The Leslie Marshall Show

COVID-19 and Student Borrowers

Today's guest hosts are Brent J. Cohen and Charlotte Hancock, Executive Director and Communications Director for Generation Progress.

 

During this episode, they’re going to be examining yet another example of how COVID-19 has exacerbated an existing issue in this country—in this case, the student debt crisis. Generation Progress has been doing advocacy work in the student debt space for much of their existence, and it’s an issue that they feel very strongly about. The collective student loan debt owed by Americans today totals over 1.5 *trillion* dollars, and around one-third of people under the age of 35 currently have a student loan. The cost of attending college has risen dramatically in recent decades, but these advanced degrees are still considered a prerequisite for most middle-class jobs. That precarious situation combined with the rise of predatory, for-profit institutions that exploit students’ desire for higher education have resulted in many students battling climbing debt well into their careers. Now, with many people in this country out of work or losing income as a result of the pandemic, the student debt crisis is positioned to get much worse, especially for people already fighting against gender and racial wealth gaps.

To learn more about what needs to be done now to protect and provide relief to student borrowers—particularly those most impacted by COVID-19—they’re joined by Ashley Harrington, senior policy counsel at the Center for Responsible Lending, and Cody Hounanian, program director at Student Debt Crisis.

 

Here are the Twitter handles for today's guests and their respective organizations: Ashley Harrington - @achesquire, Center for Responsible Lending - @crlonline, Cody Hounanian - @chounanian, Student Debt Crisis - @DebtCrisisOrg

The website for "Generation Progress" is www.GenProgress.org and their Twitter Handle is @GenProgress.  Brent J. Cohen's Twitter handle is @BrentJCohen and Charlotte Hancock's handle is @CharlatAnne.

Why Can’t America Make Enough Masks or Ventilators?

Leslie is joined by Scott Paul, President of the Alliance for American Manufacturing (AAM), a partnership established by some of America’s leading manufacturers and the United Steelworkers union.
For over a decade, Mr. Paul and AAM have worked to make American manufacturing a top-of-mind issue for voters and our national leaders through effective advocacy, innovative research, and a savvy public relations strategy.

The two discuss Scott's recent op-ed published in the New York Times titled, "Why Can’t America Make Enough Masks or Ventilators?" (Link: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/14/opinion/coronavirus-industry-manufacturing.html)

They also talk about President Trump’s troublesome “tariff relief” plan, as well as why AAM believes now is the perfect time to rebuild America's infrastructure.

On that note, we'd like to encourage you to please add your name to AAM's message to President Trump, and Vice President Pence, that it's time to Rebuild America!
Just go to tinyurl.com/RebuildAmericaAction to add your name. Thank you!

The website for AAM is AmericanManufacturing.org and their Twitter handle is @KeepItMadeInUSA. Scott Paul's handle is @ScottPaulAAM.

World Renowned Infectious Disease Doctor Talks COVID-19 Testing Policy

The guest host for today's show is Brad Bannon. Brad runs Bannon Communications Research, a polling, message development and media firm which helps labor unions, progressive issue groups and Democratic candidates win public affairs and political campaigns. His new show, 'Deadline D.C. with Brad Bannon,' airs every Monday from 3-4pm ET.

Brad is first joined by Dr. Bob Bollinger, the Raj and Kamla Gupta Professor of Infectious Diseases at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. Dr. Bollinger holds joint appointments in International Health at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, and in Community Public Health at the JH School of Nursing.
He is Founding Director of the Center for Clinical Global Health Education (CCGHE). Their website is main.ccghe.net and their Facebook page is Facebook.com/CCGHE.

Dr. Bollinger and Brad discuss the different types of COVID-19 tests, why testing is so important in helping to stop the spread of the virus, how the U.S. is doing compared to other countries, how we can improve in that capacity, and balancing the health needs of Americans with re-opening the country.

