Supreme Court Hears Janus Case: A Dagger Pointed at the Throat of Labor

Loud & Clear

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker and John Kiriakou are joined by Peter Knowlton, the president of the United Electrical, Radio, and Machine Workers of America.
The Supreme Court today will hear a case called Janus v. AFSCME that observers say will decide the fate of labor unions in the United States. At issue is whether workers who benefit from collective bargaining agreements negotiated by unions have to pay union dues. They have paid because of that benefit almost since the advent of unions in this country.
Kempis Songster, an advocate for ending life-without-parole sentences for youth who was sentenced to life without parole as a 15-year-old and was just released from prison two months ago after serving 30 years and Sputnik News analyst Nicole Roussell join the show.
The Supreme Court said today that it would stay out of a dispute for now over the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, or DACA, meaning the Trump Administration is unable to end the program on March 5, as it had wanted. Brian and John speak with Juan Carlos Ruiz, cofounder of New Sanctuary Coalition, and Brent Wilkes, a leading immigrant rights advocate.
The White House on Saturday released the Democratic Party’s redacted response to the Nunes memo, but the document is underwhelming. Most importantly, it doesn’t refute Republican assertions that the FBI is biased against the Trump Administration. Ted Rall, an award-winning editorial cartoonist and columnist, and Jim Kavanagh, the editor of ThePolemicist.net, join the show.
China’s Communist Party has cleared the way for President Xi Jinping to remain in power indefinitely by abolishing term limits for the presidency. Jude Woodward, London mayor Ken Livingstone's advisor on culture and creative industries and author of the new book “The US vs China: Asia's new Cold War?,” joins Brian and John.
Momentum is the key word in what could be a true rapprochement between North and South Korea. The possibility of direct talks between the two is a real one. But will US preconditions scuttle any chance of success? Medea Benjamin, a prominent peace activist and the co-founder of Code Pink, joins the show.
Senator Dianne Feinstein, arguably the most important politician in the state of California, was snubbed over the weekend, when the Democratic Party declined--twice--to endorse her for reelection. She faces a stiff challenge from state senate president Kevin de Leon. Brian and John speak with Nathalie Hrizi, a teacher/librarian and a candidate for California state insurance commissioner on the Peace & Freedom Party ticket, and Kevin Akin, the California State chair of the Peace and Freedom Party and a candidate for state treasurer.