Friedrichs vs. California Teachers Association could overturn a law implemented nearly four decades ago; How viable is the $1.85 billion homelessness plan?; and looking back at David Bowie's evolving personas.
Debate, reaction to Supreme Court hearing challenge to CA union fees law
A hotly debated legal and political issue was at the center of today's Supreme Court hearing.
The case challenges unions' right to collect fees from non-members who benefit from union negotiations but who do not want to support the union.
A veteran schoolteacher in Anaheim, Rebecca Friedrichs, is suing the California Teachers Association over the law that requires public-school teachers to financially contribute to unions in order to subsidize collective bargaining efforts.
Justice Anthony Kennedy challenged arguments made by lawyers for the state of California and the California Teachers Association that the current fee system is needed to prevent non-members from becoming "free riders" - workers who get all the benefits of union bargaining and grievance procedures without paying for it.
"The union basically is making these teachers 'compelled riders' for issues on which they strongly disagree," Kennedy said, noting the political nature of bargaining issues like teacher salaries, merit promotions and class size.
Justice Elena Kagan warned that the challengers "come here with a heavy burden" to overturn a nearly 40-year-old case on which thousands of contracts and millions of employees rely.
Justice Stephen Breyer said overturning Abood would require the court to overrule several related cases in which the high court has approved mandatory payments by lawyers to bar associations and mandatory student fees at public universities.
"That's quite a big deal," Breyer said. The case has implications in 22 states.
With files from the Associated Press.
Guests:
Lynn Rhinehart, General Counsel, AFL-CIO - the umbrella federation for U.S. unions, with 56 unions representing 12.5 million working men and women; Rhinehart co-authored an amicus brief in Friedrichs
Ilya Shapiro, senior fellow in constitutional studies at the libertarian Cato Institute and editor-in-chief of the Cato Supreme Court Review; Shapiro co-authored an amicus brief in Friedrichs. He tweets from
Next steps after Chief Beck recommends criminal charges for LAPD cop in fatal Venice shooting
Los Angeles police Chief Charlie Beck has called for criminal charges against an officer who shot and killed an unarmed homeless man in Venice last May.
Beck told the Los Angeles Times he made the recommendation to District Attorney Jackie Lacey last month when the LAPD handed the investigation over to prosecutors.
The May 2015 shooting involved 29-year-old Brendon Glenn. Glenn was black. The officer, named by the Times as Officer Clifford Proctor, is also black. The incident was caught by a surveillance camera.
The news comes on the heels of KPCC's in-depth investigation into police shootings in Los Angeles County, which found one in four people shot were unarmed and that prosecutors had not filed criminal charges against an officer in an on-duty shooting in 15 years.
How difficult will it be to prosecute this case? And what kind of pressure does it put on District Attorney Jackie Lacey? Today on AirTalk, we take a look at what some of the legal challenges will be moving forward.
Guest:
Stan Goldman, Professor of Law at Loyola Law School, where he specializes in criminal law and procedure; he’s also Director, Center for the Study of Law and Genocide
Correction: A previous version of this story identified Brendon Glenn using an incorrect first name. KPCC regrets the error.
The good and the not-good-enough of LA’s strategy to address homelessness
According to a revised report released late last week by city budget analysts, Los Angeles should plan to spend about $1.85 billion over the next 10 years to reduce homelessness.
But how the city will come up with that money remains to be seen.
The report suggests a variety of options, from winning state or federal grants to asking voters to increase taxes on themselves.
We talk with leaders at various levels of the conversation about their take on this new strategy -- the first comprehensive strategy in years.
Los Angeles Homelessness Strategy
Guests:
City Councilman Marqueece Harris-Dawson, Los Angeles City Council Member representing District 8 in South LA and co-chair of the Homelessness and Poverty Committee. He tweets from
Elise Buik, President and CEO, United Way of Greater Los Angeles. She tweets from
Monica Alcaraz, President of the Historic Highland Park Neighborhood Council, which is one of nearly 100 local councils that work with the city of L.A. @malcaraz13
Rev. Andy Bales, CEO of Union Rescue Mission
LA football hopefuls hold breath as NFL owners meet to decide Rams’, Chargers’, Raiders’ fate
We could have an answer to the question of whether Los Angeles will be home to an NFL team next year as early as this week.
The owners of all 32 teams begin a two-day meeting session tomorrow in Houston, during which they ultimately hope to decide which (if any) of the three franchises who have applied for relocation to Los Angeles will be given the green light.
The St. Louis Rams, the Oakland Raiders, and the San Diego Chargers have all filed papers to move to L.A. Only two of those teams will get the nod to move, and those teams will have to share a single stadium, either in Carson or Inglewood. (MORE TK)
Guests:
Ben Bergman, KPCC’s senior business and economy reporter who is headed to Houston for the owners’ meetings
Darren Rovell, ESPN sports business reporter and business correspondent for ABC News. He tweets from
The ethics of Sean Penn’s interview with ‘El Chapo’ and the political will for extradition
Actor Sean Penn is expressing no regrets about his clandestine visit to interview Mexican drug lord Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman.
In a brief email exchange with The Associated Press, Penn was asked about images published in Mexican news media today that appeared to show officials watching him and a Mexican actress ahead of their October visit with Guzman. Penn responds that he has nothing to hide.
Guzman was captured last Friday, more than three months after Penn's meeting with him in central Mexico and six months after escaping from prison.
Still, many think Penn’s actions raise ethical and even legal questions. We hear what journalists in Mexico are saying and why Mexico is not considering extraditing Guzman to the US.
*With Files from AP
Read the full story here.
Guests:
Jane Kirtley, Professor of media ethics and law at the School of Journalism and Mass Communication at the University of Minnesota
Nacha Cattan, correspondent for Bloomberg News in Mexico City
Jordan J. Paust, Mike and Teresa Baker Law Center Professor of International Law at the Law Center of the University of Houston
Ignacio Pinto-Leon, Esq., a dual U.S.–Mexico licensed attorney. Director of JurisMex Corp., a consulting firm based in Houston, TX that provides legal advice in Mexican law; Mr. Pinto–Leon teaches the course of Introduction to the Law of Mexico as an adjunct professor at the University of Houston Law Center
AirTalk listeners remember David Bowie
David Bowie, the musician and artist alternatively known as Ziggy Stardust and the Thin White Duke, has died from cancer. He was 69.
The ultimate chameleon who had stretched the boundaries of music over 25 albums, Bowie’s influence is deep and wide. His final album, “Blackstar,” was released last Friday to unanimous praise -- two days before his death.
Call AirTalk at (866) 893-5722 to tell us about your favorite Bowie song, how his music has touched your life.
Guest:
Alex Gale, Senior Editor at Billboard. He tweets at