Here & Now

Here & Now for May 25, 2018

Announcer:

The following program is part of our “Here and Now” 2018 Wisconsin Vote election coverage.

Frederica Freyberg:

Im Frederica Freyberg, coming to you tonight from our reduced set while our main studio is prepped for our annual spring fund-raising. Tonight on “Here and Now” Milwaukee police officers are disciplined for aggressive treatment of a Milwaukee Bucks player. Congresswoman Gwen Moore responds. We check in with 2nd District Congressman Mark Pocan on news out of Washington. Wisconsin medical software giant Epic Systems wins an U.S. Supreme Court case, but is it good for workers there? We begin our series of interviews with Democrats running in the primary for governor. Kelda Roys is here. It’s “Here and Now” for May 25.

Announcer:

Funding for “Here and Now” is provided, in part, by Friends of Wisconsin Public Television.

Frederica Freyberg:

In our first look tonight, the whole world is watching and talking about how the Milwaukee Police Department tased a Bucks basketball player.

Police Officer:

You don’t see the issue here? Hold on.

Frederica Freyberg:

It happened in January, after Sterling Brown was approached by police for an alleged parking violation outside a Walgreens. The encounter escalated with an officer telling Brown to back up and Brown asking the officer not to touch him. Several squad cars responded.

Police Officer:

Taser, Taser, Taser.

Frederica Freyberg:

After about nine minutes according to the police body cam footage released Wednesday night, officers tased Brown. When he was back on his feet, the officer said he didn’t recognize his as a famous name. Brown said it’s not famous, it’s just legit.

Sterling Brown played in a game later that same day with marks and bruises on his face. He was not charged. As to what happened, the Milwaukee Police chief said this, “The department conducted an investigation into the incident which revealed members acted inappropriately and those members were recently disciplined. I am sorry, he said, this incident escalated to this level.” Sterling Brown released a statement saying, “Black men shouldn’t have to have their guard up instantly and instantly be on the defensive when seeing a police officer, but it is our reality and a real problem. There must be mutual respect and both sides have to figure out how to accomplish this. I will take legal action against the Milwaukee Police Department to continue forcing change in our community.” Now, reaction has been swift and angry and not just because Sterling Brown is a Milwaukee Bucks player. U.S. Congresswoman Gwen Moore of Milwaukee is here tonight and thank you so much for being here.

Gwen Moore:

Im glad to be with you.

Frederica Freyberg:

So what was your reaction when you saw that tape of Sterling Brown’s interaction with police?

Gwen Moore:

Its Friday in America. Unfortunately, Sterling Brown is not the only person who’s experienced this. I’ve personally experienced, you know, folk, you know, driving around, driving while black in a Mercedes-Benz at 2:00 a.m. and being profiled and not being treated in the most civil way by police officers. And I think that it’s systemic and it’s a problem and I agree with Mr. Brown that we’ve got to figure this out.

Frederica Freyberg:

Well, in fact, to your point, the Milwaukee Bucks organization itself said that it shouldn’t require an incident involving a professional athlete to draw attention to the fact that vulnerable, poor people in our communities have experienced similar or worse treatment. And so as to Milwaukee, what is it like to be the U.S. Congressperson from that city and see this really go worldwide?

Gwen Moore:

Well, I can tell you that, you know, one of the things that we — I have a bill, Frederica, in Congress that really speaks directly to this incident. Here’s a situation where there was no one — no one’s life was in danger. The police officer’s life was not in danger. Apparently the passenger in the car — the store had not been robbed. There was no — there was no indication that there was anything at risk other than the police officer’s ego when Mr. Brown didn’t move enough inches away from his car. The worst — the worst case scenario was that Mr. Brown illegally parked in a handicapped spot. And, you know, he should have gotten a ticket for that or the officer could have been in a position to say, “Im going to give you a warning.” But instead of that happening, it escalated beyond where it should have, and I have a bill that would require police forces around the country to provide de-escalation training to their officers so that they can discern between a really dangerous situation and a situation like this where the officer could have said, “Okay, man, you know, if you’re not gonna cooperate with me, instead of my just giving you a warning ticket, because it’s 2:00 in the morning, there are no handicapped people here, but if you don’t want to cooperate, Im going to give you a ticket.” And if Mr. Brown had chosen to leave the scene before the ticket was written or something, he would have gotten the ticket anyway. There’s just absolutely no reason for Mr. Brown to have ended up with bruises and in the hospital. And I think de-escalation training is just one of the tools in the tool kit that police officers and the community should be able to rely on.