During the second half of the show, Brad leads a political round-table with Kim Scott and Mark Grimaldi. The roundtable discusses Brad's recent op-ed for 'The Hill' on the possibility of former First Lady Michelle Obama as Joe Biden's 2020 running mate. They also discuss the Tara Reade sexual assault allegation against Vice President Biden.

Kim Scott is the Founder and Publisher of DemList, LLC, a free national daily political column, calendar and resource site for Democrats and allies - a unique, central source that connects people to the who, what and where of Democratic events, issues and activism. You can find out more about them at DemList.com and follow them on Twitter @TheDemList.

Mark Grimaldi has been a progressive political activist for the past 12 years. He volunteered for the campaigns of President Obama (2008 and 2012), Senator Bernie Sanders (2016), and Secretary Hillary Clinton (2016). Mark is also involved in campaign finance reform efforts around the country, and philanthropic efforts for Cancer research. His Twitter handle is @MarkJGrimaldi.

Brad writes a column every Sunday on the 2020 Presidential race for 'The Hill.' He's on the National Journal's panel of political insiders and is a national political analyst for WGN TV and Radio in Chicago and KNX Radio in Los Angeles.
You can read Brad's columns at www.MuckRack.com/Brad-Bannon. His Twitter handle is @BradBannon.

Watch a video broadcast of this episode here: www.pscp.tv/w/1OdKrqWQVVlxX

Workers’ Memorial Day and Trump administration’s Responsibility to Workers During COVID-19 Pandemic

Leslie is joined by Steve Sallman, Assistant Director of the United Steelworkers Health, Safety and Environment Department, where he’s worked for more than 16 years. He has 28 years of safety and health experience, investigating fatalities and life-altering accidents, providing assistance to local unions and working closely with employers’ safety and health professionals. Mr. Sallman serves as a labor representative on the National Advisory Committee on Occupational Safety and Health (NACOSH) and NFPA’s 652 Technical Committee on the Fundamentals of Combustible Dust.

Leslie and Steve discuss Workers’ Memorial Day and the Trump administration’s responsibility to workers during the Covid-19 pandemic. Coronavirus has introduced a host of new health and safety concerns into the workplace: both for essential workers who have been on the job for the past two months and for workers who will be entering the workplace again as the economy begins to reopen. During this pandemic, many USW members have been and continue to go to work each day in oil and chemical plants, paper and steel mills, hospitals, power plants, and many other workplaces.

Unions, including the USW, have made a series of common sense recommendations and some employers have been taking steps to keep workers safe. However, there are still real challenges, including access to appropriate PPE, the need for appropriate distancing, still sometimes limited opportunities to regularly wash hands, and more. The biggest challenge has been a lack of leadership from the federal government, which has left everyone to tackle these problems piecemeal. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), the agency charged with keeping workers safe, has been largely absent from this conversation. In March, a group of unions demanded that OSHA implement an emergency, temporary infectious disease standard that would specify the steps employers must take to keep workers safe. But OSHA still has not done so. Instead OSHA merely provided guidance that employers are free to accept or reject. As a result, since January, more than 3,000 workers contacted OSHA to complain about employers’ failure to take basic steps to protect them from COVID-19. Yet another problem is that OSHA has all but stopped investigating complaints. This has left the states, and other stakeholders, to fill in the holes. Oregon, for example, ramped up enforcement of state-level occupational safety rules and began spot checks of employers to ensure workers practice social distancing.

This is sadly unsurprising. Labor Secretary Eugene Scalia has long sided with corporations over workers. The Trump administration has also targeted the Chemical Safety Board (CSB), which has broad bipartisan support, and rolled back chemical safety regulations. A recent paper mill explosion in Jay, Maine is another example of how the CSB should be responding to understand how this happened, what lessons can be learned and shared with the industry, workers, unions and the public. It is truly a 'miracle' no one was hurt after the mill exploded.

