Possible Cellphone Ban for Teen Drivers; No Time to Eat; Security First; Your Call is Very Important to Us. Please Continue to Hold
Possible Cellphone Ban for Teen Drivers
The state Assembly passed a bill yesterday that would prohibit drivers under age 18 from using a cellphone, pager, text-messaging device or laptop while driving. SB 33 passed the State Senate in April, and now goes back to the Senate for a final vote on Assembly amendments. After that, Governor Schwarzenegger has 30 days to sign or veto the bill. Larry talks to the author of the bill, Senator Joe Simitian, and asks listeners to weigh in on the legislation.
No Time to Eat
L.A. Unified's cafeterias serve nearly half a million meals each school day. However, according to the cafeteria workers union SEIU, only 35% of secondary school students eat cafeteria food, while 79% of LAUSD students qualify for free or reduced price lunches. Because many students have only 30 minutes for lunch they often skip the long cafeteria lines in favor of the vending machines. The SEIU is proposing a solution that would increase workers' shifts from 3 to 4 hours, which they say will provide healthier lunches served in cleaner cafeterias. It would also make the workers eligible for health benefits. Larry discusses the issue with Bill Lloyd of the SEIU.
Security First
In his new book, Security First: For a Muscular, Moral Foreign Policy (Yale University Press), international relations expert Amitai Etzioni addresses what can be done to improve U.S. relations with the rest of the world. Larry talks with Etzioni about American policies toward recently liberated countries and rogue states, and when the U.S. should undertake humanitarian intervention abroad.
Your Call is Very Important to Us. Please Continue to Hold
You know the drill. You have a simple question about your bank account, your airline reservation, or the missing lug nuts for your "some assembly required" bookshelf. After listening to an endless phone menu, holding for minutes on end, being transferred, put on hold again, you finally end up talking with a person on the other end of the world who barely speaks English. As more and more American companies outsource their customer service departments it becomes harder and harder to reach a knowledgeable and understandable customer service agent. The goal of this shift was undoubtedly cost-savings, but is it working? Larry discusses the impact of customer frustration on a company's bottom line with Valerie Folkes of the USC Marshall School of Business.