#0252 – A Workers Strike.pdf - ESL Podcast McQuillan Jeff mp3+PDF - hinatka3991

English as a Second Language Podcast

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ESL Podcast 252 – A Workers Strike

GLOSSARY

to strike – to refuse to work because the workers are protesting (showing that

they do not approve of) something

* The teachers are striking because they want to get more money for the work

that they do.

management – the group of people with the most power in an organization or

business; the people who run, manage, and control an organization or business

* Many of the workers were mad when they learned how much money

management was making.

grievances – complaints, especially about something where one works

* The hospital workers’ grievances are that they are tired of working 12 hours

each day and that they don’t like the food in the cafeteria.

hold on – an expression that means, “Wait a minute,” or “Don’t be in such a

hurry”

* When Sandra said she wanted to paint her house purple, I said, “Hold on. Are

you sure that the neighbors won’t be angry?”

hasty – too quick; too fast; in a hurry

* Going to Hawaii for vacation was a hasty decision, and they soon realized that

they didn’t have enough money to enjoy the trip.

sickout – a protest (showing publicly that one does not approve of something)

against a company where all the workers stay home and say that they are sick

on the same day

* When Walt received two calls from workers who said they were sick, he

believed them, but when ten workers called, he knew that it was a sickout.

to mean business – to be serious; to mean what one says

* The boss’s face was very serious and we knew that he meant business when

he said we had to finish the project as quickly as possible.

to get (someone’s) back up – to annoy someone; to make someone angry

* I didn’t mean to get your back up when I said that the new plan wasn’t what I

had envisioned.

These materials are copyrighted by the Center for Educational Development (2007). Posting of

these materials on another website or distributing them in any way is prohibited.

English as a Second Language Podcast

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ESL Podcast 252 – A Workers Strike

collective bargaining – official meetings and talks between a union and a

company about the workers’ pay and benefits

* The collective bargaining session lasted all night, but they finally reached an

agreement about how much money the workers should be paid for overtime.

contract – a legal, written agreement between two people or organizations

* When she started working for KPMG, she had to sign a contract promising that

she wouldn’t talk about her projects with people outside of the company.

to stall – to be delayed; to stop making progress; to stop moving forward

* Children often stall when their parents tell them to go to bed by asking for a

glass of water, brushing their teeth very slowly, or asking their parents to read

them a story.

to put pressure on (someone) – to try to make someone do something; to force

someone to do something they don’t want to do

* Riana’s parents put a lot of pressure on her to become a doctor, but she wants

to study music.

to come to (someone’s) terms – to agree with someone; to agree to the

conditions that another person or other side wants

* The two countries finally came to each other’s terms and the war ended.

to picket – to protest (to show publicly that one does not approve of something)

by standing in front of a building with large signs

* The students are picketing in front of the university president’s office because

they are angry that their tuition is going up.

to cross a picket line – to walk through a line of people picketing (protesting

with signs) to go to work

* Crossing a picket line is difficult because it means that you don’t support what

your co-workers are doing.

scab – an insulting term for a person who crosses a picket line (a group of

people protesting with signs) to go to work

* When the workers crossed the picket line, the picketers threw rocks at the

scabs and told them that what they were doing was wrong.

to count (one) out – to not include someone; to not rely on someone

* If you’re going to go to that party just so you can drink, count me out. I’m not

interested in seeing you get sick again.

These materials are copyrighted by the Center for Educational Development (2007). Posting of

these materials on another website or distributing them in any way is prohibited.

English as a Second Language Podcast

www.eslpod.com

ESL Podcast 252 – A Workers Strike

COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS

1. How does Masako feel about the union?

a) She thinks it is negotiating too slowly.

b) She thinks it means business.

c) She thinks it is putting pressure on the company.

2. Why doesn’t Salvador want the workers to picket?

a) He doesn’t want to cross the picket line.

b) He thinks the workers might lose their jobs.

c) He thinks it will make some workers feel bad.

