紐時賞析／拜登承諾 沒上大學也能找到好工作

No Degree? No Problem. Biden Tries to Bridge the ‘Diploma Divide.’

拜登承諾 沒上大學也能找到好工作

When President Joe Biden told a crowd of union workers this year that every American should have a path to a good career — “whether they go to college or not” — Tyler Wissman was listening.

當美國總統拜登今年告訴一群工會勞工，每個美國人都應該擁有很好的職涯道路，「無論是否念過大學」，泰勒．威斯曼正在聆聽。

A father of one with a high school education, Wissman said he rarely heard politicians say that people should be able to get ahead without a college degree.

威斯曼是一名孩子的父親，學歷為高中，他表示過去鮮少聽聞有政治人物說，即使沒有大學學歷的人仍應該能夠出人頭地。

“In my 31 years, it was always, ‘You gotta go to college if you want a job,’” said Wissman, who is training as an apprentice at the Finishing Trades Institute in Philadelphia, where the president spoke in March.

威斯曼說，「在我31年的人生中，聽到的總是：『你想找到工作，就要上大學』」。威斯曼正在費城的「修飾加工產業學院」以學徒身分接受培訓，拜登三月就是在這裡發表大學學歷不應是求職障礙的演說。

As Biden campaigns for reelection, he is trying to bridge an educational divide that is reshaping the American political landscape. Even though both political parties portray education as crucial for advancement and opportunity, college-educated voters are now more likely to identify as Democrats, while those without college degrees are more likely to support Republicans.

拜登展開連任選戰之際，他正在試圖彌合重塑美國政治版圖的教育鴻溝。即使兩大黨都將教育描述為發展與機會的重要關鍵，但如今大學學歷選民較可能認同民主黨，而未具大學學歷的選民則較可能支持共和黨。

That increasingly clear split has enormous implications for Biden as he tries to expand the coalition of voters that sent him to the White House in the first place. In 2020, Biden won 61% of college graduates, but only 45% of voters without a four-year college degree — and just 33% of white voters without a four-year degree.

拜登正力圖擴大當年將他送進白宮的選民結構，這項日益顯著的分歧對他有巨大潛在影響。2020年，拜登贏得61%大學畢業生的選票，但僅取得45%未具四年制大學學歷的選民支持；而未具四年制大學學歷的白人選民，僅33%票投拜登。

“The Democratic Party has become a cosmopolitan, college-educated party even though it’s a party that considers itself a party of working people,” said David Axelrod, a top adviser to former President Barack Obama.

「民主黨即使自認為是工人階級的政黨，卻已成為了都會、大學學歷選民的政黨」，美國前總統歐巴馬的高階顧問艾克塞羅德表示。

Axelrod added that the perception that Wall Street had been bailed out during the 2008 recession while the middle class was left to struggle deepened the fissure between Democrats and blue-collar workers who did not attend college.

艾克塞羅德補充說，人們認為2008年經濟衰退期間，華爾街獲得紓困，中產階級卻被放任自生自滅，這加深了未就讀大學的藍領工人與民主黨之間的裂痕。

The election of Donald Trump, who harnessed many of those grievances for political gain, solidified the trend.

川普利用這些民怨取得政治優勢，他的當選強化這股潮流。

Now, in speeches around the country, Biden rarely speaks about his signature piece of legislation, a $1 trillion infrastructure bill, without also emphasizing that it will lead to trade apprenticeships and, ultimately, union jobs.

如今拜登在全國各地的演說中，只要談到他的招牌立法成績一兆美元基礎建設法，都少不了強調該法將造就產業學徒機會，最終將創造工會勞工職缺。

The White House says apprenticeship programs, which typically combine some classroom learning with paid on-the-job experience, are crucial to overcoming a tight labor market and ensuring that there is a sufficient workforce to turn the president’s sprawling spending plan into roads, bridges and electric vehicle chargers.

白宮表示，學徒計畫通常會結合一些課堂學習以及有給薪的實務工作經驗，對於紓解緊繃的勞動市場相當重要，並確保有足夠勞動力將總統包山包海的支出計畫具體轉化為道路、橋梁及電動車充電站。

文／Zolan Kanno-Youngs　譯／高詣軒