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Unemployment Numbers for Last Week; Massive Public Sector Job Cuts During Pandemic; NBA Star Becomes Fourth Generation Protester. Aired 8:30-9a ET

Aired June 11, 2020 - 08:30   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[08:30:00]

DR. ASHISH JHA, DIRECTOR, HARVARD GLOBAL HEALTH INSTITUTE: Hearing their advice. And that, to me, is a huge problem.

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: Dr. Jha, thank you very much for this wakeup call for us and for everyone listening right now. We hear you trying to sound the alarm. We will check back with you early and often. Thank you.

JHA: Thank you.

CAMEROTA: A brand-new snapshot of America's unemployment crisis. We have the breaking jobs numbers, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

CAMEROTA: We do have breaking news.

The Labor Department just releasing new unemployment numbers.

CNN's chief business correspondent, Christine Romans, has the numbers.

Are these as surprising as last time?

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN CHIEF BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: This is what we -- we were expecting, really, 1.5 million here overall. That brings the 12-week total to 44.2 million people who have filed for the first time for unemployment benefits.

Now, you can see from that chart that the pace has been slowing. But perspective here. These are huge numbers. Even 1.5 million is a big number historically in this economy. Twenty-seven percent of the labor force has filed for unemployment benefits over the past 12 weeks. So you think about all the people who were working in the beginning of March, 27 percent of them have filed for unemployment benefits.

When you look in some of these states, what the -- what the states are commenting about, you're seeing fewer layoffs in health care and social assistance, fewer layoffs in retail and in manufacturing in some cases. But, still, these are big numbers. I think I would analyze this as, we

are at the bottom of a very deep hole here with a lot of work to pull out of.

CAMEROTA: I know there was confusion about the unemployment rate last time.

[08:35:02]

Do we know what it is?

ROMANS: No, these numbers count the unemployed people who filed for the first time for unemployment benefits. And I will say, the Labor -- the Department of Labor has been pretty transparent about the problems they're having, trying to quantify the unemployment rate, in part because so many people are telling the Labor Department surveyors, well, I have a job, I'm just not working. It's how they're categorizing their layoff or not being in the labor makes that makes it a little difficult to capture.

The numbers are big. We have an unemployment rate that is higher right now than it was in the great recession. And the Fed -- the Fed chief is saying officially that they expect the unemployment rate to be still above 9 percent by the end of the year.

CAMEROTA: We'll get more on what he said in a minute.

But also with us is CNN anchor Julia Chatterley.

So, Julia, let's take a look at the markets and how they are responding this morning. They are down almost 900 points. What's that about?

JULIA CHATTERLEY, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT: They got a warning shot from the Federal Reserve Chief Jay Powell about how optimistic or how lacking, let's be clear, in optimism he is about the recovery here. He said, look, we're not even thinking about thinking about raising rates any time soon. He said it's going to take until probably 2023 before they're having that conversation. That gives you a sense of how long they think it's going to take to recover the growth that we've lost as a result of this pandemic.

And, of course, that had severely negative consequences for jobs too. He said many of the jobs that we've lost, for all the relative optimism of the million -- 2.5 million jobs that we saw coming back in May, he said that many of these jobs may never come back. This was a warning to a very optimistic stock market and investors that the recovery here is going to take a really, really long time.

CAMEROTA: Christine, let's take a listen to a little more about what Jerome Powell said.

ROMANS: Sure.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) JEROME POWELL, CHAIRMAN, FEDERAL RESERVE: We all want to get back to normal, but a full recovery is unlikely to occur until people are confident that it is safe to reengage in a broad range of activities.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CAMEROTA: What does this mean?

ROMANS: And this is where the health story comes back into play here. You've just been discussing these forecasts for more deaths in the United States and the potential for another wave of the disease later this fall. And that is something that will keep people at home. That is something that will affect consumer confidence and what the consumer does.

The president is saying we're going to have a v-shaped recovery. The president has declared that the economy is back. But it will be a different looking economy that comes back. And that's what Jay Powell is talking about, about how, until the consumer feels confident about the health situation, then you're going to have a more restrained recovery here.

A couple of years to think about that. You know, a couple of years until you quote/unquote get back to normal. You know, that's a -- that's a good case scenario. There are other forecasts that it will take longer than that just given how much damage has been done.

CAMEROTA: Julia, I mean, we are seeing people who appear to look confident, but they may have false confidence as we're now learning from these new medical forecasts.

CHATTERLEY: Absolutely. Don't mistake the rebound in the stock market, the 40 percent gains that we've seen for any kind of u-shaped or v- shaped bounce back here. It doesn't reflect the underlying economic catastrophe that the country is facing here. A lot more help from Congress is needed to support the people that are going to be out of jobs for a really long time.

CAMEROTA: Julia Chatterley, Christine Romans, thank you both very much for help with this breaking news.

John.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: This is part of it too, more than 1.5 million jobs have already been lost in state and local government due to the pandemic. Many of them in public education. And with states swimming in red ink, it is expected to get worse.