______________

WHAT ELSE DOES IT MEAN?

to strike

The verb “to strike,” in this podcast, means to refuse to work because the

workers are protesting something: “The airline workers are striking because they

want to work fewer hours each week.” The verb “to strike” can also mean to hit

someone or something very hard: “The man and his wife were arrested after

striking their children in public.” The verb “to strike” can mean to hit a ball: “The

baseball player struck the ball as hard as he could and won the game for his

team.” We also use the verb “to strike” to talk about lightening, the electricity

people see in the sky when there is a storm: “During the storm, lightening struck

the clock in the main square.” Finally, the verb “to strike” can be used to refer to

something that comes to one’s mind or brain very quickly and unexpectedly:

“When she saw the photos of her grandfather, she was suddenly struck by

memories of him.”

contract

In this podcast, the noun “contract” (pronounced “CONtract”) means a legal,

written agreement between two people or organizations: “You have to sign a

contract with the car rental company before you can drive a rented car.” As a

verb, “to contract” means to make a legal agreement with someone so that he or

she will work for you, usually for a short period of time: “We need to contract a

web designer to make our website look better.” “Contract” can also be used as a

verb in two other ways if it is pronounced with the stress on the second syllable:

“conTRACT.” It can mean to become smaller: “Your muscles contract and

expand when you exercise,” or it also mean to get an illness: “Many people who

live in tropical areas contract malaria when they are bitten by mosquitoes.”

These materials are copyrighted by the Center for Educational Development (2007). Posting of

these materials on another website or distributing them in any way is prohibited.

English as a Second Language Podcast

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ESL Podcast 252 – A Workers Strike

CULTURE NOTE

In the United States, more than 15 million workers are in unions. Unions try to

help workers get better pay and “working conditions” (the safety and comfort of

where they work). The American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial

Organizations (known as “AFL-CIO”) is a group of 54 national and international

unions. The “mission” (purpose) of the AFL-CIO is to improve the lives of

working people and their families.

Many types of workers are in unions. Some well-known unions are the Air Line

Pilots Association, the American Federation of Government Employees, the

American Federation of Teachers, the Farm Labor Organizing Committee, the

Federation of Professional Athletes, and the Writers Guild of America.

Unions and management try to work well together, but sometimes they cannot

reach an agreement. When that happens, the unions tell their workers to strike.

This is difficult for the companies because they cannot do their work. It is also

difficult for the workers because they do not receive money while they are

striking. Sometimes, when a strike occurs in an “industry” (an important part of

the economy, such as transportation, oil, or teaching), the government tries to

help the union and management reach agreement quickly.

On average, workers in the US who are in unions get 28% more money than

workers who are not in the same industry. But these union workers have to pay

“membership dues,” or an amount of money paid each week or month, to be a

member of the union. Being in a union is “optional,” meaning that is not required,

but there is often a lot of pressure from one’s co-workers to join a union.

______________

Comprehension Questions Correct Answers: 1 – a; 2 – c

These materials are copyrighted by the Center for Educational Development (2007). Posting of

these materials on another website or distributing them in any way is prohibited.

English as a Second Language Podcast

www.eslpod.com

ESL Podcast 252 – A Workers Strike

COMPLETE TRANSCRIPT

Welcome to English as a Second Language Podcast number 252: A Workers

Strike.

This is English as a Second Language Podcast episode 252. I'm your host, Dr.

Jeff McQuillan, coming to you from the Center for Educational Development in

beautiful Los Angeles, California.

Remember to visit our website at eslpod.com to download the Learning Guide for

this episode. It contains all of the vocabulary, definitions, sample sentences,

additional explanations, cultural notes and a complete transcript of this episode.

This episode is called “A Workers Strike.” We're going to hear a conversation

between Masako and Salvador talking about whether they should have a strike at

their workplace. A strike is when the workers refuse to work in order to get more

money or other benefits. Let's get started.

[start of story]

Masako: I think we should strike. We need to force management to listen to our

grievances.

Salvador: Hold on. I think you’re being too hasty. It’s up to our union to call a

strike, not the workers.

Masako: I’m not suggesting a formal strike, but we could organize a sickout.

That would send a message that we mean business.

Salvador: Yeah, but that may also get their backs up. We need to give collective

bargaining a chance to get us the contract we want.

Masako: The union has been negotiating for two months and things have stalled.

We need to do something to put pressure on the company to come to our terms.

At the very least, we should picket outside the building.

Salvador: We should only do that if there’s a strike. We don’t want to make

employees feel like they’re crossing the picket line every time they come to work.

That would be bad for morale.

Masako: Nobody’s going to feel like a scab if they all know why we’re picketing.

Let’s call a meeting and see what everyone else thinks.

These materials are copyrighted by the Center for Educational Development (2007). Posting of

these materials on another website or distributing them in any way is prohibited.

#0252 – A Workers Strike.pdf

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