Secretary Granholm on the Infrastructure Plan. Public Banking. A Decade of Fair Food.

Wednesday_673x324WEDNESDAY, JULY 14
PROGRAM # 9317 12:00 PM PDT

Secretary Granholm on the Infrastructure Plan.

In this conversation, US Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm talks about the disproportionate impact the extreme heat wave and the record-breaking wildfires are having in Latino communities, as well as the drying up of jobs in agriculture because of the drought. On agriculture, she stressed on the need to protect farm workers against the extreme heat waves, and the need to invest to combine farming with renewable energy projects. She explained the Justice40 Initiative, committing 40% of climate and clean energy investments in Latino and other disadvantaged communities, and the path to pass a big, two-track historic infrastructure package in the US Senate.

Guest: Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm, US Department of Energy, Washington, DC.

Public Banking.

A new bill that would allow people to open free bank accounts is advancing in the California legislature. The bill, known as AB 1177, establishes BankCal, a program that provides universal access to essential financial services such as direct deposit, a debit card account and a road to build credit. The program, a first in the nation, would “eliminate predatory financial services” while also addressing the “historical exclusion of low-income communities and communities of color from the financial system.”

Guest: Assemblymember Miguel Santiago, Democrat – Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 

A Decade of Fair Food.

A decade ago, a pioneering group of farm workers in Florida launched the Fair Food Program, a worker-driven model that sought to end forced labor, discrimination, wage theft and sexual assault in the fields. The organization has forced labor changes not through legislation, but through agreements with giants of the food market such as Wal-Mart, McDonald’s and Whole Foods. Now this model is being practiced in farms across the East Coast and even women advocates in film sets in Hollywood are considering adopting the program in the entertainment industry.

Guest: Lucas Benítez, Co-Founder, Co-Coordinator, Coalition of Immokalee Workers, Immokalee, FL.

Photo: naco.org

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