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Workers Demand Wage Hike; More U.S. Troops Join Search for Nigerian Girls; Female Vote, Candidates Will Impact Senate; Wozilroy Over

Aired May 22, 2014 - 09:30   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. I'm Carol Costello. Thanks so much for joining me.

The fight over income inequality has taken itself right to McDonald's front door. Protesters are expected to gather in Illinois ahead of the fast food giant's annual shareholders meeting. That meeting gets underway at the top of the hour. Yesterday, as many as 2,000 people gathered outside the McDonald's campus chanting and shouting, demanding $15 an hour in wages and the right to unionize.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JANAH BAILEY, MCDONALD'S EMPLOYEE: As workers, we went on strike. We talked to other workers. We've fought. We had petition signings in our store. We've done all we can. We've requested meetings with the general manager. We've done all that we can.

KENDALL FELLS, PROTEST (ph) ORGANIZER: McDonald's is the leader of the industry. It's the fastest growing industry in the country. And these workers are here to look Don Thompson and these shareholders in the face and say, we do work for you, we are grown (ph) and we're not going to live in poverty while you sit here and take home billions of dollars in profit. And that's what this is about.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: For employees of the restaurants like McDonald's, the fight is deeply personal. According to the White House, more than 75 percent of minimum wage employees are over the age of 20. Hardly the teenage summer burger flipper. And more than one in five have children to support at home. It's a pretty tough task when at best your wages come in at $19,000 per year. That is below the poverty level.

So let's talk about this. We're joined by CNN global economic analyst and assistant managing editor at "Time" magazine, Rana Foroohar, and James Sherk, the senior policy analyst for the Heritage Foundation.

Welcome to both of you.

RANA FOROOHAR, ASSISTANT MANAGING EDITOR, "TIME" MAGAZINE: Thank you.

JAMES SHERK, SENIOR POLICY ANALYST, THE HERITAGE FOUNDATION: Good morning.

COSTELLO: Good morning. Thanks for being here.

Rana, are these protests working?

FOROOHAR: Well, they haven't gotten a wage hike yet, so I guess I would have to say no. But, you know, I really think it reflects this growing trend in this country towards labor mobilization and unionization in the low end service sector. This is where the fastest growing - actually six out of the 10 fastest growing job categories are in low-end retail, service jobs like McDonald's, checkout people, like the tourism. And so these areas are really ripe for labor mobilization. And it's interesting because for decades in this country we've seen unionization in the manufacturing sector fall off. But it's now growing again in the service sector, which is interesting.

COSTELLO: Interesting. So, James, Wal-Mart, for example, is now tweaking company benefits in part because of bad publicity and protests like this. I know the protests are union-backed, but maybe employees can now just publicly shame companies into better working conditions and better wages.

SHERK: Well, you know, if they can, you know, more power to them. But these are really -- they're made for media protests with very little actual worker support. There's only a few hundred workers actually participating in these protests out of over 4 million workers in the fast food sector. This is -- it's mostly a march on the media. It's - there's not much going on here besides union organizing (INAUDIBLE).

COSTELLO: But isn't that effective? And wouldn't you say that some of those workers who are not protesting are afraid to lose their jobs? How can you just discount these protests and people living -- so many Americans living below the poverty line with families to support?

SHERK: Look, the union goal here in their - we what to unionize free (ph) of intimidation, what they don't say in the fine print is they want to unionize without a secret ballot (ph) election. You know, if the workers want to form a union, that's their right. They can do that if they think it will benefit them. But we shouldn't be taking away their right to vote in a secret ballot election, which is what the unions are, in the fine print, what they're demanding that Wal-Mart - or that McDonald's give them.

COSTELLO: Is it that simple, Rana?

