The Leslie Marshall Show

AAM’S 2022 ’Made in America Holiday Gift Guide’

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. 

The two discuss the following topics:

1. Most Consumers Want to Buy U.S.-Made Holiday Gifts (https://industrytoday.com/most-consumers-want-to-buy-u-s-made-holiday-gifts/)

2. AAM's 2022 Made in America Holiday Gift Guide (https://www.americanmanufacturing.org/blog/the-2022-made-in-america-holiday-gift-guide/)
OR
Sharable link: http://www.tinyurl.com/2022AAM

3. President Biden is in Arizona today to talk about semiconductor manufacturing (https://www.cnn.com/2022/12/06/business/tsmc-arizona-investment/index.html)

4. Congress should end “normal trade relations” with China (https://thehill.com/opinion/international/3759785-its-time-to-revoke-chinas-normalized-trade-relations/)

For over 16 years, 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.

WEBSITEs: 1. AmericanManufacturing.org 

TWITTER: 1. AAM - @KeepItMadeInUSA  2. Scott Paul - @ScottPaulAAM

The New Teamsters: Bigger, Faster, Stronger

Leslie is joined by Sean O'Brien, General President of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters.  Sean is a 4th-generation Teamster from Boston, and at 50 years                                                            old, the youngest Teamsters General President. He was sworn in March 2022. The Teamsters Union, founded in 1903, represents 1.2 million workers across the U.S., Canada, and Puerto Rico.
The website for the Teamsters is Teamsters.org and their handle on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram is @Teamsters.  Sean's Twitter handle is @TeamsterSOB.

The two discuss:

- What Sean hopes to accomplish as Teamsters President

- How the Teamsters is becoming a bigger, faster, stronger and more militant union (a goal of Sean's)

- Who the Teamsters are comprised of as a Union (they're a diverse union and they represent workers throughout the supply chain – skies, rails, roads…)

- The Teamsters-UPS contract expires July 31, 2023. Covering 340,000 Teamster members, it is the single largest collective bargaining agreement in North America. Teamsters are ready to fight for a strong contract at UPS, or hit the pavement on August 1st.

 - What are the Teamsters plans for Amazon (they just formed a new Amazon division and visited their headquarters with a message for the company)

- The Teamsters are a Union that organizes.  Sean shares where they've been doing this organizing.

- How the Teamsters are involved politically in the U.S.

How Healthcare Workers Are Taking Safety Into Their Own Hands

Leslie is joined by Tamara Lefcowitz, International Coordinator for the USW Health Care Workers Council. Tamara provides support to the union’s more than 50,000 health care workers across the United States and Canada. Tamara got her start as a community organizer in 2006, investigating police misconduct for the City of Pittsburgh Citizen Police Review Board. In 2009, she began working with organized labor advocating for health care workers. She now proudly bargains contracts, trains activists, and organizes workers to advocate for themselves, their patients, and our communities.

The two discuss how healthcare workers are taking safety into their own hands.

Health care workers made incredible sacrifices to help their communities during the Covid-19 pandemic, relying on each other to protect their patients and themselves. Now, they’re using that same solidarity to make huge improvements to their jobs, their workplaces and America’s care system.

Even before the pandemic, health care workers faced urgent threats to their workplace health and safety.

Workplace violence has long been a problem for health care workers. In 2016 the GAO found that health care workers were at least five times more likely to experience violence on the job as workers in other industries.

Now, threats against health care workers are rising. Legislation like the Workplace Violence Prevention for Healthcare and Social Service Workers Act would help provide meaningful protections, like compelling OSHA to establish an enforceable workplace violence standard. Unfortunately, it’s been twice held up in the Senate.

Longstanding problems with maintaining appropriate staffing levels were also exacerbated by the pandemic and also jeopardize health care workers’ health.

Nursing shortages are a real and urgent concern.
But turnover in other positions like environmental services and dietary also hurts workers across the board and the care they can provide.

