PBS高端访谈:劳工部长佩雷斯表示：美国的劳动者需要“平等的竞争环境”

 　　JUDY WOODRUFF: Jobs numbers in the United States are due later this week, and they're expected to show hiring continues at a moderate pace.

　　But, even as the economy recovers slowly, there are other worries, including a lack of progress on wages.

　　That was the subject when Ray Suarez sat down with the secretary of labor¹ recently.

　　RAY SUAREZ: Labor issues frequently don't capture the top headlines, but the question of a living wage is moving front and center of late.

　　Protests by fast food workers have helped raise the profile of the issue.

　　In the largest demonstration² yet, workers from 60 cities walked off the job last week.

　　They're seeking $15 an hour and the right to unionize.

　　Many restaurant owners say those added costs would make it too difficult to maintain their businesses.

　　For his part, President Obama has called for raising the federal minimum wage to $9 an hour, up from the current level of $7.25.

　　Labor Secretary Thomas Perez is a key voice for dealing³ with these and other issues.

　　He was just recently confirmed by the Senate.

　　And welcome to the NewsHour.

　　SECRETARY OF LABOR THOMAS PEREZ: It's a pleasure to be here, Ray.

　　RAY SUAREZ: We saw in many places fast food restaurants with workers outside leafletting, trying to tell the public where they stand.

　　Recently, you wrote: "People who work full-time⁴ in America shouldn't have to live in poverty, simple as that."

　　But how do you change a marketplace that manages to get people to come in to work on very low wages?

　　THOMAS PEREZ: Well, I think you take a page out of what happened 50 years ago.

　　We just celebrated⁵ the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington.

　　And that wasn't simply a march for civil rights, as you know. It was a march for economic justice.

　　And one of the demands of the marchers was a fair and decent wage.

　　And that is really what the president is calling for in this context, because nobody should have to live in poverty who is working a full-time job.

　　And there are a lot of myths about minimum wage workers: They're all teenagers.

　　That's just categorically inaccurate⁶. And in order to get people up to the ladder of opportunity, they need to make a decent wage.

　　And for all too many people across America, the rungs between the ladder are growing further and further apart.

　　RAY SUAREZ: The share of the American work force that is represented by labor unions has dropped pretty significantly in recent decades.

　　Is organized labor still important, or does the secretary of labor have to look more broadly to employers when talking about the fate of American workers?

　　THOMAS PEREZ: I think the answer to your question is both. Organized labor is still important.

　　I grew up in Buffalo⁷, N.Y., a strong union town, and labor unions continue to play an important role there and across America.

　　At the same time, we need to make sure that we're not talking about yesterday's battles, us against them, labor against management.

　　We need to be focused on tomorrow's challenges. We're all in this together.

　　That's what I learned in Maryland when we were trying to create jobs.

　　And you look at the partnerships⁹ in Nevada between the labor unions and the large employers, MGM and others.

　　You look at the partnerships in New York City between SEIU and the health care system.

　　They have come together around an understanding that if we're going to bring jobs back to America, whether it's manufacturing, service or otherwise,

　　we have to come together around a shared vision and a shared understanding, and leave yesterday's battles behind, and come together around a joint¹⁰ need for skill development and partnership⁸.

　　RAY SUAREZ: Has the law in many places in the country just made it too hard to organize if you're a group of workers who would like to be represented by a union?

　　THOMAS PEREZ: Well, it's up to each state in terms of whether they want to pass right-to-work laws.

　　I happen to believe, as the president does, that right-to-work laws are not good public policy.

　　That is a state judgment¹¹. And in those states, it has been more difficult to organize.

　　I would like to see a level playing field, so that workers can make a full and fair choice, and some states have that and some states don't.

　　But, again, I -- what heartens me as much as anything is I think there's an acute recognition in the labor movement and among responsible employers that we can't fight yesterday's battles anymore.

　　If we're going to bring jobs back, if we're going to build a robust¹² economy, we have got to recognize that we're all in this together.

　　RAY SUAREZ: Your department has recently put in place targets, new targets for people who do business with the federal government for hiring disabled workers and veterans.

　　How does that work and what is that meant to respond to?

　　THOMAS PEREZ: Well, what it's meant to respond so is that the promise of the Americans With Disabilities Act, that that law has been a game-changer.

　　But, in the employment context, there are still stubbornly high unemployment rates among people with disabilities.

　　Now, how many people do you meet, Ray, who come up to you and say, I want to be a taxpayer¹³?

　　That's what people with disabilities tell me.

　　And what this regulation sets in place is that, for veterans with disabilities, for people with disabilities, employers need to set targets, their goals.

　　And they need to have a plan to make sure that when you're looking at a person with a disability, you're focused on their ability, not their disability.

　　And I applaud employers like Walgreens and Sodexo others who have already exceeded these goals and are models for the nation.

　　And I'm confident that this will open up windows of opportunity for people with disabilities.

　　RAY SUAREZ: A group of H.R. managers and large employers have gotten together to complain that this puts them in the position of asking their prospective¹⁴ workers about possible disabilities in a way they wouldn't have before.

　　In effect, they're saying the federal government is forcing us to invade their privacy.

　　How do you respond to that?

　　THOMAS PEREZ: It's incorrect.

　　There's no requirement on the prospective employee to answer any questions.

　　All the questions are voluntary. And, again, I would go back to all of these employers, large and small, as I mentioned, Walgreens, Ernst & Young, others, who issued statements strongly supporting this initiative.

　　This isn't a partisan¹⁵ initiative.

