Early Monday saw the oral arguments for Janus v. AFSCME, a SCOTUS case which debates the constitutionality of public employee unions forcing those who don't want to be members to pay collective bargaining costs. We examine the latest. We also conduct our weekly politics discussion and review gendered coverage of the Olympics.
Week in politics: Dems breathe sigh of relief on DACA, what’s on Congress’ agenda as it returns to D.C., and what you need to know about 'memo mania'
AirTalk’s weekly politics segment.
Topics subject to change but here’s what we’ve watched over the weekend:
Supreme Court won’t hear DACA dispute (also here)
Labor unions Supreme Court case – the oral arguments heard this morning, and what are the potential impacts on public employee unions if Supreme Court rules in favor of plaintiff?
Dems response to GOP memo, aka “Schiff memo”
Mueller indictments, Rick Gates to plead guilty
Congress is back today…what’s on their agenda? Chances they move on gun control? And how will they spend their time now that the DACA deadline is moot?
Trump’s latest comments on violent video games and the Parkland shooter
Companies cutting ties with the NRA (Delta, American Airlines, full list here)
Kasich’s comments on multi-party system and general concept of the end of the two-party system
Oakland mayor forewarns ICE raids
CA Dems won’t endorse Feinstein
Guests:
Pete Peterson, dean of the School of Public Policy and senior fellow at The Davenport Institute at Pepperdine University; he tweets
John Iadarola, host and creator of the daily YouTube news show ThinkTank, part of The Young Turks Network; he also serves as a weekly co-host for The Young Turks weekly live show; he tweets
Supreme Court justices appear split along ideological lines in oral arguments on public employee unions case, so what’s next?
All eyes were on the Supreme Court’s newest justice as he and his eight colleagues on the bench heard oral arguments Monday morning in Janus v. American Federation of County, State, and Municipal Employees, a case that revolves around whether forcing public employees to pay union costs of collective bargaining is a violation of the First Amendment.
The justices appeared split along ideological lines, with the lone question mark being Justice Neil Gorsuch, who apparently did not speak during oral arguments.
If the court rules in favor of the plaintiff, it would overturn Abood v. Detroit Board of Education, a 1977 Supreme Court decision that forced non-union members to pay into the union to cover the cost of collective bargaining. It was 2016 when the Supreme Court considered a similar case, Friedrichs v. California Teachers Association. In that case, the justices appeared poised to overturn “Abood” and rule in favor of the plaintiffs, but the sudden death of Justice Antonin Scalia in February of 2016 left the court deadlocked at 4-4, so Justice Gorsuch’s vote could very well be the one that makes the decision.
For a deeper dive on the legal arguments at play, listen back to AirTalk’s Friday preview of today’s oral arguments.
Guests:
Jacob Huebert, attorney representing the plaintiff, Mark Janus, in the SCOTUS case, Janus v. AFSCME, which is scheduled for today; he is also the director of litigation at the Liberty Justice Center, a nonprofit that focuses on protecting economic liberty and private property rights
Matt Bodie, professor of employment and labor law at Saint Louis University; he co-authored an amicus brief in support of AFSCME
Yvonne Walker, president of SEIU Local 1000, the Sacramento-based branch of the labor union representing many public service workers
A look at gender representation and changing viewership in the 2018 Olympics
After record-setting performances, impressive comebacks and dramatically close competitions, the 2018 Winter Olympics came to a close Sunday night.
The Olympic Games are arguably the only weeks of a year when the amount of time spent covering female athletes rivals the amount of time spent covering male athletes (although critics say some of that coverage is sexist). In fact, Pyeongchang was the first Winter Games that NBC televised more minutes of women’s competitions than men’s.
And viewers tuned in for those female athletes – the U.S. women’s hockey team’s overtime victory over defending champion Canada may be the most-watched NBC Sports Network program to air during the midnight hour.
Still, despite all of the drama and excitement, NBC’s ratings dropped halfway through the Olympics – and the growing number of ways viewers can follow the games online may be a reason why.
How did you follow this year’s Winter Games? Did you stick to traditional television viewing, rely on online streaming or just watch the highlights on social media? And how did you feel about this year’s coverage of female athletes?
Call us at 866-893-5722.
Guests:
Rick Burton, professor of Sport Management in Syracuse University’s David B. Falk College of Sport and Human Dynamics; Burton served as the chief marketing officer for the U.S. Olympic Committee at the Beijing 2008 Summer Olympics, where he directed the USOC’s partnerships for International Olympic Committee (IOC) and USOC sponsorship
Jeff Fellenzer, associate professor of professional practice at the University of Southern California, where he teaches sports business media and technology
Maureen Smith, professor in the department of kinesiology and health science at California State University, Sacramento; she was a lead or co-author of many of the Women’s Sports Foundation’s reports on the Olympic and Paralympic Games, including the most recent, “Women in the 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games: An Analysis of Participation, Leadership, and Media Coverage” (2017)