MONDAY, MARCH 4.
PROGRAM # 6910 12:00 PM PT
AX FALLS. March 1st, the automatic budget cuts obligated by the sequester go into place. Programs to be affected include unemployment benefits, Head Start, education from elementary to high school, and housing subsidies. How will Latino families fare from the budget cuts? How can Republicans and Democrats come together to find a solution?
Guests: Dr. David Vera, Assistant Professor, Department of Economics, California State University, Fresno, Fresno, CA, www.fresnostate.edu; Leticia Miranda, Senior Policy Advisor, Economic Security Policy, National Council of La Raza (NCLR), Washington, D.C., www.nclr.org; Israel Ortega, Editor of Libertad.org, The Heritage Foundation, Washington, D.C., www.heritage.org.
Listen to the full program!
TUESDAY, MARCH 5.
PROGRAM # 6911 12:00 PM PT
RALLYING
FOR REFORM. Immigrant rights activists are caravanning throughout the country,
making stops in critical areas to push uncommitted members of Congress to
support comprehensive immigration reform with a path to citizenship. This
edition includes updates from bus riders holding rallies and meetings with
Congressmen Kevin McCarthy, Devin Nunes and David Valadao in California's
Central Valley, as well as organizers in Texas, North Carolina and Oregon.
Guests: Lorena Manzo, Organizer, CAUSA, March for ONE Oregon, Bend, OR,
http://causaoregon.org
; Gema López, Bus Rider
in California, Taft, CA; Esther Reyes
, Director of Austin Immigrant Rights Coalition, and Co-founder of
Reform Immigration for Texas Alliance (RITA),
http://austinirc.org/
,
http://reformimmigrationfortexas.org
;
Selene Medina, Organizer, United 4 The Dream, Latin American
Coalition,
Charlotte, NC,
www.
latinamericancoalition.org.
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 6.
PROGRAM # 6912 12:00 PM PT
RIGHTS, RESPECT AND FAIR FOOD. The groundbreaking Coalition of Immokalee Workers from Southwest Florida are once again taking to the road for a two-week march to the headquarters of Florida’s largest supermarket chain Publix. The workers have signed eleven agreements with major food retailers, including fast food and super market chains, to ensure safe and fair working conditions and wages for tomato workers. So far, Publix has refused to sign. This edition includes sound from the opening rally and live interviews from the road.
Guests: Lucas Benítez, Co-Director, Coalition of Immokalee Workers, Immokalee, FL, www.ciw-online.org/march ; Gregorio Alonso, Farm worker and marcher, Immokalee, FL; Nely Rodríguez, Leader of women's group, Coalition of Immokalee Workers, Immokalee, FL, www.ciw-online.org.
ALSO, TAKING A STAND. Bus riders from all over California converge on Bakersfield to rally outside Congressman Kevin McCarthy's office to call for him to push within the Republican party for comprehensive immigration reform. This is an interview with former astronaut and candidate José Hernández, who is participating in the action.
Guest: José Hernández, Former astronaut, and former candidate to the U.S. House of Representatives, Bakersfield, CA.
THURSDAY, MARCH 7.
PROGRAM # 6913 12:00 PM PT
SOLÍS. Hilda Solís has stepped down as U.S. Secretary of Labor. This edition offers an exclusive interview with the outgoing secretary, discussing her tenure during one of the country’s most difficult economic periods. Solís has said she is proud of securing backwages for immigrant workers, and of the job training programs she administered.
Guest: Hilda Solis, Former U.S. Secretary of Labor, Los Angeles, CA; others TBA.
ALSO, UNSAFE CONDITIONS. Poultry workers in Alabama work hours on end in cold rooms, hanging, gutting, and slicing more than 100 birds in a single minute. According to a recent report by the Southern Poverty Law Center, poultry workers often endure debilitating pain in their hands, gnarled fingers, chemical burns, and respiratory problems. The researchers say federal poultry industry regulations set to take effect in April threaten the health and safety of poultry workers.
Guests: Tom Fritzsche, Staff Attorney, Southern
Poverty Law Center, Montgomery, AL, www.splcenter.org;
Franco, Poultry processing worker, Alabama; Gerardo Guzmán, Guest Commentator,
Radio La Jefa, Birmingham, AL, www.aquimandalajefa.com.
FRIDAY, MARCH 8.
PROGRAM # 6914 12:00 PM PT
MEXICO EDITION. After President of Venezuela, Hugo Chávez Frías' death, Mexican citizens go to the Venezuelan embassy in Mexico to express their condolences. They express admiration for the work of a government that benefitted thousands of Venezuelans, and they highlight their opposition to neoliberal policies. Venezuelan activist and photographer Yuri Valecillo shares some of his own experiences about the Venezuela that brought Chávez to power. Meanwhile, some Latin American immigrants in the United States state that according to reports on the television network Univisión, the commander got rich by illicit means. Martha Elena Ramírez hosts Voz Pública from Mexico City.
Guest: Yuri Valecillo, Photographer and Former Venezuelan diplomat residing in Mexico, Mexico City, Mexico.
Funds for Línea Abierta are provided in part by The National Endowment for the Arts, The California Endowment, the Evelyn and Walter Haas Jr. Fund, The Ford Foundation, The California Wellness Foundation, the James Irvine Foundation, and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.