CNN's Vanessa Yurkevich has been looking into this and joins us now with more.

Vanessa.

VANESSA YURKEVICH, CNN BUSINESS AND POLITICS CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, John. The nation's largest employer is state and local governments. They employ about 20 million people. Many of those are essential employees that have been helping during this pandemic. But as state and local budgets are completely in shambles, many of those same essential workers could be out of a job in a month.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

YURKEVICH (voice over): For a quarter century, Jenny Guberman has dedicated her life to teaching children with special needs.

JENNIE GUBERMAN, SPECIAL EDUCATION AIDE: I feel my role is very imperative. We're a family.

YURKEVICH: In March, Lawrence Middle School shut down due to Covid-19 and Guberman started teaching classes online. But then she was unexpectedly laid off, filing for unemployment for the first time at 53.

GUBERMAN: The rug was pulled out from under me April 30th, when this all happened. And in the midst of a pandemic, 3 million people were looking for health insurance and I was one of them.

YURKEVICH: Guberman is one of about 100 public educators laid off from Lawrence School District in New York due to Covid-19.

And they're not alone. State and local governments cut 571,000 jobs in May after losing nearly 1 million in April.

[08:40:05]

And it's only going to get worse.

MARK ZANDI, CHIEF ECONOMIST, MOODY'S ANALYTICS: The state and local governments are hemorrhaging red ink. The Covid crisis has crushed economic activity and thus tax revenue. So with all that red ink, they have no choice but to start cutting. Those state and local governments are going to shed about 3 million jobs.

YURKEVICH: House Democrats approved a bill that would include $90 billion for K-12 schools and higher education, hardest hit by job cuts. The Senate has yet to take it up.

And it's not just public educators at risk.

ZANDI: These are jobs we need. Teachers, fire, police, emergency responders, people who work in hospitals, social workers, you know? These are -- these are the kinds of jobs you need in a pandemic and an economic crisis.

YURKEVICH: Henry Garrido leads the largest public work union in New York City with 150,000 members and 150 have died fighting on the front lines of Covid-19.

HENRY GARRIDO, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, DISTRICT COUNCIL 37 UNION: The biggest irony is that, you know, for the first time in a long time, workers have been recognized for what they are, which is everyday heroes. People who come to work every day, who sacrifice their lives, their safety, for the sake of others, for saving others are now on the brink of being laid off.

YURKEVICH: At the end of this month, most states will decide their fiscal budgets for next year. But with so many in the red and without help, more jobs will be cut.

GARRIDO: The budget is likely to be a very draconian budget that cuts essential workers to the core. Many of them will not have a job, and that's a travesty because we are expecting Covid-19 to come back a second time. This is a ticking time bomb for essential workers.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

YURKEVICH: Now, these essential workers also include people who are helping everyday Americans apply for food stamps, apply for Medicaid, critical needs right now of the American public. And, John, we saw what happened when Covid-19 first hit. First responders, doctors, nurses completely overwhelmed. Imagine if -- if and when a second wave hits and we have less first responders, less doctors, less nurses, it would be catastrophic unless the federal government steps in with more funding to help with those jobs.

John.

BERMAN: Right now we don't have a timeline for when that will or even if it will happen.

Vanessa Yurkevich, terrific reporting. Thanks so much for being with us.

So he's named after Malcolm X. His family marched with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. NBA star Malcom Brogdon talks about that legacy and his own fight for change that's happening right now. That's next.

But first, how nursing students are answering the call in this week's "Impact Your World."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TIFFANY HARRIS, NURSE INTERN, ASCENSION PROVIDENCE HOSPITAL: I knew as a nurse that's what they have prepared us for throughout my college career and that it was time for me to step up. It was a reality check of how quick life changes, how quick it comes and it goes.

Sometimes I'm numb and I'm just like, wow. You know, the things that I've seen, the things that I've heard. Other days, I walk out feeling better because we may have saved more patients that day. We were able to discharge some people.

I'm scared every day when I go to work. But I work through it because I know that I have PPE to protect me, I know that I have team members to help support me. And I live with my parents right now who are up in age. So not only do I have to protect myself at work, but I have to think about everything that I'm doing to make sure that I don't bring it back to my family.

Knowing that my patients are alone, their families can't come visit them, they don't have that support, I'm proud that I get to go in and brighten their day and make the difference for them.

This just shows me that I made the right choice because when people are sick, when people have no one else, nurses step up and they get it done. They help their patients. And that's what I've been about since I decided on this career.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

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[08:49:07]

BERMAN: This morning, America is changing. Some big changes in just the last few days. But changes that have been a long time coming and have taken generations of work and protests to get there. Literally, generation, sometimes in the same family.

Indiana Pacers guard Malcolm Brogdon's family has been protesting racial inequality since the civil rights movement. Brogdon is now the fourth generation of his family to demonstrate for change. This was Atlanta not even two weeks ago.

