美国国家公共电台 NPR Newsroom To 'Chicago Tribune': With 85 Percent Backing, We Have Votes For Union

 

RACHEL MARTIN, BYLINE¹: Journalists at the Chicago Tribune say they're one step closer to unionizing. They voted overwhelmingly in favor of it and have given the paper's owners 24 hours to respond. It's a big turnaround for the paper, which has historically been nonunion and proud of it. NPR's David Folkenflik has been following this, and he joins us from our studios in New York.

Hey, David.

DAVID FOLKENFLIK, BYLINE: Hey, Rachel.

MARTIN: So the Chicago Tribune is owned by Tronc, formerly² known as Tribune Publishing. So how are the paper's owners going to respond to this?

FOLKENFLIK: Well, so the labor³ organizers say that 85 percent of the journalists who would be in this bargaining unit have said that they've signed union authorization⁴ cards, and it means if they would go to a vote, it looks like they would win overwhelmingly. So right now Tronc is trying to figure this out. It appears as though they're hiring, I'm told, some fairly serious labor relations lawyers. And the question is whether they accede⁵ to reality or buy them some time, kick the can down the line and force the union to go to the National Labor Relations Board for a federally overseen⁶ vote, which it would appear that the newsroom union would win overwhelmingly.

MARTIN: Huh. So basically, the journalists at the paper saying, we want to do this; most of us want to do this; you can either help us do it a short way or make us go through all the hoops⁷. And...

FOLKENFLIK: That's right.

MARTIN: The paper might just do that. So why is this happening now? What's the motivation behind the union effort at this point?

FOLKENFLIK: Well, there have been two waves of layoffs⁸ at the Chicago Tribune just in the past six, seven months. And that's followed years of financial instability. There was a bankruptcy⁹ and debt, waves of cuts and consolidation¹⁰. I think the Tribune - this is very rough numbers - about a third as large as it was at its height, and they say they want to have job protection, and they say they want to ensure the quality of coverage¹¹ over time to the people of greater Chicago. And that's why they're standing¹² up and doing this.

MARTIN: There was an early - or an earlier effort at forming a union at the Tribune's sister publication - right? - the LA Times. What ended up happening there?

FOLKENFLIK: They won overwhelmingly, as well, after months of internal turmoil¹³ at the Times over the paper's publisher, the paper's editor in chief and plans to outsource a significant amount of digital jobs in a way that would have generated a ton of volume of content outside the control of places like LA, Chicago, Baltimore and their other newsrooms. Tronc was so appalled¹⁴ and fought that fiercely. Tronc sold the paper not - you know, less than three weeks after the fact. That sale is expected to go through in coming weeks. And the real question is what they're going to do now, you know? The chairman of Tronc, who is the controlling minority owner, effectively sold his shares after he was enmeshed in this sexual harassment¹⁵ scandal, but he got out of the company and sold his shares to a relative of the former owner of Tribune, the McCormick family. So there's a question as what they're going to do in response, how hard they're going to fight at this moment.

MARTIN: All right, NPR media correspondent David Folkenflik reporting this morning from our studios in New York. David, thanks so much.

FOLKENFLIK: You bet.

1 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。

2 formerly   

adv.从前，以前

参考例句：

• We now enjoy these comforts of which formerly we had only heard.我们现在享受到了过去只是听说过的那些舒适条件。
• This boat was formerly used on the rivers of China.这船从前航行在中国内河里。

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 authorization   

n.授权，委任状

参考例句：

• Anglers are required to obtain prior authorization from the park keeper.垂钓者必须事先得到公园管理者的许可。
• You cannot take a day off without authorization.未经批准你不得休假。

5 accede   

v.应允，同意

参考例句：

• They are ready to accede to our request for further information.我们要是还需要资料，他们乐于随时提供。
• In a word,he will not accede to your proposal in the meeting.总而言之，他不会在会中赞成你的提议。

6 overseen   

v.监督，监视( oversee的过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He was overseen stealing the letters. 他被人撞见在偷信件。 来自辞典例句
• It will be overseen by ThomasLi, director of IBM China Research Laboratory. 该实验室由IBM中国研究院院长李实恭(ThomasLi)引导。 来自互联网

7 hoops   

n.箍( hoop的名词复数 )；（篮球）篮圈；（旧时儿童玩的）大环子；（两端埋在地里的）小铁弓

参考例句：

• a barrel bound with iron hoops 用铁箍箍紧的桶
• Hoops in Paris were wider this season and skirts were shorter. 在巴黎，这个季节的裙圈比较宽大，裙裾却短一些。 来自飘（部分）

8 layoffs   

临时解雇( layoff的名词复数 )； 停工，停止活动

参考例句：

• Textile companies announced 2000 fresh layoffs last week. 各纺织公司上周宣布再次裁员两千人。
• Stock prices broke when the firm suddenly announced layoffs. 当公司突然宣布裁员时，股票价格便大跌

9 bankruptcy   

n.破产；无偿付能力

参考例句：

• You will have to pull in if you want to escape bankruptcy.如果你想避免破产，就必须节省开支。
• His firm is just on thin ice of bankruptcy.他的商号正面临破产的危险。

10 consolidation   

n.合并,巩固

参考例句：

• The denser population necessitates closer consolidation both for internal and external action. 住得日益稠密的居民，对内和对外都不得不更紧密地团结起来。 来自英汉非文学 - 家庭、私有制和国家的起源
• The state ensures the consolidation and growth of the state economy. 国家保障国营经济的巩固和发展。 来自汉英非文学 - 中国宪法

11 coverage   

n.报导，保险范围，保险额，范围，覆盖

参考例句：

• There's little coverage of foreign news in the newspaper.报纸上几乎没有国外新闻报道。
• This is an insurance policy with extensive coverage.这是一项承保范围广泛的保险。

12 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。

13 turmoil   

n.骚乱，混乱，动乱

参考例句：

• His mind was in such a turmoil that he couldn't get to sleep.内心的纷扰使他无法入睡。
• The robbery put the village in a turmoil.抢劫使全村陷入混乱。

14 appalled   

v.使惊骇，使充满恐惧( appall的过去式和过去分词)adj.惊骇的；丧胆的

参考例句：

• The brutality of the crime has appalled the public. 罪行之残暴使公众大为震惊。
• They were appalled by the reports of the nuclear war. 他们被核战争的报道吓坏了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

15 harassment   

n.骚扰，扰乱，烦恼，烦乱

参考例句：

• She often got telephone harassment at night these days.这些天她经常在夜晚受到电话骚扰。
• The company prohibits any form of harassment.公司禁止任何形式的骚扰行为。