It's one of the most-visited tourist destinations in the world.

它是世界上游客最多的旅遊目的地之一。

Most years in mid-March, it's crowded with people hanging out in cafes,

大多數年份的3月中旬，都會有很多人在咖啡館裡閒逛。

checking out the cathedral, and riding gondolas.

查看大教堂，並乘坐貢多拉。

But in March of 2020, St. Marks' Square was practically empty.

但在2020年3月，聖馬克斯廣場幾乎是空無一人。

More and more people in northern Italy had tested positive for the

在意大利北部，越來越多的人在檢測中呈陽性。

highly-contagious Coronavirus. To slow down the spread of the virus, The Prime Minister

高傳染性的冠狀病毒。為了延緩病毒的傳播，日本首相

told everyone to stay at home:

叫大家呆在家裡。

“The future of Italy is in our hands"

"意大利的未來在我們手中"

And they listened.

他們聽了。

A big part of the reason they could do that, is because of a national

他們之所以能做到這一點，很大一部分原因是由於國家的。

policy in Italy: everyone there is guaranteed paid sick days, no matter their job.

意大利的政策：那裡的每個人都保證有帶薪病假，不管他們的工作如何。

The same is true in the UK, and Germany, and Spain, and Japan,

英國也是如此，德國也是如此，西班牙也是如此，日本也是如此。

and Ireland, and Austria, and Australia,

和愛爾蘭、奧地利和澳洲。

and Norway and France, and, well, basically all wealthy countries.

和挪威和法國，以及，基本上所有的富裕國家。

But in the US, a huge number of workers face a very different reality.

但在美國，大量的工人面臨著截然不同的現實。

These restaurant workers in New Orleans are

新奧爾良的這些餐廳工人是

demanding emergency sick pay during the coronavirus pandemic. Unlike in all these countries, there

在冠狀病毒大流行期間，要求支付緊急病假工資。與所有這些國家不同的是

is no national law in the US guaranteeing workers the right to paid sick days.

美國沒有國家法律保障工人享有帶薪病假的權利；

Instead, whether you have that right depends on where you live,

相反，你是否有這個權利，要看你住在哪裡。

and who you work for.

以及你為誰工作。

It's a system that leaves tens of millions of the lowest-paid Americans vulnerable.

這是一個讓數千萬收入最低的美國人處於弱勢的系統。

And it's about to be tested by the biggest global pandemic in a hundred years.

而它即將受到百年來最大的全球流行病的考驗。

If you look at how other countries handle paid sick leave, some of them, like Italy

如果你看看其他國家是如何處理帶薪病假的，其中一些國家，如意大利。

and Japan, pay workers directly out of a social security fund. Others, like Germany, New Zealand,

和日本，直接從社會保障基金中支付工人工資。其他國家，如德國、紐西蘭。

and Australia have laws that require employers to foot the bill. In Ireland and Spain, it's

和澳洲的法律要求僱主承擔費用。在愛爾蘭和西班牙，它是

a combination of both. But they all do it for the same reason:

兩者的結合。但他們都是出於同樣的原因。

because it helps contain the spread of disease and can save lives.

因為它有助於遏制疾病的傳播，可以挽救生命。

When workers have to choose between

當工人們不得不在以下兩者之間做出選擇時

making money, and staying home when they're sick,

賺錢，生病了就呆在家裡。

the incentivize is for them to come to work.

激勵是讓他們來工作。

Which can get their customers and coworkers sick.

這會讓他們的客戶和同事生病。

That's an especially big problem in a pandemic like coronavirus,

在冠狀病毒這樣的流行病中，這是一個特別大的問題。

when hospitals might already be at capacity,

當醫院可能已經超負荷運轉時。

which would mean some people can't get medical attention,

這將意味著一些人不能得到醫療照顧。

which would mean more people die.

這將意味著更多的人死亡。

That's why the website of the CDC,

所以疾控中心的網站。

America's main public health agency, is unambiguous about what you should do if you're sick right now:

美國主要的公共衛生機構，是毫不含糊的關於你應該做什麼，如果你現在生病了。

stay home.

呆在家裡。

But if staying home means not being able to pay your rent,

但如果呆在家裡就意味著付不起房租。

it might not be that simple.

這可能不是那麼簡單。

I'm a production assistant.

我是一個生產助理。

I'm a music educator.

我是一個音樂教育家。

I work in Houston, Texas as a stagehand.

我在德克薩斯州休斯敦市做驛站工作人員。

I'm a line opener at a bakery by day, a bartender by night,

我白天是麵包店的開線員，晚上是酒保。

and neither job offers paid sick days.

而且兩份工作都不提供帶薪病假。

I don't get sick days because I'm not staffed.

我沒有病假，因為我沒有人手。

I'm hired, like, day to day.

我受僱於人，就像，日復一日。

So, I'm a contract worker,

所以，我是個合同工。

so that means we're ineligible for benefits or paid sick leave at all.