This week the USW marked Workers Memorial Day, a somber day that we observe every year in the fight for safe jobs. This year, their union remembered the 29 workers who were killed at USW-represented workplaces in the USA and Canada over the past twelve months. And, as they always do, they resolved to fight for the health and safety of their members and all workers.

But in light of COVID, and the administration’s failure of leadership, they’re also mobilizing to fight for the safety of all workers by supporting H.R. 6559, The COVID-19 Every Worker Protection Act of 2020. This legislation would require OSHA to put out an enforceable standard for COVID-19.

On April 28, 2016, Workers Memorial Day, President Obama signed a Presidential Proclamation. On April 28, 2020, Workers Memorial Day, President Trump keeps meatpacking hotspots open as he signed an executive order under the Defense Production Act to compel meat processing plants to remain open amid the coronavirus pandemic. The President should instead be using the DPA to mandate the production and distribution of personal protective equipment, while issuing an emergency temporary standard to protect workers from COVID-19.

The USW's website is USW.org and their handle on Twitter and Instagram is @steelworkers.

COVID-19 and Election Protection

Today's guest hosts are Charlotte Hancock and Edwith Theogene, Communications Director and Organizing Director for Generation Progress.

Today's discussion is about the fact that we're just sixth months away from one of the most important elections of our lifetimes. People across the country will need safe and reliable ways to vote and have their votes counted in November. Ensuring that happens in a country with an extremely dubious history with voting rights will take a lot of work—and funding—on the federal, state, and local levels.

To learn more about what needs to be done now to protect our elections during this emergency and beyond, Edwith and Charlotte are joined by Tiffany Dena Loftin, the Director of the NAACP Youth & College Division, and Danielle Root, the Associate Director of Voting Rights and Access to Justice on the Center for American Progress Democracy and Government Reform Team.

Here are the Twitter handles for today's guests and their respective organizations: Tiffany Dena Loftin - @Tiffanydloftin, NAACP Youth and College Division - @NAACPYC_, Center for American Progress Democracy and Government Reform Team - @CAPdemocracy

The website for "Generation Progress" is www.GenProgress.org and their Twitter Handle is @GenProgress. Charlotte Hancock's Twitter handle is @CharlatAnne and Edwith Theogene's handle is @WhoIsEdwith.

Huge Jump in Business Bankruptcies Likely in Coming Months, and How It Will Affect the U.S.

Leslie begins the hour with her 'Ripped from the Headlines' news segment. Here are the stories that she covered during the segment:

1. NBC NEWS: "U.S. passes 1 million cases of COVID-19"
2. WASHINGTON POST: "President’s intelligence briefing book repeatedly cited virus threat"
3. WASHINGTON POST: "The U.S. plans to give $500 billion to large companies. It won’t require them to preserve jobs or limit executive pay"
4. AXIOS: "Mnuchin says SBA will do "full review" of PPP loans over $2 million"
5. AXIOS: "Coronavirus is tied to climate and biodiversity crises"
6. CNN: "Arizona GOP chair encourages anti-stay-at-home protesters to dress like health care workers"
7. THE DAILY BEAST: "Pence Flouts Mask Policy While Visiting Staff, Patient at Mayo Clinic"

She's then joined by Toddy Duffy, Co-Founder of the Law-Firm DuffyAmedeo LLP. Todd attended law school at St. John’s University School of Law and obtained his law degree in two and a half years. After law school, he clerked for Chief Judge Stephen D. Gerling of the Northern District of New York Bankruptcy Court. After his clerkship, Todd was associated with several large Manhattan firms and participated in many of the largest and most complex bankruptcy cases in the last twenty years. Todd is also a past Chair of the Bankruptcy Committee of the New York County Lawyers’ Association.

Leslie and Todd discuss the "flood of business bankruptcies" being "likely in coming months," as reported by the Associated Press. Todd explains why, especially during a disaster like the COVID-19 pandemic, bankruptcy does not signify that a business is a failure. Rather, it is a tool that a business can use to level the playing field amid the economic fallout from a disaster that they had no hand in making.

