Democrats hope growing union support will boost their showing in midterms

Democrats² hope growing union support will boost their showing in midterms

Transcript³

Democrats hope to benefit from rising support for unions — even as they face a brutal⁴ path to maintaining control of Congress in this fall's midterm elections.

LEILA FADEL, HOST:

Over the past few years, Democrats appear to have lost support from working-class voters. Unions offer a chance to change that. High-profile attempts to unionize places like Amazon and Starbucks have workers fired up. And as Stephan Bisaha of the Gulf⁶ States Newsroom reports, that's giving Democrats a chance to reach the midterm voters they desperately⁷ need.

STEPHAN BISAHA, BYLINE⁸: On paper, it would seem Democrats would not have a shot at winning over Rily Hughlett. He's an Alabama coal miner who votes to protect the Second Amendment⁹, opposes abortion¹⁰ and keeps Fox News muted in the background. But he's also a union man who's been on strike for the past year, manning the picket¹¹ line and attending weekly rallies. And at one of those rallies, lunch was paid for by Senator Bernie Sanders.

RILY HUGHLETT: Yeah, he did. He did. Bernie Sanders, imagine that.

BISAHA: Hughlett's giving some begrudging¹² respect to Sanders for not just paying for lunch, but raising $30,000 for the United Mine Workers of America's strike fund. That's been an essential part of keeping striking miners ahead of their bills.

HUGHLETT: You know, the man stepped up. I'm shocked. But at least it points that he's a decent person.

BISAHA: I met coal miner Jeffrey Fleenor (ph) at a rally in Brookwood, Ala. He was also impressed Sanders picked up the lunch tab.

JEFFREY FLEENOR: I believe it was Jim 'N Nick's Bar-B-Q. I appreciate that.

BISAHA: Fleenor does not see eye to eye politically with Democrats on everything, but he says he doesn't need to to share common ground.

FLEENOR: You know, I think that's what we're lacking in America. You know, we've let somebody's politics get too divisive that we need to come back in the middle and try to find common ground again.

BISAHA: And when it comes to common ground, unions are a pretty good option. Yes, union membership is tied for an all-time low in this country. But approval for unions is at its highest point since 1965, according to Gallup. Big companies like Kellogg's were hit by strikes last year, and organizing campaigns picked up at companies like Amazon and Starbucks. All this gives Democrats a chance to attract not just union members, but voters excited over labor¹³ issues, voters Democrats are losing on everything else from inflation to crime. But Sanders' union outreach has not been the norm for Democrats, according to Dorian Warren with the left-leaning Economic Security Project.

DORIAN WARREN: It is mind-boggling to me why this wouldn't be a fundamental and core priority of Democratic Party leadership.

BISAHA: The party had pushed the PRO⁵ Act, which would make unionizing easier. But it's both stalled and taken a backseat to other bills. Democrats have also had their standing¹⁴ as the party for the working class taken over by Donald Trump¹⁵. The former president's blue collar appeal turned blue states, like Michigan and Wisconsin, purple. Striking Alabama coal miner Matthew Wright (ph) says Trump's good for workers.

MATTHEW WRIGHT: Very good for workers. He keep you working - because the Democrats, they don't want you to work. They want you to stay home and draw a little, bitty check, where they can control you. Not me.

BISAHA: Yet Republicans have also been reluctant to side with unions. Alabama Senator Tommy Tuberville denounced a Democrat¹-led Senate hearing looking at Alabama's coal miners' strike.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

TOMMY TUBERVILLE: This hearing is what I call the dream Democrat political parlay, where members can be pro-union, anti-Wall Street and anti-mining production all in one hearing.

HUGHLETT: Well, I won't be voting for him no more.

BISAHA: That's Rily Hughlett again, one of the striking miners. He was not happy when he heard Tuberville defended Warrior¹⁶ Met Coal, the company Hughlett's striking against.

HUGHLETT: He sucks (laughter). If you - you're either for the people or you're not. Some people, they talk out of two sides of their face.

BISAHA: Tuberville may have lost Hughlett, but Hughlett says Democrats have to do a little more work to earn his vote.

For NPR News, I'm Stephan Bisaha in Birmingham.

(SOUNDBITE OF NERIJA'S "EQUANIMOUS")

1 democrat   

n.民主主义者，民主人士；民主党党员

参考例句：

• The Democrat and the Public criticized each other.民主党人和共和党人互相攻击。
• About two years later,he was defeated by Democrat Jimmy Carter.大约两年后，他被民主党人杰米卡特击败。

2 democrats   

n.民主主义者，民主人士( democrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Democrats held a pep rally on Capitol Hill yesterday. 民主党昨天在国会山召开了竞选誓师大会。
• The democrats organize a filibuster in the senate. 民主党党员组织了阻挠议事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 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。

4 brutal   

adj.残忍的，野蛮的，不讲理的

参考例句：

• She has to face the brutal reality.她不得不去面对冷酷的现实。
• They're brutal people behind their civilised veneer.他们表面上温文有礼，骨子里却是野蛮残忍。

5 pro   

n.赞成，赞成的意见，赞成者

参考例句：

• The two debating teams argued the question pro and con.辩论的两组从赞成与反对两方面辩这一问题。
• Are you pro or con nuclear disarmament?你是赞成还是反对核裁军？

6 gulf   

n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂

参考例句：

• The gulf between the two leaders cannot be bridged.两位领导人之间的鸿沟难以跨越。
• There is a gulf between the two cities.这两座城市间有个海湾。

7 desperately   

adv.极度渴望地，绝望地，孤注一掷地

参考例句：

• He was desperately seeking a way to see her again.他正拼命想办法再见她一面。
• He longed desperately to be back at home.他非常渴望回家。

8 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。

9 amendment   

n.改正，修正，改善，修正案

参考例句：

• The amendment was rejected by 207 voters to 143.这项修正案以207票对143票被否决。
• The Opposition has tabled an amendment to the bill.反对党已经就该议案提交了一项修正条款。

10 abortion   

n.流产，堕胎

参考例句：

• She had an abortion at the women's health clinic.她在妇女保健医院做了流产手术。
• A number of considerations have led her to have a wilful abortion.多种考虑使她执意堕胎。

11 picket   

n.纠察队；警戒哨；v.设置纠察线；布置警卫

参考例句：

• They marched to the factory and formed a picket.他们向工厂前进,并组成了纠察队。
• Some of the union members did not want to picket.工会的一些会员不想担任罢工纠察员。

12 begrudging   

嫉妒( begrudge的现在分词 )； 勉强做； 不乐意地付出； 吝惜

参考例句：

13 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。

14 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

15 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。

16 warrior   

n.勇士，武士，斗士

参考例句：

• The young man is a bold warrior.这个年轻人是个很英勇的武士。
• A true warrior values glory and honor above life.一个真正的勇士珍视荣誉胜过生命。