摘要：To most of us, Labor Day means time off from work, maybe a barbecue to mark the official end of summer.

To most of us, Labor Day means time off from work, maybe a barbecue to mark the official end of summer.

对我们大多数人来说，劳动节意味着不用上班，或许还会来一场烧烤，以此标志着夏季正式结束（美国及加拿大的劳动节是每年 9 月的第一个星期一）。

But how much do you know about what inspired its creation, the labor movement?

但对于促成劳动节诞生的因素 —— 劳工运动，你了解多少呢？

The labor movement started around the Industrial Revolution, a time in the late 19th century when America exploded in size and wealth.

劳工运动始于工业革命时期左右，那是 19 世纪后期，彼时美国的规模和财富急剧增长。

Advances in technology created manufacturing jobs, and people moved to cities to work in factories.

科技的进步带来了制造业的工作岗位，人们纷纷迁往城市，进入工厂工作。

But it wasn't the workers getting rich.

然而，发财致富的并非工人。

It was their bosses who raked in big profits by paying low wages for long hours.

而是他们的老板，老板们靠让工人长时间工作却支付低工资来赚取巨额利润。

Fed up with big business, industrial workers created unions to fight for better conditions.

受够了大企业的行径，产业工人成立了工会，为争取更好的工作条件而斗争。

Unions are the backbone of the labor movement.

工会是劳工运动的支柱。

But what exactly did they accomplish?

但他们究竟取得了哪些实际成果呢？

Well, for one, you can thank the labor movement for your work-free weekend.

一方面，你得感谢劳工运动让你拥有了无需工作的周末时光。

In the late 1800s, the average American worked as much as 100 hours a week.

在 19 世纪后期，普通美国人每周的工作时长高达 100 小时。

Unions held strikes to demand shorter work weeks and an eight-hour workday to make time for family and relaxation.

工会举行罢工，要求缩短每周的工作时长，并实行每天八小时工作制，以便人们有时间陪伴家人和放松身心。

The most famous strike, the Haymarket Riots, happened in Chicago on May 1st, 1886, with thousands of people taking to the streets, and their voices only grew louder from there.

最著名的罢工事件 —— 干草市场暴乱，于 1886 年 5 月 1 日发生在芝加哥，成千上万的人走上街头，此后，他们的呼声愈发高涨。

The labor movement also protested child labor.

劳工运动还对童工现象进行了抗议。

Remember those black and white photos of children with dirty, sad faces wearing overalls and beanie caps?

还记得那些黑白照片吗？照片里的孩子们脏兮兮的，脸上满是悲伤，穿着工装裤，戴着无檐小便帽。

Those kids weren't playing outside, but they were working in factories.

这些孩子可不是在外面玩耍，而是在工厂里干活。

In 1881, unions demanded that businesses stop hiring kids under 14, and slowly but surely, measures against child labor caught on around the country.

1881 年，工会要求企业停止雇佣 14 岁以下的童工，慢慢地但确切无疑地，抵制童工的措施在全国范围内流行开来。

Eventually, all those protests got results.

最终，所有这些抗议行动都取得了成效。

In 1938, Congress passed a law called the Fair Labor Standards Act, which set the 40-hour work week, regulated child labor, and set standards for minimum wage and overtime pay.

1938 年，国会通过了一项名为《公平劳动标准法》的法律，该法律规定了每周 40 小时的工作时长，对童工现象进行了规范，并设定了最低工资和加班费的标准。

In the 1930s and 1940s, workers were also able to negotiate health benefit plans from their employers.

在 20 世纪 30 年代和 40 年代，工人们还能够与雇主协商健康福利计划。

Though union membership is on a decline today, it's undeniable that the labor movement forever changed the way Americans live, work, and even relax.

尽管如今工会会员人数在减少，但不可否认的是，劳工运动永远地改变了美国人的生活、工作，甚至是休闲放松的方式。

来源：英语东