Labor’s Hard Choice in Amazon Age: Play Along or Get Tough 科技巨頭亞馬遜時代下 勞工的艱難選擇


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讀紐時學英文
2019/04/05 第257期 訂閱/退訂看歷史報份
 
 
紐時周報精選 Labor's Hard Choice in Amazon Age: Play Along or Get Tough 科技巨頭亞馬遜時代下 勞工的艱難選擇
Businesses can deliver everything on demand, from dinner to dry cleaning. Now, entrepreneurs are exploring a growing niche: heal
紐時周報精選
 
Labor's Hard Choice in Amazon Age: Play Along or Get Tough 科技巨頭亞馬遜時代下 勞工的艱難選擇
文/Noam Scheibe
譯/李京倫

It's one of the most vexing challenges facing the labor movement: how to wield influence in an era increasingly dominated by technology giants that are often resistant to unions.

Are workers best served when unions take an adversarial stance toward such companies? Or should labor groups seek cooperation with employers, even if the resulting deals do little to advance labor's broader goals?

這是勞工運動面臨的最苦惱挑戰之一:在經常抗拒工會的科技巨頭日益掌握主導權的時代,如何發揮影響力?

工會對這類公司採取對立態度,是否對勞工最有利?抑或勞工團體該設法跟雇主合作,就算因而產生的協商結果對推進勞工更廣泛的目標幾無助益?

The debate has flared up around labor's efforts to make inroads with the likes of Uber and Airbnb, businesses that allow drivers and homeowners to earn income as contractors. And it was on vivid display in the political battle over Amazon's plan to create a new headquarters in New York with 25,000 jobs.

在勞工努力向優步和Airbnb這類公司爭取權益之際,這種討論也隨之熱烈起來。這兩家公司允許駕駛人和屋主作為承包商賺取收入。電商巨擘亞馬遜計畫在紐約設置第二總部並創造兩萬五千個工作機會,在這場政治角力中,這種爭論清晰呈現。

The plan fell apart in the face of a backlash over public subsidies, resentment of the covert process in which the city and the state negotiated the deal, and concern about its neighborhood impact. But labor issues were also a factor, giving rise to tensions even among unions.

亞馬遜的計畫胎死腹中,因為面臨大眾對公家補貼的反彈、對紐約市和州政府協商交易過程不透明的厭惡、以及對新總部衝擊鄰近社區的憂慮。不過,勞工議題也是因素之一,以致就連工會之間都關係緊張。

In the more confrontational camp were labor groups led by the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union, which called on the city and the state to withhold nearly $3 billion in subsidies unless Amazon established a "fair process" for its warehouse workers in the city to unionize. The retail workers said they were open to negotiating what that meant.

採取較為對抗態度的陣營是由「零售、批發與百貨公司工會」領軍的一些勞工團體,這個工會要求紐約市與州政府先扣留近30億美元補貼,直到亞馬遜建立「公平程序」,讓亞馬遜在紐約市的倉庫工人能組成或加入工會。這群零售業勞工說,他們願意就公平程序的實質內容進行協商。

"I think we stood on principle," said Stuart Appelbaum, the retail workers' president. "If you're aggressively anti-union, we shouldn't be giving you subsidies."

零售工會主席艾普鮑姆說:「我認為我們堅守著原則,如果你大力反對工會,我們就不該給你補貼。」

A company executive told the City Council in January that Amazon would not remain neutral in an organizing campaign at its local facilities, though an Amazon spokesman said last month"We respect the rights of our employees to choose to join or not join a union."

亞馬遜一名高階主管1月對紐約市議會說,亞馬遜不會對其紐約設施組織工會的活動保持中立,不過亞馬遜一名發言人上個月說:「我們尊重員工選擇加入或不加入工會的權利。」

In the engagement camp was the local council of building trade unions, whose members were likely to get work from Amazon's Queens construction. They were joined by a Service Employees International Union local, which had gained the right to represent janitors and other service workers at the Queens complex.

採取接觸態度的陣營則是建築工會紐約委員會,其成員很可能取得亞馬遜在紐約皇后區的建案工程。「服務業雇員國際工會」紐約分會也加入他們的行列,紐約分會已獲得權利,能代表亞馬遜皇后區建築群的管理員與其他服務業勞工。

"Their presence in New York — a progressive community, a union town — was eventually going to lead to some potential change down the road," said Héctor J. Figueroa, president of the service employees local, known as 32BJ.