Todd's website is DuffyAmedeo.com and his Twitter handle is @ToddEduffy.

Trump's COVID-19 Disinfectant Comments; Potential Biden Running Mates

The guest host for today's show is Brad Bannon. Brad runs Bannon Communications Research, a polling, message development and media firm which helps labor unions, progressive issue groups and Democratic candidates win public affairs and political campaigns. His new show, 'Deadline D.C. with Brad Bannon,' airs every Monday from 3-4pm ET.

Brad is first joined by Paul Lisnek, a multi-Emmy, Cablefax, Telly and Beacon Award winning television host and analyst. Paul has been the political analyst for WGN-TV since 2008, appearing on all the station’s newscasts discussing political issues of the day. He is the host of Politics Tonight on CLTV, on which he interviews the leading political figures in the city, state and country, and also serves as a fill-in anchor. Paul has interviewed presidents, governors, senators, congressmen, local representatives and mayors too numerous to count over the last 25 years.  His Twitter handle is @PaulLisnek.

Paul and Brad evaluate President Trump's handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, and his unfounded comment that injecting one's self with disinfectant could be a treatment for COVID-19.  They also discuss the 2020 presidential election between Trump and Joe Biden.  This includes thoughts on potential running mates for Biden, including Elizabeth Warren, Kamala Harris, Stacey Abrams, Amy Klobuchar, Gretchen Whitmer and Tammy Baldwin.

During the second half of the show, Brad leads a political round-table with Nick Guthman and Mark Grimaldi.  The roundtable picks up on the discussion of running mates for Joe Biden, with a focus on Elizabeth Warren, Stacey Abrams and Gretchen Whitmer.  They also highlight the importance of Democrats energizing the youth vote if they hope to take back the White House this November.  This includes investing in get out the vote operations for college students.

Nick Guthman is Co-Founder of 'Blue Future,' a national organizing program run out of the Youth Progressive Action Catalyst, a youth-led political action committee (PAC), focused on organizing young people around progressive electoral campaigns. His Twitter handle is @NickGuthman. The website for 'Blue Future' is www.OurBlueFuture.us.

Mark Grimaldi has been a progressive political activist for the past 12 years.  He volunteered for the campaigns of President Obama (2008 and 2012), Senator Bernie Sanders (2016), and Secretary Hillary Clinton (2016).  Mark is also involved in campaign finance reform efforts around the country, and philanthropic efforts for Cancer research.  His Twitter handle is @MarkJGrimaldi.

Brad writes a column every Sunday on the 2020 Presidential race for 'The Hill.'  He's on the National Journal's panel of political insiders and is a national political analyst for WGN TV and Radio in Chicago and KNX Radio in Los Angeles.
You can read Brad's columns at www.MuckRack.com/Brad-Bannon. His Twitter handle is @BradBannon.

Watch a video broadcast of the show here: www.periscope.tv/BradBannon/1eaJbQAOEWeGX

AFT Pres. Randi Weingarten Details How Educators Are Stepping Up for Students During Pandemic

Leslie begins the hour with her 'Ripped from the Headlines' news segment.

She's then joined by Randi Weingarten, President of the 1.7 million-member American Federation of Teachers, AFL-CIO, which represents teachers; paraprofessionals and school-related personnel; higher education faculty and staff; nurses and other healthcare professionals; local, state and federal government employees; and early childhood educators.

Leslie and Randi discuss how children and parents are dealing with a huge digital divide, which is why the AFT decided to donate 10,000 books to a network of homeless shelters in NYC to help fill the gap. Randi also shares how the COVID-19 pandemic has "exasperated and exposed every inequality" in both our education system and our country as a whole.

Since COVID 19 began, thousands of educators have submitted requests to FirstBook.org for funding to choose and purchase books for their students to support distance learning. A donation to FirstBook.org would help get books into the hands of kids in need across the country. We've posted the link on our video stream and will do the same on all of our social media accounts. So please go to FirstBook.org and donate whatever your budget allows.

