Today we'll discuss the ways that LGBT advocates hope to change the immigration reform bill. We'll also consider L.A.'s synced traffic lights, examine new developments to the Boston Marathon bombing case, and speak about the weight of responsibility in the Bangladesh factory collapse. Later, we'll discuss renovations to LAX. All that and more, on AirTalk.
How will same-sex partners factor into new immigration reform?
LGBT activists are diving into the immigration reform debate, arguing that the most recent bills proposed by the Gang of Eight unfairly exclude same-sex couples. The bill, introduced to the Senate in April by a group of bipartisan lawmakers, includes provisions to ease legal immigration for highly skilled workers, migrant farmworkers, and family members of U.S. citizens. It does not include measures to accommodate same-sex partners of American citizens.
Since 1996, a law defining marriage as between a man and woman has prevented same-sex married couples from applying for green cards for a foreign spouse – the immigration code does not recognize same-sex partners. Democrats in the Gang of Eight have been conflicted about whether to amend the new immigration bill to make provisions for same-sex couples – Republicans in the Senate who have expressed support for the current bill say that such measures would be a deal breaker.
How should the senate deal with LGBT rights as they relate to immigration reform? Is it worth trying to pass the immigration reform bill with an amendment to include same-sex partners even though it is more likely to fail?
Guests:
Carrie Budoff Brown, a reporter at POLITICO
Ty Cobb, senior legislative counsel at Human Rights Campaign
Luis Alvarado, political strategist for Revolvis and former deputy press secretary for the California Republican Party
Will the San Onofre nuclear plant be mothballed?
The costs associated with the shutdown of San Onofre nuclear plant has reached $553 million for Edison International. The parent company of Southern California Edison told investors the plant may have to be closed entirely without approval from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to restart its troubled reactor. The update comes as summer approaches. The plant hasn't generated electricity since January 2012, because damaged to tubes carrying radioactive water was discovered.
Where will California get its energy without San Onofre's plant? What would happen if the plant had to be mothballed entirely?
Guest:
Ben Bergman, Orange County Reporter, KPCC
Will traffic light syncing alleviate LA gridlock?
L.A.’s infamous traffic problem has been unsolvable for decades. In the newest effort to alleviate gridlock, the city has synchronized over 4,300 traffic lights.
This system called the Automated Traffic Surveillance and Control system is a complex system that links all the traffic lights together. Sensors and transportation engineers will monitor traffic flow and operate the lights accordingly. Police can also use this system to control traffic for events. This $400 million network pushed by Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa should save commuters time and gas, which in turn decreases L.A.’s equally infamous smog. Los Angeles is the first big city to integrate this technology.
Is it working? Is your commute time shorter? Should other cities consider traffic light syncing to avoid gridlock?
Guests:
Verej Janoyan, Senior Engineer at the Los Angeles Department of Transportation who has worked on the signal synchronization program
James Moore, a professor of civil and environmental engineering at the University of Southern California
New arrests made in Boston bombing case
Three people have been taken into custody in connection with the Boston Marathon bombings. The three people are allegedly connected to suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, and two of them are also reported to be students at the University of Massachusetts at Dartmouth, where Dzhokhar was a student. The suspects, who are said to be from Kazakhstan, allegedly helped Dzhokhar after the bombings. They are being held on immigration charges and are expected to be charged with obstruction of justice.
What do we know about these three arrests? Other new details have emerged too, such as the discovery of female DNA on the bombs. Have investigators spoken to Tamerlan Tsarnaev’s wife Katherine? What else do we know as the investigation moves forward?
Guest:
Sree Bhaktavatsalam, Bloomberg News Reporter
Who is responsible for building safety in countries like Bangladesh?
With the death toll well past 400 people and an unknown number still missing after the Rana Plaza collapsed in Bangladesh, thousands of people marched through the streets of Bangladesh this May Day. They recount the recent tragedies, share their griefs, and shout for worker safety and the death penalty for the Rana Plaza owner.
Although this factory collapse is not the first tragedy due to fatal building construction in Bangladesh, this has been the most severe. The Associated Press reports that even after a fire at Tazreen Fashions Ltd. that killed 112 people last year, there have been another 41 “fire incidents” in Bangladesh factories. So, who is responsible for building safety and preventing future deaths?
International unions are going after the retailers who contract garment production in these buildings. Although private audits and checks already exist, the unions say it’s not enough and these international clothing brands need to be legally responsible for worker safety.
Ben Hensler, the Deputy Director and General Counsel for Worker Rights Consortium (WRC), said on AirTalk about these retailers and brands, “They’ve chosen to have their garments produced in Bangladesh, to have their garments produced with these particular companies, and they benefit from the rock bottom prices that they have to pay for the garments; and they have a responsibility to make sure the workers who make those garments have safe conditions. And as this latest tragedy shows, they’ve been very much deficient in that.”
Hensler said that the companies are not ignorant of factory conditions because they visit to see the quality of the garments. If they care about the condition of the garments, then consumers should hold companies responsible for caring about the condition of the workers.
In coordination with other groups, the WRC is pushing brands to sign an agreement to improve building safety over the next two years. Phillips Van Heusen (PVH), which includes Calvin Klein and Tommy Hilfiger, and German brand Tchibo have signed. If two more brands agree, these companies will share the costs of improving building safety.
But should the burden rest on the Bangladeshi government? The garment industry is worth billions in Bangladesh, and citizens are demanding they invest more funds into factory inspections and audits. Retailers argue that the government is responsible for the lives of its citizens, and local factory owners need to keep their buildings up to code.
Since garment production is contracted, retailers don’t always know who and where is making their clothing and cannot practically monitor building safety.
The founder and chairman of the Competitive Enterprise Institute, Fred Smith, said that responsibility lies with the factory owner, who knew about the crack in the building. The owner, Mohammed Sohel Rana, is currently under arrest and awaiting charges that would lead to a few years in prison. However, Bangladeshi citizens today are protesting that he should receive the death penalty.
Smith said that the bigger issue is the moral responsibility to increase the wealth of poorer countries. He asked on AirTalk, “How do we find ways of recognizing that our greatest moral responsibility is to help the poor people of the world get wealthier so they can afford the safer, longer life societies like we have?”
He cited American history as an example, and how industrialization from the North changed the financially struggling South. During the Industrial Revolution, there were accidents and tragedies, but because the South got wealthier, workers naturally started to demand higher risk premiums if the plant was less safe. This encouraged plants to improve their safety standards.
Hensler disagreed and said national regulations and the forming of unions caused plants to adopt standardized safety regulations. AirTalk listener Mark from Laguna Beach noted that small business owners who buy from overseas garment factories could not afford to send structural engineers and be responsible for building safety.
Weigh In:
And do consumers bear responsibility? Retailers say that upgrading overseas building standards are financially detrimental because of the fierce competition for low prices. As a consumer, do these incidents affect your buying decisions? Would you pay more for clothing?
Guests:
Ben Hensler, Deputy Director and General Counsel for Worker Rights Consortium
Fred Smith, Founder and Chairman of the Competitive Enterprise Institute; Director of the Center for Advancing Capitalism
Sky's the limit: How would you redesign and renovate LAX?
President Obama mentioned on Tuesday that no U. S. airport has received accolades. However, LAX is going through almost $5 billion in improvements and renovations. How would you redesign LAX?
Guest:
Brian Sumers, Airports and Airlines Reporter, The Los Angeles News Group and a self-described aviation geek