Rebecca Galemba: How employers steal from workers -- and get away with it | TED

54,256 views ・ 2022-01-19

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00:00
Transcriber:
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譯者: Lilian Chiu 審譯者: Helen Chang
00:12
When you work, you expect to be paid for it.
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你工作時,會預期能賺到錢。
00:15
You don't expect to be paid less than you were promised
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你不會預期拿到的錢比承諾的還少,
00:18
or worse, nothing at all.
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或更糟糕,什麼都沒拿到。
00:20
But that's exactly what's happening to millions of Americans
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但那卻是各產業中
00:23
who work in a range of industries.
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數百萬美國人的遭遇。
00:25
It's especially a problem in agriculture, construction, restaurants,
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這個問題特別嚴重的產業 包括:農業、營造、
餐廳、衣服工廠、
00:30
garment factories, poultry plants,
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家禽處理工廠、護理之家、臨時工,
00:32
nursing homes, in day labor
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00:34
and among independent contractors.
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以及獨立的包商。
00:37
It's called wage theft,
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這叫做工資盜竊,且很有可能
00:38
and chances are that you or someone you know has experienced it.
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你或你認識的人已經遇過了。
00:42
Wage theft occurs when individuals do not receive
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工資盜竊指的是個人沒有拿到
00:45
their legally owed wages and benefits.
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依法應該拿到的工資和福利。
00:48
Wage theft can take many forms:
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工資盜竊的形式很多:
00:50
Paying below the minimum wage,
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薪水低於最低工資、
00:52
withholding earned benefits, overtime, breaks or tips,
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不給應得的福利、
超時工作、休息或小費、
00:56
misclassifying employees as independent contractors
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把員工錯誤歸類為獨立包商,
00:59
and even outright non-payment.
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甚至就是直接不付錢。
01:02
The Economic Policy Institute
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經濟政策研究所
01:04
estimates that workers are losing 50 billion dollars a year to wage theft,
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估計每年工作者因工資盜竊 損失的金額就高達五百億美金,
01:08
but most people haven't even heard of the problem.
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但大部分人甚至沒聽過這個問題。
01:10
If it's hard to picture 50 billion dollars, consider this.
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如果很難想像五百億美金有多少,
試試這樣比較:
01:14
Yearly economic losses to auto theft, robbery and burglary combined
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因為汽車偷竊、搶劫、 破門盜竊造成的經濟損失
加總起來還不到 每年一百四十億美金。
01:19
come to much less at 14 billion a year.
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01:22
Wage theft impacts more than just the workers
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工資盜竊影響到的不只是 沒有領到工資的工作者,
01:24
who don't get their wages.
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01:26
It lowers wages in those workplaces and across entire industries.
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也會造成那些工作場所 和整個產業的工資降低。
01:30
Plus, it robs communities of tax dollars.
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此外,還搶走了社區的稅收。
01:32
And even more broadly,
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更廣泛來說,
01:34
it rewards cheating,
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是在獎勵作弊,
01:36
undermines competition and creates a race to the bottom
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破壞競爭,
造成競相沉淪,
01:40
that hurts us all.
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傷害到我們所有人。
雖然許多產業都會 受到工資盜竊影響,
01:42
Although wage theft impacts many industries,
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01:44
my research focuses on one of the most vulnerable sectors,
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我的研究焦點放在 最弱勢的部門之一:
01:47
day laborers,
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臨時工,
01:48
most of whom are immigrants from Latin America
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他們多為拉丁美洲移民, 為了現金而打臨工。
01:50
who seek daily work for cash.
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01:52
You may have seen day laborers at a worker center,
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你可能曾在這些地方 看過臨時工:工人中心、
01:55
outside a home improvement store or on a street corner.
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居家整修器材店的外面,或街角。
01:59
On a typical morning at a street corner hiring site,
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很常見的是,一早,在街角招聘點,
02:01
trucks screech to a halt
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卡車刺耳地停下來,
02:03
and employers yell out how many workers they need
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雇主大聲喊著他們需要 幾名工人以及工資多少,
02:05
and the pay rate
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02:06
and workers rush to the passenger-side window.
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工人搶著擠到乘客座 那一頭的車窗旁。
02:09
Day laborers may just have a couple of minutes
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臨時工可能會有幾分鐘的時間
可以商量他們的工資、
02:12
to negotiate their wages,
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02:13
hours and working conditions,
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工時,和工作條件,
02:15
all in competition with other workers
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都是和其他工人競爭,
02:18
and frequently with limited English proficiency.