The pandemic created additional hazards for health care workers, like a lack of adequate PPE and exposed glaring holes in the safety net, like the lack of OSHA guidance on infectious diseases.

More than 3,600 health care workers died in the first year of the pandemic alone.
And more than half are still reporting symptoms of burnout.

This ended up putting not only health care workers at risk, but their patients and communities as well. Now, workers are taking matters into their own hands.

One of the big things health care workers are doing is organizing.

New research from the AFL-CIO shows that 71 percent of health care workers would join a union if they had the chance.
Late last year roughly 500 Pittsburgh area health care workers voted unanimously to join the USW for a voice on the job.

Unionized health care workers are also winning good contracts.
Approximately 800 USW members at Oroville Hospital in Oroville, Calif., this fall ratified a contract that not only provides significant wage increases, but also establishes a labor-management safety committee that gives a real voice to the front-line workers who best know how to address the hazards they and their patients face every day.

USW members at Copper Country Mental health in Houghton, Mich., just this week ratified a contract that includes hard-fought workplace violence language.

Nurses at three Steward Health Care hospitals in Florida achieved protections from unsafe scheduling and the creation of an infectious disease task force in their new agreement, while workers at Kaleida Health in New York successfully fought for wages increases, a health and safety committee and the health system’s commitment to create 500 new positions to address unsafe staffing issues.

All of these successes come down to building relationships and working together – another way the USW is tackling workplace health and safety concerns in the health care sector – including a pilot program aimed at worker education and empowerment.

This collective action is now resulting in better patient outcomes, more inspections for workplace hazards and better access to personal protective equipment (PPE), among many other advantages, making it good not only for workers but for whole communities.

The website for the USW is www.USW.org and their handle on both Twitter and Instagram is @steelworkers. Tamara's Twitter handle is @TLefcowitz.

Despite Slim Majority, Democrats Notched Major Achievements for Workers and Their Families

Leslie is joined by Kim Miller, who serves as an Assistant to USW International President Tom Conway. She primarily works on political and legislative projects, including overseeing much of the union’s member-to-member outreach around the 2022 midterm elections.

The two discuss how Democrats, despite currently having just a slim majority in both houses of Congress, have worked with President Biden to notch major achievements in favor of workers and their families.

While some don’t garner as much attention in the headlines as they deserve, many of these accomplishments are truly historic.
- This includes a once-in-a-generation win on infrastructure, investing $1.2 trillion in our roads, bridges, ports and more.
Politicians have been saying for years that they had an infrastructure plan, but this administration and this Congress actually delivered.
- In addition to transportation infrastructure, this includes $55 billion to deliver clean drinking water to millions of Americans.
- And a further $65 billion to help ensure every American has access to reliable high-speed internet.
- This not only will make our communities safer, it will create and sustain good, union jobs and help us maintain our economic competitiveness.
- USW members up and down the supply chain are providing and will continue to provide the goods and services needed to make this infrastructure upgrade a reality.

Congressional democrats were also finally able to achieve a major victory on behalf of 1.2 million workers whose retirements were in jeopardy because of troubled multi-employer pension plans.
- These workers stood to lose everything as a result of a convergence of corporate greed, unfair trade, deregulation and the financial crisis.
- American Rescue Plan was a significant achievement in its own right, but one of the lesser-known, but hugely important things it did was shore up multi-employer pension plans so these workers could retire in dignity.
- Even though there wasn’t a single Republican who voted for this plan, years of worker-led advocacy and Democratic action mean that more than a million families’ future is more secure.

Democrats also delivered another sweeping victory for ordinary Americans this summer with the Inflation Reduction Act.
- Among its many provisions, it will lower prescription drug prices by allowing Medicare to negotiate for lower drug prices for seniors and instituting inflation caps for Medicare prescription drugs and improvements to prescription benefits. The law also prevents a premium spike for Affordable Care Act enrollees.
- It will also build out our nation’s capacity for solar, wind and other sources of renewable energy, which will create good, domestic manufacturing jobs and help break our dangerous dependence on foreign producers to meet our needs.
- At the same time, providing incentives for a wide variety of technologies like carbon capture, direct air capture, and nuclear power will help ensure that our steel and other critical industries remain among the cleanest in the world.