所以這意味著我們沒有資格 享受福利或帶薪病假。

If for any reason I have to call in sick, the company calls the next

如果我因為任何原因要請病假，公司會叫下一個

person on the list and I do not get paid.

名單上的人，而我沒有得到報酬。

It basically means I start playing tetris with my living expenses –

基本上意味著我開始用生活費玩俄羅斯方塊--。

pull money away from one bill to squeeze it into another.

從一張鈔票上抽出錢來擠進另一張鈔票；

So it makes things complicated and a bit scary.

所以這讓事情變得很複雜，有點可怕。

In recent years, service industry workers have pushed for new paid sick leave laws in

近年來，服務行業的工人推動了新的帶薪病假法在。

cities and states across the country. And in a handful of places, they've succeeded.

全國各地的城市和州。而在少數地方，他們已經成功了。

But service workers are a huge part of every state's economy. So why haven't they been

但服務人員是每個州經濟的重要組成部分。那麼為什麼他們沒有被

more successful in getting paid sick days in more places?

在更多地方獲得帶薪病假更成功？

Part of the reason why starts here - in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

部分原因是從這裡開始的--在威斯康星州的密爾沃基。

In 2008, voters there passed a paid-sick-leave referendum

2008年，那裡的選民通過了一項帶薪病假公投。

by a huge margin. But three years later, Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker signed a bill that said

以巨大的優勢。但三年後，威斯康星州州長斯科特-沃克簽署了一項法案，稱

no city in Wisconsin could require employers to provide employees with leave of any kind.

威斯康星州的任何城市都不能要求僱主為僱員提供任何形式的假期。

Milwaukee's paid sick leave law was toast. Then, later that same year, an executive from

密爾沃基的帶薪病假法已經完蛋了。然後，在同年晚些時候，一個行政人員從。

the company YUM! Brands — which owns KFC, Taco Bell and Pizza Hut — went to a meeting

旗下擁有肯德基、塔可鍾和必勝客的YUM!品牌--擁有肯德基、塔可鍾和必勝客--去參加了一個會議。

of the American Legislative Exchange Council – a group that writes legislation for Republican

的美國立法交流委員會--一個為共和黨撰寫立法的組織。

state lawmakers all over the country, so they don't have to write it themselves – and

全國各地的州級立法者，所以他們不必自己寫--而且。

handed out copies of that Wisconsin bill. In the decade since, Republican-conrolled

派發了那份威斯康星州法案的副本。在此後的十年中，共和黨人控制的。

state legislatures in 16 other states have passed nearly identical laws.

其他16個州的州議會也通過了幾乎相同的法律。

Including Louisiana,

包括路易斯安那州。

home of those New Orleans protesters.

那些新奧爾良抗議者的家。

But now that there's a pandemic, the US really needs sick workers everywhere to stay home.

但現在有了疫情，美國真的需要各地的病工留在家裡。

That's partly why on March 18, 2020, President Trump signed a coronavirus relief bill that

這也是為什麼2020年3月18日，美國總統特朗普簽署了一項冠狀病毒救助法案的部分原因。

Vice President Mike Pence described to the American people this way:

副總統邁克-彭斯這樣向美國人民描述。

“If you're sick, stay home.

"如果你生病了，就呆在家裡。

You're not going to miss a paycheck.”

你不會錯過工資的。"

The problem is that's not true.

問題是，事實並非如此。

The Democrats original bill gave everyone access to paid sick days,

民主黨人最初的法案讓每個人都能享受到帶薪病假。

but to get Republicans on board they made some concessions.

但為了讓共和黨人加入，他們做出了一些讓步。

The bill does contain a line that says, “an employee shall be entitled to

該法案中確實有一句話是這樣說的："僱員應有權獲得

paid sick time.” during public health emergencies. The problem is, that rule only applies to

帶薪病假。"在公共衛生緊急情況下。問題是，該規則只適用於

companies with between 50 and 500 employees.

僱員在50至500人之間的公司；

And companies that size only employ about 20% of American workers.

而這種規模的公司只僱傭了20%左右的美國工人。

So even with this new bill, millions of workers at big national chains

所以，即使有了這個新法案，全國大型連鎖店的數百萬工人

like McDonalds, Walmart, Kroger, and Pizza Hut still don't have paid sick days.

像麥當勞、沃爾瑪、克羅格和必勝客仍然沒有帶薪病假。

There are lots of American workers that do have paid sick leave. Many also have the privilege

有很多美國工人是有帶薪病假的。許多人也有特權

of working from home during the crisis.

危機期間在家工作。

But coronavirus doesn't distinguish between people who have

但冠狀病毒並不能區分哪些人有。

that privilege and those who don't.

該特權和那些誰不。

That means the status quo puts all Americans at risk.

這意味著現狀讓所有美國人都處於危險之中。

Because we're only as safe as our least-protected neighbors.

因為只有我們最不安全的鄰居才會安全。