Automation refers to the introduction of electronic control and automatic operation of productive machinery. It reduces the human factors, mental and physical in production, and is designed to make possible the manufacture of more goods with fewer workers. The development of automation in American industry has been called the "Second Industrial Revolution".
自动化是指引入电子控制和生产机械的自动操作。它减少了生产中的人为因素，包括精神和身体因素，旨在用更少的工人制造更多的商品。美国工业自动化的发展被称为“第二次工业革命”。
Labor’s concern over automation arises from uncertainty about its effects on employment, and fears of major changes in jobs. In the main, labor has taken the view that resistance to technological change is futile. In the long run, the result of automation may well be an increase in employment, since it is expected that vast industries will grow up around manufacturing, maintaining and repairing automation equipment. Unquestionably, however, there will be major shifts in jobs within plants, and displacement of labor from one industry to another. The interest of labor lies in bringing about this transition with a minimum of inconvenience and distress to workers involved. Also, union spokesmen emphasize that the benefit of the increased production and lower costs made possible by automation should be shared by workers in the form of higher wages, more leisure, and improved living standards.
工会对自动化的担忧源于对其对就业影响的不确定性，以及对工作岗位重大变化的担忧。总的来说，工会认为抵制技术变革是徒劳的。从长远来看，自动化的结果很可能是就业人数的增加，因为预计自动化设备的制造、维护和维修将成为庞大的行业。然而，毫无疑问，工厂内的工作岗位将发生重大转变，劳动力将从一个行业转移到另一个行业。工会的兴趣点在于将给相关工人带来的不便和痛苦降到最低。此外，工会发言人强调，自动化带来的生产增加和成本降低的好处应该以更高的工资、更多的休闲和提高生活水平的形式由工人分享。
To protect the interests of their members in the era of automation, unions have adopted a number of new policies. One of these is the promotion of supplementary unemployment benefits plans. It is emphasized that since the employer involved in a SUB plan has a direct financial stake in preventing unemployment, he will have a strong incentive for planning new installations so as to cause the least possible disruption in jobs and job assignments. Some unions are working for dismissal pay agreements, requiring that permanently laid off workers be paid a sum of money based on length of service. Another approach is the idea of the "improvement factor", which calls for wage increases based on increases in productivity. It is probable, however, that labor will rely mainly on reduction in working hours in order to gain a full share in the fruits of automation.
为了在自动化时代保护其成员的利益，工会采取了一系列新政策。其中之一是促进补充失业救济计划。需要强调的是，由于参与SUB计划的雇主在防止失业方面有直接的经济利益，他将有强烈的动机规划新的设施，以尽可能减少对工作和工作分配的干扰。一些工会正在制定解雇工资协议，要求永久解雇的工人根据服务年限获得一笔工资。另一种方法是“改善因素”的概念，它要求在提高生产力的基础上提高工资。然而，劳动力很可能主要依靠减少工作时间来获得自动化成果的全部份额。
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