪水真是十年九不遇。

26 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。

27 maritime   

adj.海的，海事的，航海的，近海的，沿海的

参考例句：

• Many maritime people are fishermen.许多居于海滨的人是渔夫。
• The temperature change in winter is less in maritime areas.冬季沿海的温差较小。

28 cargo   

n.(一只船或一架飞机运载的)货物

参考例句：

• The ship has a cargo of about 200 ton.这条船大约有200吨的货物。
• A lot of people discharged the cargo from a ship.许多人从船上卸下货物。