Not all of the work has been legislative.
- Instituting a new pro-worker direction at the National Labor Relations Board means that workers have real advocates in an agency that is supposed to be protecting their rights.
One of Biden’s first actions was to remove pro-corporate, anti-worker Peter Robb as NLRB general counsel.
The Senate also confirmed two more board members that Biden nominated who are re-balancing the way the board works toward workers’ rights.
- Just as importantly, Biden nominated a union member to run the Department of Labor and put workers and their advocates in key positions overseeing safety.
- Biden issued executive orders in support of American manufacturing, including establishing the new Made in America office to review any request to bypass the rules and maximize domestically-manufactured components for federal projects.
- And a new inter-agency task force on worker organizing and empowerment is harnessing the power of all government agencies to advance workers’ rights.

In order to keep up this momentum, working people will need to vote in the midterm elections. Republicans made it clear that they stand against many pro-worker initiatives and intend to tip the balance back to pro-corporate interests if elected.

The website for the United Steelworkers is USW.org and their handle on both Twitter and Instagram is @steelworkers.  Kim's Twitter handle is @kimkmiller.

Emmy Winning Producer Talks MAGA Voters Dumping Trump Ahead of Midterms

Leslie first gives her take on today's latest political news in her 'Ripped from the Headlines' segment.

Here are the stories that she covered:

1. AXIOS: "Biden to sign executive order aimed at lowering drug costs"

2. WASHINGTON POST: "Judge bucks Trump, orders Pence aide to testify to Jan. 6 grand jury"

3. AXIOS: "FBI official was warned some agents were "sympathetic" to Capitol rioters"

4. CNN: "In near unanimous vote, European lawmakers call for Russia to be declared a "terrorist" regime"

5. AXIOS: "Raleigh, North Carolina, shooting leaves at least 5 people dead"

6. AXIOS: "Texas sheriff declares Martha's Vineyard migrants crime victim" 

During the second half of the show, Leslie is joined by Melissa Jo Peltier.  
Melissa is an Author and award winning filmmaker who has won two Emmys for News and Documentary, produced "Dog Whisperer" with Cesar Millan, which was on the National Geographic Channel in primetime for seven seasons, and perhaps most famously, originally discovered Nia Vardalos and the script for "My Big Fat Greek Wedding," before selling it to Tom Hanks' production company.
Her film "The Game Is Up," helped Joe Biden win in 2020 by creating a "permission structure" for Republicans in swing states to reject Donald Trump--by interviewing everyone from prominent conservatives, like Joe Walsh, to everyday Republicans who'd had enough.

During today's interview, Leslie and Melissa discuss the film, and how it is still very relevant and now applies to the upcoming Midterm Elections.

Melissa also shares what the disillusioned Trump voters featured in her documentary all have in common.

Melissa's Twitter handle is @MelissaJPeltier and her website is TheGameIsUpMovie.com.

Factory Jobs Are Booming Under Biden! But Will the Fed and a Strong Dollar Kill the Momentum?

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 16 years, 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 how factory jobs are booming under President Biden, and then explore whether the Fed and a strong dollar will kill the momentum.

They also detail how some Senators and members of Congress are trying (in a couple of different ways) to make sure that the Chinese Communist party doesn't undermine this jobs boom.

Finally, the pair reveals how a program to help workers impacted by layoffs due to trade (Trade Adjustment Assistance) has lapsed because Republicans in Congress insist on linking it to new trade deals. As a result, thousands of eligible workers aren’t getting benefits. That’s wrong!