　　RAY SUAREZ: There's so much to talk to you about, but I'm going to have to close with a question about the long-term unemployed¹⁶...

　　THOMAS PEREZ: Sure.

　　RAY SUAREZ: ... because, while the unemployment rate has been coming down steadily¹⁷, not -- perhaps not as fast as the administration and the American people would like,

　　but it has come down -- people who have been unemployed for a long time are having a terrible, terrible time getting jobs.

　　What can we do for them?

　　THOMAS PEREZ: Well, we can do a lot.

　　And you're correct that, while the economy is slowly and steadily growing, we have to go at a faster pace.

　　And, in particular, we need to address the needs of the long-term unemployed. And the president has been talking about this issue specifically and a number of things that we can do.

　　Number one, we have been talking about with employers.

　　And, as recently as a few days ago, I engaged in this precise conversation about what we can do to identify employers with best practices for hiring the long-term unemployed, making sure that there aren't inadvertent barriers in place that screen out the long-term unemployed.

　　Secondly¹⁸ and equally, if not more importantly, investing in skills, because the thing I hear the most in my conversations with CEOs across the country is, I am -- for every job I have, I have 50 or 60 percent of the applicants¹⁹ don't have the skills necessary to do the jobs.

　　And so we're -- the Department of Labor is a department of opportunity.

　　And the way we enhance opportunity is by making sure that people have the skills to succeed.

　　RAY SUAREZ: Thomas Perez is the secretary of labor.

　　Thanks for joining us.

　　THOMAS PEREZ: It's a pleasure.

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 demonstration   

n.表明，示范，论证，示威

参考例句：

• His new book is a demonstration of his patriotism.他写的新书是他的爱国精神的证明。
• He gave a demonstration of the new technique then and there.他当场表演了这种新的操作方法。

3 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

4 full-time   

adj.满工作日的或工作周的，全时间的

参考例句：

• A full-time job may be too much for her.全天工作她恐怕吃不消。
• I don't know how she copes with looking after her family and doing a full-time job.既要照顾家庭又要全天工作，我不知道她是如何对付的。

5 celebrated   

adj.有名的，声誉卓著的

参考例句：

• He was soon one of the most celebrated young painters in England.不久他就成了英格兰最负盛名的年轻画家之一。
• The celebrated violinist was mobbed by the audience.观众团团围住了这位著名的小提琴演奏家。

6 inaccurate   

adj.错误的，不正确的，不准确的

参考例句：

• The book is both inaccurate and exaggerated.这本书不但不准确，而且夸大其词。
• She never knows the right time because her watch is inaccurate.她从来不知道准确的时间因为她的表不准。

7 buffalo   

n.(北美)野牛；(亚洲)水牛

参考例句：

• Asian buffalo isn't as wild as that of America's. 亚洲水牛比美洲水牛温顺些。
• The boots are made of buffalo hide. 这双靴子是由水牛皮制成的。

8 partnership   

n.合作关系，伙伴关系

参考例句：

• The company has gone into partnership with Swiss Bank Corporation.这家公司已经和瑞士银行公司建立合作关系。
• Martin has taken him into general partnership in his company.马丁已让他成为公司的普通合伙人。

9 partnerships   

n.伙伴关系( partnership的名词复数 )；合伙人身份；合作关系

参考例句：

• Partnerships suffer another major disadvantage: decision-making is shared. 合伙企业的另一主要缺点是决定要由大家来作。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件
• It involved selling off limited partnerships. 它涉及到售出有限的合伙权。 来自辞典例句

10 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

11 judgment   

n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见

参考例句：

• The chairman flatters himself on his judgment of people.主席自认为他审视人比别人高明。
• He's a man of excellent judgment.他眼力过人。

12 robust   

adj.强壮的，强健的，粗野的，需要体力的，浓的

参考例句：

• She is too tall and robust.她个子太高，身体太壮。
• China wants to keep growth robust to reduce poverty and avoid job losses,AP commented.美联社评论道，中国希望保持经济强势增长，以减少贫困和失业状况。

13 taxpayer   

n.纳税人

参考例句：

• The new scheme will run off with a lot of the taxpayer's money.这项新计划将用去纳税人许多钱。
• The taxpayer are unfavourably disposed towards the recent tax increase.纳税者对最近的增加税收十分反感。

14 prospective   

adj.预期的，未来的，前瞻性的

参考例句：

• The story should act as a warning to other prospective buyers.这篇报道应该对其他潜在的购买者起到警示作用。
• They have all these great activities for prospective freshmen.这会举办各种各样的活动来招待未来的新人。

15 partisan   

adj.党派性的；游击队的；n.游击队员；党徒

参考例句：

• In their anger they forget all the partisan quarrels.愤怒之中，他们忘掉一切党派之争。
• The numerous newly created partisan detachments began working slowly towards that region.许多新建的游击队都开始慢慢地向那里移动。

16 unemployed   

adj.失业的，没有工作的；未动用的，闲置的

参考例句：

• There are now over four million unemployed workers in this country.这个国家现有四百万失业人员。
• The unemployed hunger for jobs.失业者渴望得到工作。

17 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。

18 secondly   

adv.第二，其次

参考例句：

• Secondly,use your own head and present your point of view.第二，动脑筋提出自己的见解。
• Secondly it is necessary to define the applied load.其次，需要确定所作用的载荷。

19 applicants   

申请人，求职人( applicant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• There were over 500 applicants for the job. 有500多人申请这份工作。
• He was impressed by the high calibre of applicants for the job. 求职人员出色的能力给他留下了深刻印象。