Demanding working conditions and meager wages also mean that staff jobs generally go to “people who are privileged,” says James Jones, author of the forthcoming book The Last Plantation: Racism in the Halls of Congress.
即将出版的《最后的种植园:国会大厅里的种族主义》一书的作者詹姆斯·琼斯(James Jones)说,苛刻的工作条件和微薄的工资也意味着,员工的工作通常会落入“享有特权的人”手中。
A 2020 report from the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies, a Washington- based think tank, found that 89% of top Senate aides—chiefs of staff, policy chiefs, and communications directors—are white.
华盛顿智库政治与经济研究联合中心2020年的一份报告发现,89%的参议院高级助手——办公厅主任、政策主任和通讯主任——都是白人。
On the House side, 81% are white.
在众议院方面,81%是白人。
That lack of racial diversity is bad for Congress’s ability to create nuanced legislation, Jones says.
琼斯说,缺乏种族多样性不利于国会制定细致入微的立法。
But it’s also bad for the rest of Washington, which relies on Congress “as a credentialing institution.”
但这对华盛顿其他部门也不利,因为它“依赖国会作为认证机构”。
“You spend a few years on Capitol Hill, but that experience gives you a license to work in many other elite workplaces, like the White House or the Supreme Court,” Jones says.
琼斯说:“你在国会山工作了几年,但这种经历让你有资格在许多其他精英工作场所工作,比如白宫或最高法院。”
Early-career Hill roles paved the way for top political leaders Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell and Vice President Kamala Harris.
早期在国会山的工作经历为参议院少数党领袖米奇·麦康奈尔和副总统卡玛拉·哈里斯铺平了道路。
In other words, organizers argue, making Congress a more decent place to work could pay dividends to American democracy.
换句话说,组织者认为,让国会成为一个更体面的工作场所,可能会给美国的民主带来好处。
It's an idea that Representative Andy Levin, a Michigan Democrat with a deep résumé of labor organizing, embraces.
密歇根州民主党众议员安迪·莱文(Andy Levin)对劳工组织有着深刻的了解,他支持这个想法。
“The staff came to me because they knew that I would understand that this isn’t about us,” he says, “and it isn’t about what headaches it might cause.”
“员工们来找我是因为他们知道我会明白这与我们无关,”他说,“这与它可能带来的麻烦无关。”
On Feb. 9, he introduced the resolution to codify protections for House staffers to unionize; 165 of 222 House Democrats have signed on.
2月9日,他提出了一项决议,将保护众议院工作人员成立工会的规定编入法典; 众议院222名民主党议员中有165人签署了该协议。
It needs 217 votes to pass, but has yet to come up for a vote.
该法案需要217票才能通过,但尚未进行投票。
More frustrating than that delay, CWU staffers say, are the 55 House Democrats who voted to pass the Protecting the Right to Organize Act, a bill protecting private- sector union workers, but have yet to sign on to Levin’s resolution.
CWU工作人员说,比这一拖延更令人沮丧的是,55名众议院民主党人投票通过了《保护组织权法案》,这是一项保护私营部门工会工人的法案,但尚未在莱文的决议上签字。
“I personally have experienced many times, people who say they are for the idea of workers having unions,” says Levin, “but then when their own workers want a union, somehow, all of a sudden, it’s not appropriate.”
莱文说:“我个人有过很多次这样的经历,人们说他们支持工人成立工会的想法,但当他们自己的工人想要成立工会时,突然之间,这就不合适了。”
In the Senate, things are even less rosy.
在参议院,情况就更不乐观了。
Senator Sherrod Brown said he planned to introduce a Senate resolution after Levin’s House version, but he has not yet.
参议员谢罗德·布朗(Sherrod Brown)表示,他计划在莱文的众议院决议之后,向参议院提交另一项决议,但他尚未提出。
It would have very little chance of passing the Senate’s 60-vote threshold.
决议几乎不可能通过参议院的60票门槛。
Democratic Senator Joe Manchin has expressed skepticism about the workability of a unionized Senate staff.
民主党参议员乔·曼钦(Joe Manchin)对参议院工作人员加入工会的可行性表示怀疑。
As the resolutions stall, the staffers’ ambitions have not.
随着决议的延期,员工们的雄心壮志却没有停滞。
In March, Congress passed an appropriations bill increasing House members’ office allowances by 21%—the largest bump since 1996.
今年3月,国会通过了一项拨款法案,将众议院议员的办公津贴提高了21%,这是自1996年以来的最大增幅。
CWU members have since advised several staffers on how to advocate for salary increases tied to the boost—a small victory, but one that gives purpose.
此后,工会成员就如何倡导与奖金挂钩的加薪问题向几名员工提出了建议——这虽然只是一个小小的胜利,但却非常有意义。
“I feel proud to be a Hill staffer,” says one, “for the first time in a long time. Potentially ever.”
其中一人说:“很长一段时间以来,我第一次为自己是国会山的职员而感到自豪。可能会一直感到很自豪。”
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