FOROOHAR: You know, I don't think so. I think we've seen any number of attempted union organizations around the country. Lately there was a big case in Chattanooga with Volkswagen that was very contentious because - and I spoke to some of the workers on the ground there. They were interested in having more of an organized voice, but they were also concerned about losing their job and they were concerned about political - sort of political pressure around, you know, politicians saying that they were going to pull subsidies for the factories if workers unionized. I think unionization in this country is a very contentious issue and it has been for the last several decades. But the truth of the matter is, we now have a bifurcated economy. We have plenty of jobs at the high end, we have plenty of jobs at the very low end, but not much in the middle. And this is not a problem that's going away. And you really - you know, if you've got a couple of kids, it's impossible to make it on $20,000 a year, as you were saying. So I think we're going to see these kinds of protests grow.

COSTELLO: So, James, if unionization isn't the answer and protests aren't the answer, what is the answer for these families, just to suck it up?

SHERK: Well, look, most fast food workers leave and take another job within eight months. And so these are entry level jobs.

COSTELLO: No, that's not true, actually.

SHERK: In the fast food sector it is.

COSTELLO: It's not true. That's not true.

SHERK: One hundred and fifty percent turnover annually.

COSTELLO: It is not true.

SHERK: Look -

COSTELLO: No, no, no, no. These are workers who are - who have families to support at home, who are not summertime workers, who are not temporary workers. These are people who are making these kinds of jobs a career because, let's face it, the economy ain't so great right now to find a good job if you don't have a college education. Even if you do have a college education.

SHERK: But, look -

FOROOHAR: Absolutely. Yes.

SHERK: No, but the economy is certainly hurting. But, again, look at what happened in Chattanooga in a secret ballot election. The company was encouraging the workers to unionize. They weren't going to lose their jobs. The company wanted them to vote for the union.

FOROOHAR: Oh, but the politicians -

SHERK: And the workers said, we don't want to wind up like Chattanooga - or, sorry, we don't want Chattanooga to wind up like Detroit. We saw what the unions did to Detroit.

FOROOHAR: Yes, but local politicians - that is not what happened. Local politicians were saying, we are going to pull subsidies for those factories and we're going to discourage this company in this area if you unionize. That was a very complex situation.

And I think what's fascinating, frankly, is that this German company said, yes, we'd like to have more labor organization. The workers were interested. It was the local political community, very right leaning I might add, that was against it. And that was the problem in Chattanooga. COSTELLO: So, James, again, I'll ask you, what's the answer for these workers if they need to make a living wage and they don't want to depend on food stamps to help them through the day?

SHERK: Well, again, the answer is not to do something that will take away their jobs. If Wal-Mart actually - or, sorry, if McDonald's actually had this $15 an hour fast food wage, they'd have to raise prices by 25 percent. That doesn't just hurt their customers. When their customers stop buying as much, then they're going to have to lay off workers.

COSTELLO: But the -

SHERK: A 25 percent price hike is going to mean a lot fewer jobs and that's going to leave these workers in an even worse situation.

FOROOHAR: When I look at the profit margins at McDonald's and the fact that the prices are already so incredibly low and profit margins at this company and at many companies in America are at record highs, I'm not that worried about labor taking a little bit more of a share of the pie.

COSTELLO: We could discuss this forever. Thanks to you both for the debate this morning. Rana Foroohar, James Sherk.

I'll be right back.

FOROOHAR: Thank you.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: American troops now on the ground in Chad, Nigeria, helping to search for those more than 200 kidnapped school girls. The White House, yesterday, announced the deployment of a predator drone and additional military personnel to provide intelligence and surveillance support. It's been more than five weeks now since those girls were taken by the terrorist group Boka Haram. CNN's Barbara Starr live at the Pentagon.

What can you tell us about these troops in Chad?

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, good morning, Carol.

The Pentagon is saying these troops are there to help with the search. But certainly there are some tantalizing hints that the search is beginning to become more focused.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

STARR (voice-over): The 80 U.S. troops in Chad will be split, half operating an unmanned, unarmed predator drone searching for the girls missing since April 14th when they were abducted by the insurgent group Boka Haram. The other half, providing security for those troops.