服務業雇員工會紐約分會通稱「32BJ」,主席費格羅亞說:「他們存在於紐約這個進步社區和工會重鎮,終將導致未來一些潛在的改變。」

※說文解字看新聞【李京倫】

反對工會的亞馬遜打算在紐約皇后區設置第二總部,本文探討當地工會的選擇:硬碰還是配合?

give rise to與lead to中文都是「導致」,不過,give rise to較正式,通常指引發負面的事,如:His speech gave rise to a bitter argument.又如:The president's absence has given rise to speculation about his health.

lead to較無限制,可接正面或負面的事,如:a process of negotiation leading to a peaceful settlement。

resistant、adversarial、confrontational乍看都是「敵對、對抗的」,但用法不同。resistant指「反對某事,而且想阻止它發生」,如:Many managers are resistant to change.

adversarial通常指兩方互相反對和攻擊,如:the adversarial nature of two-party politics。

confrontational是指「很可能引發爭論或令人生氣」,如:a confrontational style of management。

 
Businesses can deliver everything on demand, from dinner to dry cleaning. Now, entrepreneurs are exploring a growing niche: heal
文/Janet Morrissey
譯/陳韋廷

企業界可依照需求提供從晚餐到乾洗等各種隨選服務。現在,創業家正在探索一個不斷成長的利基點:醫療保健。

Startups are offering access to doctors, prescription drugs and wellness programs as fast and easy as hailing an Uber driver. Experts say this is the early stages of a movement that could disrupt the health services industry, which critics have long contended suffers from soaring costs and reduced access to care.

透過新創公司取得醫生的服務、處方藥與保健方案,就像呼叫優步司機一樣既快又容易。專家說,一項新運動目前正處於起步階段,而這項運動可能會使醫療服務業大受震撼。批評者長期以來認為醫療服務業價格不斷飆升,提供的服務卻在減少。

"Health care delivery is so broken that we need to explore new channels — new conduits — and this represents one of them," said Dr. Eric Topol, a cardiologist and author of "The Patient Will See You Now."

心臟病學家暨《未來醫療》一書作者艾瑞克.托普博士說:「醫療保健服務的提供已失靈到我們需要探索新管道的地步,而這正是其中之一。」

The on-demand economy, which offers consumers immediate access to goods and services, surged 58 percent in 2017 from the previous year to an estimated $75.7 billion, according to a study by Rockbridge Associates, a market research firm.

根據市場研究公司Rockbridge Associates的調查,讓消費者能立刻獲得商品與服務的隨選經濟,2017年規模較前一年成長58%,約達757億美元。

As the industry swells, dozens of health and wellness companies are tapping the trend.

隨著產業蓬勃發展,數十家醫療和保健公司正在利用此一趨勢。

Heal, DispatchHealth, MedZed, Dose Healthcare and Pager will send a doctor or a nurse practitioner to a person's home or workplace to treat nonemergency problems like strep throat or a sprained ankle. The I.V. Doc offers intravenous treatments for conditions like jet lag, hangovers and food poisoning. And Capsule will deliver prescriptions to a person's doorstep.

新創公司Heal、MedZed、DispatchHealth、Dose Healthcare及Pager會派一名醫生或執業護理師到一個人的家裡或工作場所,以處理鏈球菌咽喉炎或腳踝扭傷等不須急救的問題,IV Doc則為時差、宿醉與食物中毒等情況提供靜脈注射治療,而Capsule會將處方藥送到你家門口。

Some startups — especially on-demand medical companies, like Heal and DispatchHealth — needed substantial cash to hire doctors, lease vehicles and bring in administrative staff to handle insurance claims.

一些新創公司,尤其像是Heal跟DispatchHealth這樣的隨選醫療公司,需要大量現金以聘請醫生、租賃車輛,並雇用行政人員來處理保險請領。

Cue the investors.

提醒投資人們。

Samir M. Patel, a principal and co-founder of IRA Capital, was so impressed with Heal after using it for at-home visits and an annual physical in his office that he became an investor.

薩米.帕特爾是IRA資本公司負責人兼共同創辦人,在使用到府服務,並在自己辦公室做年度體檢後,對Heal醫療公司印象極佳,也因此成了投資人。

But the potential to be the next "unicorn" — a startup valued at $1 billion or more — has created a crowded field.

由於參與者有望成為下一個「獨角獸」,也就是市值10億美元以上的新創公司,這個領域已經頗為擁擠。

The popularity of the I.V. Doc prompted a flurry of smaller companies, like IVDrips, Drip Hydration and the Hangover Club/NutriDrip, to offer similar services — sometimes at cheaper prices. To fend off competition, the I.V. Doc recently expanded to offer injectable drugs, like Botox and Restylane, as well as postoperative care for plastic surgery.

IV Doc大受歡迎,促使一些較小的公司如IVDrips,Drip Hydration與Hangover Club或NutriDrip提供類似服務,有時候收費更低。為了擺脫競爭,IV Doc近來擴大服務範圍,開始提供注射藥物如保妥適肉毒桿菌素與瑞絲朗玻尿酸,以及整形手術的術後照護。

 
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