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且通常他們的英文都不太流利。
02:21
This rapid pace of the hiring process,
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這種快步調的僱用流程、
02:24
unstable work,
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不穩定的工作、
02:25
lack of immigration status
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缺乏移民居留身分,
02:27
and working on one of the least regulated sectors of the economy
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以及在經濟中最不受 規範的部門之一工作,
02:30
makes day laborers particularly vulnerable to wage theft,
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讓臨時工特別容易遇到 工資盜竊的問題,
02:34
as well as other forms of exploitation,
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以及其他形式的剝削、
02:36
harassment and victimization.
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騷擾、傷害。
02:40
Since 2015, my research has focused
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從 2015 年起,我的研究 就著眼在移民臨時工
02:42
on immigrant day laborers' experiences with wage theft in Colorado.
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在科羅拉多州遇到的工資盜竊。
02:46
I've also trained teams of graduate students as field workers
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我還訓練研究生團隊 成為現場調查員,
02:50
and taken them out to street corners
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帶他們到街角及丹佛的 工人中心「人道主義中心」。
02:52
and Denver's worker center El Centro Humanitario.
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02:55
In total, we interviewed 170 day laborers
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我們總共訪談了一百七十名臨時工,
02:58
and conducted a follow-up survey of over 400.
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並針對超過四百名臨時工 進行了後續調查。
03:02
Day laborer Bernal's story
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臨時工柏納爾的故事
03:04
demonstrates how wage theft happens.
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說明了工資盜竊是怎麼發生的。
柏納爾是在科羅拉多丹佛的 街角招聘點被雇主僱用,
03:07
Bernal was recruited at a street corner hiring site
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03:09
in Denver, Colorado, by an employer
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03:11
who then drove him 70 miles away for a construction project.
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接著雇主開車把他載到 七十哩外的工地。
03:15
Bernal worked from nine in the morning until late at night.
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柏納爾從早上九點開始工作到深夜。
03:18
When the work was completed,
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工作完成後,
03:21
his employer didn't pay him.
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雇主沒有付錢給他。
03:22
What's more,
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不只如此,雇主 還把他丟在的停車場,
03:23
he stranded him in the parking lot over an hour from home.
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離家有至少一小時路程。
03:27
The employer told him,
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雇主告訴他:
03:28
"Tomorrow I'll come back and pay you,
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「我今天沒帶錢, 明天回來付錢給你。」
03:30
I didn't bring any money."
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03:31
When Bernal insisted on being paid,
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柏納爾堅持要領錢,
03:33
the employer relented and gave me a check.
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雇主才退一步給了他一張支票。
03:36
But when Bernal went to cash that check,
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但,當柏納爾去把支票兌現時,
03:38
it had no funds.
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帳戶沒有錢。
03:40
So then he was stuck with a bounced check fee
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所以,他不但沒有拿到工資,
03:42
on top of his unpaid wages.
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還要負擔支票跳票的手續費。
03:45
Bernal's story shows the many ways
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柏納爾的故事說明雇主會用許多方式
03:46
employers try to cheat workers out of their wages.
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騙走工人的工資。
03:50
They strand them far from home.
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他們把工人帶到離家 很遠的地方,保證晚點付錢,
03:52
They promise to pay later.
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03:53
They claim they don't have the money to pay.
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宣稱沒有錢可以付。
或者明明帳戶存款不足還是開支票。
03:56
Or they issue checks with insufficient funds.
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03:58
Employers often say that wage theft is an accident,
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雇主通常都說工資盜竊是意外,
04:02
but day laborers’ experiences show how it’s a patterned
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但臨時工的經歷呈現 這是種有模式且蓄意的做法,
04:05
and intentional practice
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04:06
to benefit at worker's expense.
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謀取利益,但由工人付出代價。
04:09
Sadly, Bernal's story is not unique.
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感傷的是,柏納爾的故事很常見。
04:12
My survey results found
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我的調查結果發現,62% 的 臨時工都遇過工資盜竊,
04:13
that 62 percent of day laborers had experienced wage theft
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04:17
and 19 percent just in the six months prior to being surveyed.
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其中有 19% 都發生在 調查前的六個月內。
04:21
When day laborers try to confront employers for their unpaid wages,
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當臨時工因為未付的工資 而槓上雇主時,
04:24
they may stop answering the phone,
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雇主可能會不接電話、
04:26
change their numbers or even threaten the worker.
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換電話號碼,或甚至威脅工人。
04:29
Because day laborers work informally and off the books,
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因為臨時工的工作 在檯面下且非正式,
04:32
some employers,
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有些雇主,
04:33
they claim to have never hired the worker at all.