WEBSITEs: 1. AmericanManufacturing.org

TWITTER: 1. AAM - @KeepItMadeInUSA 2. Scott Paul - @ScottPaulAAM 

A Holistic Approach to Workplace Health and Safety

Leslie is joined by Leeann Foster, International Vice President of the United Steelworkers (USW), North America’s largest industrial union. 
They’re 1.2 million members and retirees strong in the United States, Canada and the Caribbean. 
They proudly represent men and women who work in nearly every industry there is.

The two will discuss the USW's holistic approach to workplace health and safety.

This includes their work identifying common trends in fatalities and life altering injuries, as well as laying out a sector specific plan for education and effective hazard identification, controls and communication.

The USW's work has been similarly successful in making manufacturing processes safer and helping workers avoid exposure to extreme heat or toxic substances like silica and beryllium.

The USW has also been making important strides on other fronts when it comes to health and safety. 
One important way is through helping workers who are facing the threat of intimate partner violence. 

Domestic violence increased significantly during the pandemic. The American Journal of Emergency Medicine said that domestic violence cases increased by 25 to 33 percent globally. 
The National Commission on COVID-19 and criminal justice shows an increase in the U.S. by a little over 8 percent, following the imposition of lockdown orders during 2020.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has estimated that about 20 percent of women and 14 percent of men across the United States have experienced “severe physical violence.” 

Workers experiencing domestic violence often need time to focus on getting safe and the security of knowing that they can return to work when they’ve been able to do so. 

That’s why the USW is now negotiating domestic violence protections and resources into their contracts across the union.  This includes two recent contracts with major employers in the paper sector: Domtar and Packaging Corp. of America, covering over 29 mills and 44 box plants and thousands of workers.

Union-negotiated domestic violence leave helps provide time off for court appearances, relocation, counseling and more without eating up vacation or sick days. Workers also won’t need a doctor for an excuse – counselors, domestic shelter employees and spiritual leaders can also speak to what is happening with the employee.
In some cases, workers can also request changes to working hours, transfer to alternate worksites or vacation pay advances.  They can also ask for help in safety planning, like identifying hiding places or an escape route.
Other sectors are also negotiating this important language.  

The USW has been having success with this issue in both the United States and Canada, not just because it’s the right thing to do, but also because it is a true workplace health and safety issue.

The Department of Labor estimated that domestic violence victims lose nearly 8 million days of paid work per year.  It can also affect the health and safety of other workers if abuses show up in the workplace.  Some USW members even receive training in how to help advocate for their peers, help connect them with community resources, and intervene with management when needed.

Because the union believes that gender equality and the right to a safe workplace go hand in hand, the USW is also advocating for other holistic health and safety protections. 

These include: 
- PPE that fits all body shapes
- Resources to combat sexual and other harassment
- Comprehensive bathroom, showers and change-room policies 
- Pregnancy issues including new motherhood issues and breastfeeding 
- Opportunities to address stress,mental health and work-life balance 

Not everyone experiences work or their work environment the same way, but the USW believes that all are entitled to health and safety on the job. 

Leeann Foster has served the union for more than 25 years, working to negotiate strong contracts, advocate for sound trade policies, facilitate educational opportunities and fight for safer workplaces. She oversees more than 550 locals and more than 30 bargaining councils in the USW’s paper sector. She also leads the union’s Making and Converting Paper Safely program to build worker-focused health and safety initiatives in the paper sector, as well as overseeing the USW Women of Steel Leadership Development Program.

WEBSITE: www.USW.org

TWITTER and INSTAGRAM HANDLE: @steelworkers

Biden Administration’s Recent Manufacturing Victories

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 16 years, 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 the Biden administration's recent manufacturing victories.

This includes the CHIPS Act, the Inflation Reduction Act (and how it will affect clean energy production and EVs in the U.S.), the Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill, continuing job gains in manufacturing, and more.

They also explore the huge jump in companies that are reshoring their supply chains back to the U.S. from China.

WEBSITE: 1. AmericanManufacturing.org

TWITTER: 1. AAM - @KeepItMadeInUSA 2. Scott Paul - @ScottPaulAAM 

You can watch this episode in the following places:

YouTube - https://youtu.be/iaSG0IehZ_o

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/609932097/videos/604073681102844/

Will Media Fall for Trump’s Attempt to Change Subject on Classified Documents Seizure?

