IN THE NEWS - Bush Invokes Taft-Hartley in Port Shutdown

IN THE NEWS - October 12, 2002: Bush Invokes¹ Taft-Hartley in Port Shutdown

By Caty Weaver²

This is Steve Ember with the VOA Special English program IN THE NEWS.

Twenty-nine industrial ports in the western United States are operating again. A judge in California this week
ordered the Pacific Maritime³ Association to re-open the ports. The association represents port operators and
shipping⁴ companies. It closed the West Coast ports in late September because of a dispute with the International
Longshore and Warehouse⁵ Union. The longshoremen’s union represents ten-thousand-five-hundred port
workers.

President Bush asked for the judge’s order. The president was permitted to do so under a measure called the
Taft-Hartley Act. He argued that the port closings were harming the nation’s economy and security. The
closings affected⁶ more than two-hundred ships filled with goods. Some reports said the dispute was costing the
United States about one-thousand-million dollars a day.

The Taft-Hartley Act became a law in nineteen-forty-seven. Its official name is the Labor⁷ Management Relations
Act. The measure reformed the National Labor Relations Act of nineteen-thirty-five. That law gave American
workers rights they had never known before. Its main goal was to give workers the right to form labor unions so
that they would have some power in dealing⁸ with their employers.

The National Labor Relations Act led to a huge increase in the number of union members. The number is
reported to have risen from fewer than four-million in nineteen-thirty-five to fifteen-million in nineteen-fortyseven. The power of unions expanded greatly as a result.

After World War Two, Congress moved to limit the power of organized labor. The Taft-Hartley Act barred rules
that had required union membership for all employees of a company. It also gave the president power to take
steps to end a work stoppage if it threatens national health or safety.

Mostly the act has been used to stop labor disputes. The president can seek a court order to force workers to
return to their jobs for eighty days. That is commonly called a “cooling off” period. The goal is to permit time
and create pressure for employers and workers to negotiate fairly.

However, unions oppose President Bush’s intervention⁹. They say it shows that his administration supports
business in labor disputes.

American Presidents have used the Taft-Hartley Act thirty-six times since it became law. The last time was in
nineteen-seventy-seven. President Jimmy Carter attempted to use the act to halt a strike by coal miners. The
miners refused to obey a judge’s back-to-work order. However, they later approved an agreement with the coal
companies.

Taft-Hartley also was used against the longshoreman’s union in nineteen-seventy-one. That was when a strike
forced the closing of all West Coast ports. President Nixon ordered a return to work and a cooling off period.
That strike ended after one-hundred-thirty-four days.

This Special English program, IN THE NEWS, was written by Caty Weaver. This is Steve Ember.

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1 invokes   

v.援引( invoke的第三人称单数 )；行使（权利等）；祈求救助；恳求

参考例句：

• The Roundtable statement invokes the principles of the free market system. 企业界圆桌会议的声明援用了自由市场制度的原则。 来自辞典例句
• When no more storage is available, the system invokes a garbage collector. 当没有可用的存贮时，系统就调用无用单元收集程序。 来自辞典例句

2 weaver   

n.织布工；编织者

参考例句：

• She was a fast weaver and the cloth was very good.她织布织得很快，而且布的质量很好。
• The eager weaver did not notice my confusion.热心的纺织工人没有注意到我的狼狈相。

3 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。

4 shipping   

n.船运（发货，运输，乘船）

参考例句：

• We struck a bargain with an American shipping firm.我们和一家美国船运公司谈成了一笔生意。
• There's a shipping charge of ￡5 added to the price.价格之外另加五英镑运输费。

5 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。

6 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

7 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。

8 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。

9 intervention   

n.介入，干涉，干预

参考例句：

• The government's intervention in this dispute will not help.政府对这场争论的干预不会起作用。
• Many people felt he would be hostile to the idea of foreign intervention.许多人觉得他会反对外来干预。