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還會宣稱從來沒有僱用過這些工人。
04:36
Some employers vaguely or even directly threaten to call immigration
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有些雇主會模糊或直接 威脅要通知移民局,
04:40
when workers speak up or complain.
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來避免工人告狀或抱怨。
04:43
This is illegal, but employers get away with it anyway.
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這是不合法的, 但雇主仍然逍遙法外。
04:46
That's because retaliation protections are weak
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那是因為很難保護工人不受報復,
04:48
and immigrant day laborers don't tend to come forward
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且移民工人通常不會想站出來,
04:51
because they don't trust the system to protect them.
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因為他們不相信體制會保護他們。
04:54
US wage and hour laws require employers to pay wages for all work completed,
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美國的工資及工時法律要求雇主 支付工資給所有完成的工作,
04:58
regardless of legal status.
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不論工人身分是否合法。
05:00
Otherwise, there's a perverse incentive to cheat.
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不這麼規定就會鼓勵雇主欺騙工人。
05:03
However, the labor rights enforcement system is under-resourced
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然而,執行勞工權力的體系 有資源不足的問題,
05:08
and largely depends on individuals to come to it to pursue cases.
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非常仰賴個人主動上門
才有辦法去追查案件。
05:12
That's a big ask for anyone
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要任何人站出來都不容易,
05:13
and especially for vulnerable populations like day laborers.
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何況是臨時工這種弱勢族群。
05:17
Not only does it take a good amount of legal knowledge
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不只是需要大量的法律知識
05:20
to even know where to begin,
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才能知道從何開始,
05:22
but there's also a steep opportunity cost.
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還有很高的機會成本。
05:25
Day laborers worry about spending days,
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臨時工擔心要花上數日、 數週、數個月,甚至數年時間
05:27
weeks, months, even years, chasing unpaid wages,
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追著未付清的工資跑,
05:31
when they could just be out working the next job.
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寧可把時間用來出外做下一份工作。
05:34
They also worry about retaliation.
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他們也怕被報復。
05:36
That's why many workers never file or give up their claims.
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許多工人因此始終沒有 提出索賠或提出又放棄了。
05:40
As many workers said, they don't want to go around fighting.
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許多工人都說,
他們不想到處去吵架。
05:44
So wage theft continues because employers know
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工資盜竊持續不斷,因為雇主知道
05:46
they're likely to get away with it.
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他們很可能可以脫得了身。
05:48
That doesn't mean that day laborers do nothing to prevent wage theft
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那並不表示臨時工就完全不做什麼
來預防工資盜竊 或改善他們的工作條件。
05:52
or try to upgrade their working conditions.
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05:54
At street corners,
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在街角,臨時工會試著組織起來 訂出工資底限以避免削價競爭,
05:55
day laborers try to organize a wage floor to prevent undercutting
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05:58
and warn workers of employers with bad reputations when they walk by.
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並在惡名昭彰的雇主人馬 經過時給他們警告。
06:02
For example, they shout, "This one doesn't pay"
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比如,他們會大喊 「這個人不會付錢」,
06:04
to blacklist employers who mistreated workers in the past.
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把過去惡待工人的雇主列入黑名單。
06:08
Other strategies include only accepting cash, not cheques,
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其他的策略還包括
只收現金不收支票,
06:12
and insisting on getting paid every day,
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並堅持每天領錢,
06:15
rather than waiting for employers
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而不是等著做出保證的雇主 在一週結束時才付錢,
06:16
who promise to pay at the end of the week
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06:18
or even bimonthly.
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或甚至兩個月付錢一次。
06:21
Still, day laborers recognize that due to lack of work
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不過,
臨時工也知道,因為缺乏工作機會,
06:25
and employer's relative power over them,
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且相對之下雇主比他們有權勢,
06:28
that there's no guarantee.
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因此無法保證什麼。
06:30
Only half of day laborers who had experienced wage theft
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遇到工資盜竊的臨時工當中只有一半
06:33
did anything to recover their unpaid wages,
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有採取任何行動去追回未付的工資,
06:36
including even asking their employer for the money they owed them.
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其他人甚至不會向雇主 要回欠他們的錢。
06:39
Just a third took the additional step of seeking assistance from others.
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只有三分之一會再多做一些,
向他人求助。
06:43
As many workers told me and student researchers,
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許多工人告訴我和學生研究員,
06:48
there's nothing you can do.
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他們無能為力。
06:50
Every year, when I collaborate with students on this project,
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每年,當我和學生 合作進行這個計畫時,
06:54
some students tell me that they realize
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都會有些學生告訴我,他們發現
06:57
that they too have experienced wage theft.