Frederica Freyberg:

What kind of support are you seeing for that bill?

Gwen Moore:

I introduced it last session and this session. But what I want to share with you, Frederica, is this is not some wild idea that I dreamed up. This recommendation comes from the Police Executive Research Forum. It’s a nonprofit, nonpartisan institute that looks at best practices of police officers and police training and ideas. And this was a part — part of their report, that this ought to be implemented. Right now, there is absolutely no accountability, I believe, for police actions that unfortunately often end in fatalities, where the police officers simply have to say, “I was afraid for my life” and not be accountable for, again, discerning and scoping out a situation which this one clearly was a situation where it just went too far too fast.

Frederica Freyberg:

Now, the new police chief in Milwaukee disciplined officers and he apologized, saying he promises to change the department, vowing to rebuild trust with the community. What does he need to do to do that, in your mind?

Gwen Moore:

Well, I have not had the opportunity, Frederica, to meet with the new police chief. I look forward to that in the very near future. But Im saying he has a heavy — this is a heavy lift for him given the environment that we have in the country just generally. We have the president of the United States and the United States attorney general withdrawing from all of the consent agreements that have occurred between police departments and the community to be able to try to carve out some sort of understandings and agreements. We’ve seen this be successful in places like Dallas, Texas, where the Dallas police have deliberately engaged in de-escalation training. And not only has it reduced incidents, negative incidents between police officers and the community, but crime has actually been reduced. And so, you know, this police chief would have to carve out something outside of relying on the federal government to give them the resources and the tools of the federal government in order to be able to do this.

Frederica Freyberg:

All right. We leave it there. Congresswoman Gwen Moore from Milwaukee, thanks very much for joining us.

Gwen Moore:

And thank you, Frederica. Good to see you.

Frederica Freyberg:

The House of Representatives has a vote on the 2018 Farm Bill scheduled for June after members failed to pass it a week ago. In tonight’s look ahead, what’s cooking in the House? What with conservative Freedom Caucus members sinking the GOP written Farm Bill because they didn’t get assurances about voting on immigration policy. Immigration policy that has Republican factions infighting over what to do about dreamers. Does this division amongst the Republican ranks leave the door open for work across the aisle with Democrats on issues of immigration and provisions in the Farm Bill? And what else should we have an eye on in Washington? We asked Wisconsins 2nd District Congressman Democrat Mark Pocan. Thanks for being here.

Mark Pocan:

Thanks for having me. Glad to be here.

Frederica Freyberg:

So what’s the talk as to whether this Republican rebellion could actually force Speaker Paul Ryan out?

Mark Pocan:

Its such a dysfunctional Republican caucus. To call it a circus would be an insult to circuses across the country because they really don’t know what they’re doing. Paul Ryan gave the keys to the Tea Party because they had essentially the veto authority of what goes on the floor. They don’t come to work with Democrats ever like they didn’t on the Farm Bill. So then they get surprised when they put a bill on the floor and they can’t pass it with their own members. If Paul Ryan quit flying around the country trying to raise money from Sheldon Adelson and a bunch of other really rich folks that got tax breaks from their tax bill and started talking to his members and starting to our members, you could pass a Farm Bill. But this thing has traditionally been done in a very bipartisan way. But this is just pure dysfunction by the House of Representatives and by its leadership and I use leadership loosely, with Paul Ryan.

Frederica Freyberg:

As we mentioned, the Farm Bill failed on the floor last week, but before the vote Speaker Paul Ryan lobbied for its passage.

Paul Ryan:

In addition to helping our farmers, this bill includes important workforce development reforms, attaching work requirements to help get people out of poverty and onto the ladder of opportunity. It will reinvest savings into education and training programs that help develop those skills that closes that opportunity gap. It sets up a system where SNAP recipients who are able to go to work can work and if they can’t, they will be guaranteed training that they need.

