来源：《卫报》
原文刊登日期：2022年4月12日
Amazon, notoriously, does not like trade unions very much. In 2021, America’s wealthiest corporation spent around $4.3m hiring consultants to help keep them out of its warehouses. For years, the tech giant has waged scandalous campaigns across the US to discourage its million-strong workforce from seeking formal representation. At mandatory “captive audience” meetings, employees have been required to listen to anti-union lectures from their managers – and draw the right conclusions. Perceived troublemakers have allegedly been harassed and dismissed. And until this month, the bullying strategy had a 100% success rate.
众所周知，亚马逊不太喜欢工会。2021年，这家美国最富有的公司花了大约430万美元聘请顾问，好让工会远离仓库。多年来，这家科技巨头在美国各地开展了声名狼藉的活动，阻止其一百多万员工寻求正式代表。在强制性的“囚禁听众”会议上，员工被要求听取经理的反工会演讲，并得出正确的结论。据称，被认为是麻烦制造者的人遭到骚扰和解雇。直到本月，欺凌策略的成功率为100%。
All of which makes the pioneering establishment of the Amazon Labor Union (ALU) in New York a minor miracle, as well as a landmark moment. Defying the usual playbook of scare tactics and dirty tricks – and a lavishly funded “vote no” campaign – Staten Island warehouse workers voted on 1 April to form the first Amazon union outside Europe. A second New York warehouse will stage a similar vote later this month, and staff at more than 50 other Amazon sites have contacted the Staten Island organisers for advice and support. “The revolution is here!” one ALU coordinator said.
这一切使得纽约亚马逊工会(ALU)的开创性成立成为一个小小的奇迹，同时也是一个具有里程碑意义的时刻。4月1日，斯塔顿岛的仓库工人们经受住通常的恐吓战术和肮脏伎俩——以及一场慷慨资助的“投反对票”运动——投票成立了欧洲以外的第一个亚马逊工会。本月晚些时候，纽约的另一个仓库也将举行类似的投票，其他50多个亚马逊仓库的工作人员已经联系了斯塔顿岛的组织者，寻求建议和支持。“革命来了！”一位ALU协调员说。
“Revolution” may be overstating it, but something is in the air. For decades, a decline in union membership in America has been accompanied by a corresponding rise in social inequality. But US public support for unions has risen significantly in recent years, and there are signs that labour shortages are encouraging employees to take greater risks in demanding better pay and working conditions. Under Joe Biden’s presidency, the National Labor Relations Board has been become far more proactive in defending the right to organise and following up on cases of employee victimisation.
“革命”可能言过其实，但确实能感受到某些变化。几十年来，美国工会成员数量的下降伴随着社会不平等的加剧。但近年来，美国公众对工会的支持显著上升，有迹象表明，劳动力短缺正鼓励员工冒更大的风险，要求提高工资和改善工作条件。在乔•拜登担任总统期间，美国国家劳资关系委员会在捍卫组织权和跟进员工受害案件方面变得更加积极主动。
A tangible effect is beginning to be seen. On the same day as the Staten Island vote, employees at a New York Starbucks formed the 10th branch of the Starbucks Workers United union – an organisation that only achieved its first breakthrough in December. Employees at more than 170 Starbucks stores across the US are now contemplating following suit. Perhaps most significantly of all, a new generation may be on the move; younger workers were at the heart of the ALU campaign, opting to start an independent movement from scratch rather than relying on outside help from traditional unions.
一种切实的影响正在开始显现。在斯塔顿岛投票的同一天，纽约一家星巴克的员工组成了星巴克工人联合工会的第十个分支机构——该组织直到12月才取得第一次突破。美国170多家星巴克门店的员工正在考虑效仿。也许最重要的是，新一代可能正在行动；年轻工人是ALU运动的核心，他们选择从零开始发起一场独立运动，而不是依赖传统工会的外部帮助。
The postwar heyday of the great industrial unions will not come back. But that does not mean that modern workforces must be condemned to the exploitative, controlling tendencies exemplified by Amazon. The ALU’s victory has set an inspiring precedent. Having been so unexpectedly humiliated, Amazon last week announced that it would seek to legally overturn the Staten Island vote. Its New York executives should instead resign themselves to sitting down and bargaining with a workforce that it has treated with disdain. Hopefully, there will be many more such negotiations to come.
二战后大产业工会的鼎盛时期不会重现。但这并不意味着现代劳动力必须被迫接受亚马逊所体现的剥削和控制倾向。ALU的胜利开创了一个鼓舞人心的先例。亚马逊（Amazon）在遭遇如此出人意料的羞辱后，上周宣布将寻求通过法律手段推翻斯塔顿岛的投票结果。相反，亚马逊纽约的高管们应该坐下来，与它鄙视的员工讨价还价。希望今后还会有更多这样的谈判。