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他們也遇過工資盜竊。
07:00
They're in quite different positions than immigrant day laborers,
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他們的身分和移民臨時工很不一樣,
07:03
but also work in industries that are prone to wage theft,
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但也在很容易出現 工資盜竊的產業中工作,
07:06
such as childcare,
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比如托兒、
07:08
restaurants, bars
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餐廳、酒吧,
07:10
and in low-paying and unpaid internships.
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還有低薪及無薪的實習。
07:12
In fact, half a million Coloradans suffer wage theft every year.
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事實上,
每年有五十萬科羅拉多人 為工資盜竊所苦。
07:18
The nature of work is changing.
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工作的性質不斷在變。
07:20
We've seen it in the rise of freelancing,
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我們見過自由接案的興起, 還有獨立承包、
07:22
independent contracting,
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07:23
piece rate and part-time work and contingent work.
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論件計酬、打工,以及臨時性工作。
07:26
Not only has there been a resurgence of day labor,
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不僅臨時工的工作又再次復蘇,
07:29
but more jobs look increasingly a lot like day labor,
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還有更多工作越來越 類似臨時工的工作,
07:33
even if that's not what we would call them.
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即使我們用其他名稱來稱呼。
07:35
Of course, there's a lot of flexibility and competitiveness
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當然,這些新型的工作
有很大的彈性和很劇烈的競爭。
07:38
that comes from these new kinds of jobs.
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07:40
But there also can be risks
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但也可能會有風險,
07:42
when they're also increasingly characterized by low pay,
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因為這些工作的特性 也越來越趨向低薪、
07:47
no benefits, job insecurity,
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沒有福利、工作不安全、
缺乏雇主責任,
07:50
lack of employer responsibility
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07:52
and are primed for labor violations
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且常有勞動相關的違規, 如工資盜竊。
07:54
like wage theft.
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07:56
They may be further prone to labor practices
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這些工作也可能進一步出現 很傷人且羞辱人的勞動待遇,
07:58
that are quite harmful and humiliating,
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08:00
but perfectly legal.
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卻完全合法。
08:03
US labor laws are still based on relatively traditional definitions
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美國的勞動法仍然
立基在相對很傳統的定義
08:07
and relationships between employers and their employees.
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以及勞雇關係上。
08:12
Work arrangements that increasingly carve workers out of employee status,
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工作安排上越來越會 將工人和員工身分切開,
08:16
not only lessen employer's responsibilities,
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不僅讓雇主的責任變少,
08:19
but make it all the more challenging
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還更困難
08:21
to hold them accountable for labor violations,
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讓他們為違反勞動法負責,
08:24
as well as unsafe working conditions.
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或為不安全的工作條件負責。
08:28
Wage theft is not exceptional.
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工資盜竊並不算特殊。
08:30
It's just one more way we've undermined workers
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它只是我們以獲利和彈性為名 來損害工作者的另一種方式。
08:32
in the name of profit and flexibility.
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08:34
It's critical to update labor rights enforcement
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很重要的是要將 勞動權益的實行做更新
08:37
to better evolve towards the changing nature of work.
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以符合不斷改變的工作特性。
08:40
But that's not enough.
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但那樣還不夠。
08:42
We also need to rethink and upgrade employment
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我們也得重新思考
和改善就業,
08:47
so that people's work can actually support their lives.
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讓人民的工作能夠 真正維持他們的生計。
08:50
And when we look for contractors to remodel our homes,
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當我們找包商來做 家中的裝潢修繕時,
08:54
look for childcare or eat out in restaurants,
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找褓姆或到餐廳用餐時,
08:57
we need to ask more questions,
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我們得提出更多問題, 不只是問工作或服務的品質,
08:59
not just about the quality of a job or a service,
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09:02
or even where the ingredients in our food come from,
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或甚至食物的原料來源,
09:04
but also attuned to how workers are being paid
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還要去了解他們如何付款給雇工
09:07
and being treated.
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及如何對待雇工。
09:09
When we see rapid construction growth in our cities,
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當我們看到城市中的建設快速成長,
09:12
we see signs of development and of progress.
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我們看到的是發展和進步的跡象。
09:14
But we should also ask
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但我們應該也要問,
09:16
for whom and at what cost.
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對象是誰?代價是什麼?
臨時工的不安全感與風險
09:20
The insecurity and risks of day labor should worry all of us,
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應該要讓所有人感到擔心,
09:24
about the future of work.
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憂慮工作的未來。
09:27
Unless we transform our approach
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除非我們能改變我們的方式,
09:30
to whose lives and labor matter.
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這些人的生命和勞力都很重要。
09:35
Thank you.
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謝謝。
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