Mark Pocan:

He definitely was trying to get it done at least by soundbite, but we were watching all the dysfunction happen. Two major conservative groups opposed it. The Tea Party decided to try to get immigration out of it. They never came and talked to Democrats to do anything about the bill. And again, it’s a bipartisan bill. So Paul did pretty much the 101 of everything wrong in how to pass a bill and then he put it on the floor and no surprise, it failed. So I think again what it shows is maybe Paul doesn’t have as much of a grasp of his caucus right now especially in these days of Trump.

Frederica Freyberg:

Moving on to a different issue, you’ve got your eye on a plan the House passed this week to roll back banking regulations put in place after the 2008 financial meltdown. What in your mind does that mean for Wisconsin consumers?

Mark Pocan:

Yeah. So this is a really bad bill because part of it is we know that credit unions and small community banks shouldn’t be adhering to the exact same regulations as the biggest banks because the big banks were the ones that were doing risky derivatives and other things that were more like a casino than a financial institution. But what we did this week, and it’s passed the Senate, now it’s passed the House of Representatives and signed into law by the president, is essentially take 25 of the top 38 banks and by changing the limit that now doesn’t have to comply with all the various extra protections for consumers that were put in place, now 25 of the top 38 banks no longer have to do that. So one-sixth of the money in the banking system now is exempt from most of the regulations, including a really important provision around home mortgage loans. Remember when there was redlining and some people weren’t getting loans? Now 85% of the mortgages in this country are not subject to the protections that were put in place. So it was a big rollback, but every time I think of a rollback on financial institutions, I think of the crash of 2008. It’s just a bad idea.

Frederica Freyberg:

I do understand thought that it does not get rid of the Consumer Protection Financial Bureau, which was something the administration talked about.

Mark Pocan:

But essentially they’ve gutted it, right because we don’t even know who’s running it right now because of how the White House has handled it. They’ve done a great job of dismantling the protections that came in for consumers under Dodd-Frank. The problem is I don’t want to be back to pre-2008 and we start repeating the same actions and we crash the economy all over again. What we did this week put us a whole lot closer to that.

Frederica Freyberg:

Lets talk about net neutrality. The FCC, the Federal Communications Commission, just set a date for when net neutrality rules expire and that is on June 11. You’d like to block that repeal but how likely is that?

Mark Pocan:

Well, the Senate was able to with all the Democrats, three Republicans, two independents voted to try to fight the repeal of net neutrality. Net neutrality is a complicated term for an easy concept, keeping the internet free and open. You can’t block websites. You can’t slow down websites. You can’t charge more for faster lanes on the internet. In other words, everyone has equal access. We’re trying to get back to that. Interestingly, 23 attorney generals, including Minnesota, Iowa and Illinois, not Wisconsin, unfortunately, Brad Schimel wasn’t part of it, have also tried to sue over this because we’re trying to get back to having an open internet. So what we have now in the House is a discharge petition, which is kind of a rarely-used process where if you get 218 people to sign on the floor of Congress they want to vote on it, you can force a vote. Since it passed the Senate, we’re the last thing holding it up. I can tell you I’ve had 12,983 contacts from the district, one of the top issues that we’ve ever gotten a response from against what they did. It was zero until I had a telecommunications lobbyist come to my office recently and tell me they support it. So it’s 12,983-1, which is pretty amazing on an issue. We’re hoping we can get members of Congress in both parties to follow what the Senate did in a bipartisan way and make sure that we can protect net neutrality so the internet is open and free for everyone.

Frederica Freyberg:

Stateside in the crowded Democratic field for governor, who are you endorsing?

Mark Pocan:

Im not endorsing anyone yet. I’m trying to take a role of making sure people realize the person they’re trying to defeat is Scott Walker, not each other. I’ve been in negative primaries in the past. I know how they can have negative by-products by the time you get to November. So I talk to all the candidates. I’m trying to help talk with them. The good news is I really feel any of the major people who are running has a great shot to beat Scott Walker, if not for our crumbling roads, if not for the cuts to schools, it’s really this Foxconn issue, embodies everything. It’s the largest corporate subsidy to a foreign cooperation by the way, with the local subsidies and highway subsidies, $4.5 billion and we have people with potholes in their own neighborhoods that aren’t getting fixed because we had to give that much money to a foreign corporation. It doesn’t fly just about anywhere in the state. I think Scott Walker wrote his ability to retire based on that one law.