The website for the American Federation of Teachers is AFT.org and their Twitter account is @AFTunion. President Randi Weingarten's account is @rweingarten.

The AFT champions fairness; democracy; economic opportunity; and high-quality public education, healthcare and public services for students, their families and communities. The AFT and its members advance these principles through community engagement, organizing, collective bargaining and political activism, and especially through members’ work.

COVID-19’s Disproportionate Impact On Communities Of Color

Today's guest hosts are Brent J. Cohen and Charlotte Hancock, Executive Director and Communications Director for Generation Progress.

They’re highlighting a very alarming, but sadly not unexpected, trend that has emerged during the COVID-19 pandemic. Communities of color, and especially Black people, are contracting the infection at much higher rates than white people, and are experiencing consistently worse outcomes with the disease. For example, in Washington D.C., where Generation Progress is based, data has shown that Black people have made up around 80% of the deaths from COVID-19 despite making up only around 50% of the D.C. population. New York City and Chicago have reported even higher racial disparities in COVID-19 deaths, and some states have begun reporting infection and death rates by race in order to track the trend.

To learn more about why this trend exists and what it will take to mitigate the impact of racism on public health, Brent and Charlotte are joined by Dorianne Mason, the Director of Health Equity at the National Women’s Law Center, and Connor Maxwell, a Senior Policy Analyst on the Race and Ethnicity team at the Center for American Progress.

Here are the Twitter handles for today's guests and their respective organizations: Dorianne Mason - @DorianneMason, National Women's Law Center - @nwlc, Center for American Progress Race and Ethnicity Policy Team - CAPTalksRace, Connor Maxwell - @Connor__Maxwell

The website for "Generation Progress" is www.GenProgress.org and their Twitter Handle is @GenProgress. Brent J. Cohen's Twitter handle is @BrentJCohen and Charlotte Hancock's handle is @CharlatAnne.

Nurses Protest Outside White House for Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) in Fight Against COVID-19

Leslie begins the hour with her 'Ripped from the Headlines' news segment.

Here are the four news stories that she covers:

1. AXIOS: "White House and Congress reach interim coronavirus funding deal"

2. CNN/AXIOS: "Bipartisan Senate report backs intel community assessment that Russia interfered to help Trump in 2016 election"

3. Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: "At least 7 new coronavirus cases appear to be related to Wisconsin election's in-person voting, Milwaukee health commissioner says"

4. NBC News: "Two-thirds of voters back vote-by-mail in November 2020"

She's then joined by Jean Ross, an Acute Care Nurse, and Co-President of National Nurses United, the country’s largest union and professional organization of registered nurses, with more than 150,000 members nationwide.

Leslie and Jean discuss the registered nurses who are holding a protest in front of the White House today. They're protesting to call attention to the tens of thousands of health care workers nationwide who have become infected with COVID-19 due to lack of personal protective equipment (PPE). The nurses, members of National Nurses United (NNU), are practicing social distancing and are reading aloud the names U.S. nurses who are known to have died of COVID-19.

Nurses have been demanding that the Trump administration’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) promulgate an emergency temporary standard so that health care workers are provided with the optimal PPE. NNU petitioned OSHA on March 4, 2020 for such a standard and never received a response. With no federal health and safety standard, nurses and other health care workers in many hospitals across the country have not been provided with adequate PPE to protect them from exposure to the virus.

Nurses point out that they require N95 respirators or a higher level or protection as well as other protective gear when taking care of patients who may be infected with COVID-19. With the failure of the Trump administration to protect health care workers, NNU is demanding that Congress include a mandatory OSHA emergency standard in its next COVID-19 legislative package.

Leslie and Jean also talk about the healthcare workers being hailed as heroes after standing in the street to block a right-wing protest against Colorado's stay-at-home order.

NNU's website is NationalNursesUnited.org and their Twitter and Instagram handle is @NationalNurses.