Leslie begins today's show with her 'Ripped from the Headlines' news segment.

Here are the stories that she gave her take on:

1. THE HILL: "White House to announce student loan cancellation, payment pause extension Wednesday"

2. AXIOS: "White House: Climate law could slash related damages by up to $1.9 trillion"

3. AXIOS: "Ex-Louisville officer pleads guilty to conspiracy in Breonna Taylor killing"

4. AXIOS: "Judge upholds Georgia law prohibiting food, water distribution at polls"

5. AXIOS: "Jury finds 2 men guilty of conspiring to kidnap Gov. Gretchen Whitmer"

6.
AUDIO: Republican Congressman Andy Barr tries to change subject when asked by Chuck Todd what is the GOP's plan to deal with inflation

7. AXIOS: "Florida school district rejects dictionary donations amid new book law"

For the remainder of the hour, Leslie is joined by Jon Sinton, Executive Director and CEO of 'Let Majority Rule,' a non-partisan organization dedicated to ensuring that America hears the voice of the majority of voters. 

The two discuss his latest blog via his Substack, titled, "Enough Already."  One of the items covered in the blog is whether the media will fall for former President Trump's attempt to change the subject on the FBI seizure of classified documents that he kept at his Mar-a-lago golf club. (link here: https://jonbsinton.substack.com/p/enough-already)

In early 2011, Sinton co-founded the smartphone app Progressive Voices which aggregates all progressive content that is seen, heard or read. In 2012, PV launched a streaming radio service, The Progressive Voices Channel on TuneIn.
The websites for 'Let Majority Rule' and Progressive Voices are LetMajorityRule.org and ProgressiveVoices.com.
Their Twitter handles are @LetMajorityRule and @ProgVoice.  Jon's handle is @JonSinton.
Finally, you can check out "Jon's Reluctant Blog" by visiting JonBSinton.substack.com

FBI Raids Trump’s Residence; How Inflation Reduction Act Will Fight Climate Change

Leslie begins today's show with her 'Ripped from the Headlines' news segment.

Here are the stories that she gave her opinion on:

1. ASSOCIATED PRESS: "FBI’s search of Trump’s Florida estate: Why now?"

2. AXIOS: "Biden signs $280 billion chip funding bill" 

3. AXIOS: "Appeals court says House committee can obtain Trump's tax records"

4. AXIOS: "Rudy Giuliani must testify in Atlanta 2020 election probe next week"

During the second half of the show, Leslie is joined by Tim Zenk, President of Molecule, LLC.

Tim explains how the 'Inflation Reduction Act' will fight climate change.  Some of the ways it will do so is by:

- Including huge investments in clean energy

- Keeping President Biden's goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 50% by 2030 within reach

- Curbing methane emissions, which have been responsible for about 30% of global warming since pre-industrial times

- Emphasizing environmental justice

- Signaling to the global community that the U.S. is serious about doing its part to fight climate change

Tim has worked in renewable energy project development and policy for two decades to build new technologies for difficult to decarbonize sectors.  Presently, he is the president at Molecule LLC where he works at the nexus of policy, finance, and technology to fight climate change and support an industrial transformation that is required for the U.S. to remain globally competitive in a zero-carbon future. Here in the U.S., he represents renewable fuels leader Neste, and Hydrogen logistics and aviation pioneer, Universal Hydrogen, among other clients.  He is the founder and Executive Director of the Washington Green Hydrogen Alliance and Clean Fuel Washington.  He was a senior executive at Sapphire Energy, a company that invented renewable crude oil (green crude) from algae. Earlier in Tim’s career he served in several government roles in the Clinton/Gore White House, in Congress for Rep. Norm Dicks, and on the staff of Washington’s 19th Governor, Booth Gardner.
His Twitter handle is @GreenCrude.