Frederica Freyberg:

All right. We leave it there. Congressman Mark Pocan, thanks very much.

Mark Pocan:

Thank you.

Frederica Freyberg:

A Wisconsin tech giant was at the center of an U.S. Supreme Court ruling delivered Monday. The ruling says that when it comes to employee grievances, companies can prohibit employees from banding together and taking those issues to court.

Multimedia reporter Marisa Wojcik explains.

Marisa Wojcik:

Epic systems, the Wisconsin-based health care software company saw a victory this week after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in their favor. The 5-4 ruling says that employees cannot join together in legal action for issues that happen at work. This joining together, sometimes referred to as collective or class action, is common when people have similar smaller claims. They come together and pool their resources to make their case. In 2014, Epic Systems established a nondisclosure agreement requiring employees to waive their right to collective legal action. Employees also had to sign onto an arbitration agreement meaning disputes had to be settled out of court. When cases are settled through arbitration, they are legally honored under the federal arbitration act. Arbitration can be seen as a quicker and cheaper alternative to settling a disagreement. But unlike cases brought to court, information from arbitration proceedings is usually confidential and not available to the public. The agreement Epic Systems had its employees sign on to said that problems with the employer must be settled through arbitration and on an individual basis. Agreeing to both of these was required in order for employees to keep their jobs. The four judges who ruled against Epic Systems argued that the law under the National Labor Relations Act is broadly meant to protect workers from the power of their employers. They contend that employees have the right to engage in concerted activities for the purpose of mutual aid and protection. The five judges that ruled in favor of Epic Systems argued that those concerted activities refer to collective bargaining, not class action lawsuits, and that changes to the law must be made by Congress, not by the court. Arbitration agreements are becoming increasingly common. A recent report from the left-leaning Economic Policy Institute estimates 60 million employees are subject to mandatory arbitration procedures. For these and other fact facts, visit wpt.org.

Frederica Freyberg:

Now to state politics and the start of our series of interviews with Democrats running in the primary race for governor. It’s a big field. In fact, starting tonight our weekly series of one-on-one interviews will take us through the month of July. First up, Kelda Roys. Ms. Roys grew up in Marshfield and Madison. She’s an attorney. After serving as Executive Director of NARAL Prochoice Wisconsin, she spent four years in the State Assembly. She ran unsuccessfully for Congress in the state’s 2nd District. Kelda Roys joins us now. Thanks very much for doing so.

Kelda Roys:

Thank you.

Frederica Freyberg:

Why do you believe you are the progressive voice for Wisconsin?

Kelda Roys:

Well, I believe Im ready to lead Wisconsin and help us become a place of opportunity and fairness again. That’s why Im running. I have a strong track record of turning big ideas into real results on all kinds of issues. Common sense issues like health care and public education and protecting our natural resources. We need a governor who is ready on day one.

Frederica Freyberg:

Why can you beat Scott Walker?

Kelda Roys:

I can beat Scott Walker because people are ready to turn the page. I think a lot of the other folks in the race are eager to make this a referendum on Walker, but I don’t think that’s enough. I’m running for governor because I have a vision for the state to make it the best place to raise a child and the best place to grow business. And I think people are responding to that positive, proactive message, not just the sort of negativity we’ve been mired in for the last eight years.

Frederica Freyberg:

On the economy, in your mind, what is the single-most important thing to do even as our unemployment rate is really at historic lows?

Kelda Roys:

Well, I think we have to increase wages because a lot of people, what’s reflected in that unemployment rate, might be working two or three jobs and still unable to make ends meet. We have too many people who are working full-time and they are still living in poverty. So we have to increase wages. And that’s true for the middle class as well as the working poor. And to do that, we need to be much more supportive of small businesses. Whether it’s a family farmer or a main street business or somebody with an idea for a tech company.

Frederica Freyberg:

You talk about wanting to invest more money in infrastructure for the state of Wisconsin. How much money?