And Malcolm Brogdon joins us now.

Listen, it is great to have you here. Thanks so much for joining us. I'm a big fan of you as a player and an even bigger fan of you now as a human being.

You were part of a protest in Atlanta two weeks ago, leading this protest. Your grandfather marched with Dr. Martin Luther King, Bishop John Hurst Adams. Your mother, a professor at Morehouse. You have been around this idea of protests and demonstration your whole life, yet you said when you were approaching this protest in Atlanta, you were nervous.

[08:50:07]

You said you didn't know how to protest. What do you mean?

MALCOLM BROGDON, POINT GUARD, INDIANA PACERS: Well, first, thank you for having me this morning.

But, you know, to answer your question, I think protesting can be nerve-racking for a multitude of reasons. I think you're taking some risk when you're out there. A lot of what you're seeing with the violence, peaceful protest can suddenly turn to something that is out of control and people are injured and hurt and possibly killed.

But, at the same time, you -- you want to represent -- for me I want to represent my family well. I feel like I have a duty to be out there. So it's an uncomfortable situation, but it's something that, you know, you -- for me, I step into willingly and openly. BERMAN: What did it feel like being out there?

BROGDON: Exhilarating. I think the energy that you feel when you're with another group of people, community of people, from all different backgrounds and races, it's a -- it's a rush. And you're all supporting one cause. You're all out there. You have each other's backs. I think it's a -- it's an amazing feeling and it's something I think a lot of people, if you're willing to, should experience.

BERMAN: Why now? Obviously you've been around this your whole life. Your grandfather, as I said, marched in Selma with Dr. King. You're named after Malcolm X. Your mother is a professor at Morehouse. You did march in Selma once yourself, but this is really the first time you've gone out as an adult in this kind of way. What got you out there?

BROGDON: I think seeing that the -- that the country and the black community is in crisis mode. I think coming off the Covid-19, that's sort of set the -- the landscape for how significant this sort of racial crisis would be and then, boom, Mr. Floyd is killed, is murdered in the streets, and there's a huge eruption. And I think now is the time where we need leaders. Now is a time where we need people with platforms to speak out and to shed light and voice. Those that don't have the opportunity, those that don't have the platform, voice their concerns and voice what they've been going through for so many years.

BERMAN: Your mother, as we said, is a professor at Morehouse. You came back from this protest, which you said was exhilarating. You jumped in here and then, only as a mother can, she asks you, OK, now what? So what do you say to her?

BROGDON: Well, you know, my mom is -- her father, my grandfather, was part of the civil rights movement in the '60s. So she got to see close hand -- or at least learn about close hand what it was like to be a part of something like that, that was so successful but took a long time coming. And, you know, me and my mom really talked about continuing to organize, continuing to strategize and then mobilizing. And that's the technique that Dr. King, my grandfather, and all these amazing leaders used in the '60s. They didn't just go out and protest. When they protested, they had, you know, a point, they had a message and it was a strategy -- it was part of a strategy, really the beginning of a strategy, something they were trying to accomplish. So now it's about finding solutions and taking more action.

BERMAN: So you used to argue with your grandfather over who was the greatest player in NBA history. Your grandfather said Oscar Robertson. You said LeBron James. And, overnight, we learned that LeBron James is launching this huge new initiative on voter awareness in the black community. And this is something that you yourself have spoken about for a long time. Is this something you're going to take part in and why is this so important?

BROGDON: Definitely. I think the more NBA players that can -- that can be a partner, and join LeBron on what he's doing, I think it can only be more powerful. But, absolutely, I -- I am a complete proponent of voting. I think it's incredibly important. I think, you know, when you talk about voting, a lot of people think about federal voting, think about presidential elections. I really think, for me, it's a -- it's more -- I think that's important, but I think we have to focus now on local voting. We have to be voting in and out prosecutors that have put black children away for really petty misdemeanors. And, you know, this is something that we have to, as a -- as -- as the black community have to focus on the local level, the state level, because that's where we can see the most change. That's where it's really one community. You're not focused on all these different communities all over the nation. So local voting is important.

BERMAN: Your grandfather actually helped lead the battle against South Carolina flying the confederate flag over its state house. Within the last 24 hours, the president of the United States has defended U.S. Army bases that are named after confederate generals.

[08:55:04]

What's your feeling of this?

BROGDON: You know, I think it's time we do away with confederate flags, confederate statues, anything that represents that time period in history. I think if you have any respect for African-Americans, it's not something you're going to openly and willingly support.

So, you know, it's -- it's time to be done, it's time to move on. It's time to, you know, get rid of any, you know, remnants of that part of history.

BERMAN: One hundred and fifty-five years after the Civil War.

Malcolm Brogdon, it's an honor to have you on the show with us this morning. Thanks so much for being with us. Thanks for the work you're doing out there.

BROGDON: Absolutely. Thank you.

BERMAN: All right, and thank you all for joining us. A lot going on this morning.

CNN's coverage continues next.

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