The predator drone may be joined by this manned surveillance aircraft, which has already been used but has recently been grounded for maintenance. CNN has learned the U.S. believes one potential scenario, some of the missing school girls are in northeastern Nigeria and others may have been taken into surrounding countries. A senior U.S. official tells CNN, quote, "it's possible" based on some intelligence, but adds, "we just don't actually know where they are." There has been no verified intelligence about their specific location.

This action comes as a teenage girl who survived another Boka Haram attack after seeing her father and brother killed spoke to lawmakers in Washington and offered her thoughts on what needs to be done to rescue the girls.

DEBORAH JONES, BOKO HARAM SURVIVOR: I want the government to know how much Nigeria is in our prayers, and I want them to send armies to find the girls or help the people that lost their family.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

STARR (on camera): So the Pentagon says for now everything is related to just helping search for the girls and right now no plans for the U.S. to participate in any search and rescue mission if a location for the girls is found -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Why not, Barbara?

STARR: Well there are some of the -- it's a very difficult issue, officials say. They believe right now that the girls have probably been split up into small groups. And so to go into all of these places, U.S. troops to go in, a lot of challenge there to figure out who is friend or foe. You're going into areas where you may not have a lot of intelligence about what's going on. And if they're in multiple locations, you have to get to those locations simultaneously. Otherwise Boka Haram could get advanced word that you're on your way because you've gone to some but not all of the locations. It's going to be a very tough problem -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Barbara Starr, thanks so much.

Here at CNN we're not giving up on the girls. And we'll bring you the latest developments as this story continues to unfold.

If you would like to help girls worldwide trying to overcome barriers in education, go to our Web site, CNN.com/impact. I'll be back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Listen up, ladies. Perhaps more than ever, it's the power of the woman, both candidates and voters that could tip the balance of power in Washington this election year. Dana Bash has more.

DANA BASH, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Carol, the big drama this election year is whether Republicans can take control of the Senate. And the answer to that may rest in the hands of female candidates, especially after Tuesday's primaries.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BASH: From Kentucky --

ALISON LUNDERGAN GRIMES, (D) KENTUCKY SENATORIAL CANDIDATE: I am not an empty dress.

BASH: -- to Oregon.

MONICA WEHBY, OREGON SENATORIAL CANDIDATE: I am a doctor, a mom.

BASH: -- to Georgia.

MICHELLE NUNN, GEORGIA SENATORIAL CANDIDATE: Washington's going to learn a thing or two from our campaign.

BASH: -- these female senate candidates will try to defeat a male incumbent or flip party control of a senate seat. Add them to the list of vulnerable female senators in Louisiana, North Carolina and New Hampshire and it's clear the balance of power in the senate could depend on how women candidates in both parties fare.

Gender is really at play in the neck-and-neck race here in Kentucky. Alison Lundergan Grimes running against senate GOP leader Mitch McConnell.

GRIMES: I am a strong Kentucky woman who is an independent thinker.

BASH: She's already leaning way in, using her gender to appeal to female voters who make up more than half the Kentucky electorate and playing to the fact that polls show McConnell especially unpopular with women.

(on camera): Alison Grimes is a 35-year-old woman running very much appealing to women. You have a gender gap problem.

SEN. MITCH MCCONNELL (R), KENTUCKY: We'll find out in November, won't we? I mean, the point is, women in Kentucky have been treated just as badly in this environment as men have.

BASH: But belying that bravado is McConnell's overt appeal to women, talking about his wife --

MCCONNELL: I'm so happy to be joined tonight by my wife.

BASH: -- and three Kentucky women he says were hurt by Obamacare.

Democrats' other big hope for picking up a GOP senate seat is in Georgia with Michelle Nunn, daughter of veteran Senator Sam Nunn.

NUNN: I believe that change is possible.

BASH: As for Republicans Monica Wehby is a pediatric neurosurgeon hoping to unseat Democrat Jeff Merkley in Oregon as a political outsider.