Kelda Roys:

Well I think we need to look and see what the needs of the state are. I think we have to address our crumbling roads. I think we need to invest in 21st century infrastructure, like broadband connectivity statewide and improving our wireless network. All of these things are really important if we want to have a strong economy in the future.

Frederica Freyberg:

Now, you are out with a new ad blasting Governor Walker over the Foxconn deal. But won’t Foxconn in fact bring jobs and business to Wisconsin?

Kelda Roys:

Well, I think my video focused on the stories of homeowners who are being forced to move from the home that they have planned for nine years and have lived in for less than a year and a half without due consideration. There is a human cost to a project like Foxconn in addition to the $4.5 billion cost to taxpayers and the environmental damage that is likely going to be wrought by Foxconn. I think we need a governor who is going to stand up to Foxconn and say, “You are not going to be allowed to destroy our environment and we’re going to make sure our taxpayers and workers are protected and we’ll pay attention to the needs of all Wisconsinites and not just those of a wealthy few.”

Frederica Freyberg:

What do you say to voters about what you would want to do about Act 10?

Kelda Roys:

Well, I think Act 10 was a mistake and we’re seeing the effects, terrible effects in terms of being able to attract and retain great teachers, nurses and even in our prisons, in our correctional facilities. It’s very, very difficult for us to recruit and retain good state workers who ultimately serve the people of the state. Had a negative effect on the economy by taking money out of the pockets of working people. I think all workers deserve a voice in the workplace. We should restore collective bargaining rights. Obviously there’s a Supreme Court case that’s addressing this issue. So that’s going to perhaps hamstring some of the options available to us but I think it’s really important. I say this as a small business owner and employer myself. It’s really important to treat our employees with respect and as governor Im going to make sure that I hear the concerns of our citizens and our public workers and not ignore them.

Frederica Freyberg:

On education, you say that you want to end the private school voucher program, but what do you say to students and families who are now spending their children to these private schools?

Kelda Roys:

Well, my program would not displace any of the students in Milwaukee and Racine who are currently attending these voucher schools. I think we have to do this with as minimal disruption as possible to existing students. But ultimately we cannot keep funneling our taxpayer dollars into private schools when we’re not even adequately funding our public schools. It’s time we end this failed experiment especially considering the children who we’re experimenting on are those who can the least afford it because they are often coming from some of the more challenging circumstances, neighborhoods in our community.

Frederica Freyberg:

What would you do regarding college education?

Kelda Roys:

I think we should have free tuition for all students going to our two-year colleges, technical colleges. I think– I’m very supportive of the plan by the chancellor t UW-Madison to make tuition free for students whose families earn less than the median income in the state. I think we also have to address the student loan debt crisis because there are now decades of students, nearly a million people in Wisconsin who still have student debt and it’s a massive weight around our economy as well as individuals.

Frederica Freyberg:

With just about a minute left, you want to make BadgerCare a public option. What does that mean?

Kelda Roys:

Well, when the Affordable Care Act was passed, I and John Richards and others set up a plan to create our own state exchange so we could have affordable health insurance that people could buy on the marketplace. People like me, a small business owner. Unfortunately, that plan was jettisoned because of efforts to undermine Obamacare. I think we should have a state exchange and make BadgerCare a public option that anybody could buy into so you don’t necessarily have to buy private insurance. You have a public option which would be a lower cost for everyone.

Frederica Freyberg:

All right, Kelda Roys. Thanks very much.

Kelda Roys:

Thanks, Frederica.

Frederica Freyberg:

A quick note before we leave you tonight. I sat down with State Senator Luther Olsen and the Dean of the UW Medical School Robert Golden this week. The two have worked together to expand the Wisconsin Idea with a special focus on public health. Look for that interview on our website at wpt.org/hereandnow. And that is our program for tonight. Next week our annual public television fund-raising auction preempts “Here and Now.” We’ll be back June 8. I’m Frederica Freyberg. Have a great holiday weekend.

Announcer:

Funding for “Here and Now” is provided, in part, by Friends of Wisconsin Public Television.

For more information on “Here and Now’s” 2018 election coverage, go to WisconsinVote.org.