WEHBY: I'm not a career politician.

BASH: Republicans are favored to pick up a Democratic seat in West Virginia with Shelley Moore Capito. But even if she loses to Democrat Natalie Tenet, the state would elect its first female senator.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BASH: There are currently 20 women senators. It's a record but still only 20 percent of the senate. Far from representative of the country which is more than 50 percent female -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Dana Bash reporting.

Still to come in the NEWSROOM, one of the most high-profile couples in professional sports calling it quits. Say it isn't so. Wozilroy over? Nischelle Turner has more.

NISCHELLE TURNER, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: Yes, she said yes and he said -- well, I don't think so. We're going to talk all about it, Carol, when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: No contest in the NBA playoffs last night. The San Antonio Spurs destroyed the Oklahoma City Thunder by 35 points and now lead their series 2-0. The Spurs went on big runs at the end of the second quarter and started the third to put the game away. The teams play again Sunday night. You can watch it on our sister network, TNT.

All right. Let's talk about something sad. For more than two years, golf star Rory McIlroy and his tennis-playing girlfriend, Caroline Wozniack, enjoyed a high-profile courtship that earned the couple the nickname Wozilroy. Their romance chronicled on Wozniack's Twitter feed where she posted this picture announcing their engagement on New Year's Eve.

Now several months later, McIlroy -- the invitations have gone out, Nischelle Turner and McIlroy says oh, I've changed my mind. That's painful, man.

TURNER: Yes, it is painful. And on the surface, it seems like the classic case of cold feet. Now, we'll kind of go back because Rory McIlroy announced on Wednesday that he had broken off this engagement. He said that the issuing of those wedding invitations over the weekend made him realize that he wasn't prepared for, quote, "all that marriage entails". They were together for three years. They got engaged on New Year's day, like you said.

Now he released a statement about the break-up on Wednesday. And here's what he said. He said "There is no right way to end a relationship that has been so important to two people. The problem is mine. The wedding invitations issued at the weekend made me realize I wasn't ready for all that marriage entails. I wish Caroline all the happiness she deserves. And I thank her for the great times we've had. I will not be saying anything more about our relationship in any setting."

Wait a minute. On Thursday, he did say something else about their relationship. He spoke to the media while he was getting ready for the BMW PGA championship in England and here's what he said. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RORY MCILROY, PROFESSIONAL GOLFER: Quite a difficult time for Caroline and myself and I think the statement really said it all this morning. It was mutual and amicable. And we both thought it was for the best for both of us for you know the best for both of us and time to move on and I think I've said all that I need to say. You know, I just want to get my head into golf this week and concentrate on the tournament and try and do well.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TURNER: Now, that's very nice, but I don't know how amicable it was, Carol, because Caroline just tweeted "It's a hard time for me right now. Thanks for all the sweet messages. Happy I support Liverpool right now because I know will never walk alone."

Now presumably she's referring to the football club. This could actually be considered a bit of a dig at Rory because he's a supporter of Manchester United, which is one of their rivals. They did have to deal with all those constant rumors of how good their relationship was and scrutiny over whether or not they were distractions for each other's career, and all of this was magnified when they both went into a slump last year. Neither one of them was winning and everybody wanted to speculate on what was going on.

But here's the thing, Carol. On Sunday, Rory McIlroy just tweeted a picture of them at dinner at Nobu in Monte Carlo. And you know, let it out there that they were there having dinner together. Then three days later, no more.

COSTELLO: It's a sad story, but at least it's better they don't get married, right?

TURNER: Yes.

COSTELLO: If it's not going to work, it's not going to work.

TURNER: I'm glad you said that.

COSTELLO: Oh yes. Nischelle Turner, thanks so much.

TURNER: One day she'll thank her lucky stars.

COSTELLO: That's right. It's just too painful right now.

The next hour of CNN NEWSROOM starts now.

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