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L.A. Workers Strike Shuts Down Second-Largest U.S. School District; Report: London's Metro Police Lets Internal Predators Flourish; Southern California Braces For Yet Another Atmospheric River Storm; Cuban Catcher Defects After World Baseball Classic. Aired 3:30- 4p ET
Aired March 21, 2023 - 15:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[15:30:00]
JESSICA DEAN, CNN HOST: We really appreciate it.
BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: So, it may officially be Spring in the United States but if you're in Southern California look at that, it does not look like spring. The state preparing for yet another powerful round of heavy rain and snow. We've got your full forecast up next.
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[15:35:00]
SANCHEZ: Right now in the nation's second largest school district, tens of thousands of L.A. school workers are on the picket lines protesting concerns over pay, equitable treatment and what they call unfair labor practices.
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ADRIAN ALVEREZ, LAUSD WORKER: We need to make a living wage. We live this weird paradox as workers that help feed children and yet we struggle to feed our own children. So, anybody that has kids in school, anybody that really cares about the quality of education, you have to care about the people that guarantee that quality education and that is us.
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DEAN: Today's walkout forced the district to shut down all its schools. That's affecting more than 500,000 students. Many of whom who depend on school for free lunch and childcare. Alberto Carvalho Superintendent for the L.A. Unified School District is joining us now. Superintendent, thanks for making time today. Why couldn't the district come to an agreement with the workers?
ALBERTO CARVALHO, SUPERINTENDENT, LOS ANGELES UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT: Good afternoon, Jessica and Boris, thank you so much for having me. Number one, we've been at the table for quite a while now. We recognize the historic inequities that persist, particularly impacting some of the lowest wage earners in our community, the voices you just heard from. So, that's why we led with an historic compensation package that we put on the table. We started out at 15 percent cash in hand as well as recurring compensation increase. We're now at a 23 percent recurring compensation increase, in addition to a 3 percent bonus. But look, this is the result of a crescendo of frustration that goes back many, many, many years. This new team has inherited these conditions. We are negotiating and I remain hopeful that we'll be able to have a legitimate conversation that may result in a precedent- setting contract.
SANCHEZ: Superintendent, the workers talk about feeling disrespected by the district. I'm wondering how you respond to that. What do you think they mean by that?
CARVALHO: I know exactly what the workers mean by that. Number one, years of substandard compensation at levels that, quite frankly in a community like Los Angeles where the cost of living, the cost of housing are so high, have been -- have put our workforce, particularly the lowest wage earnings, bus drivers, cafeteria workers, custodial staff, in a position where they cannot live in the communities where they work.
Also, allegations that go back a long time regarding some workplace conditions. That is why we continue to investigate every one of those allegations. That is why we have put on the table a very compelling compensation package, which includes not only that 23 percent salary increase, in addition to a 3 percent cash in hand bonus to recognize the effort of this very indispensable workforce group, but also extending dignity and respect, offering even for part-time employees full health care benefits for them and their dependents, their family members at no cost to the employees. This is a compelling package. What we're waiting now is for the union to come back to the table for us to maintain and continue these negotiations.
DEAN: And superintendent, there's some 500,000 children in your care in that school district an they're all at home today. A lot of them not only rely on education there, but they get lunch, maybe they get breakfast. It's a place where parents know their children can go when they're at work. What are you doing to service those children, to make sure that these days aren't wasted?
CARVALHO: Obviously, side by side with our concern for the workforce, we are deeply, deeply concerned for the well-being of our kids. Look, this district went through its longest strike back in 2018-2019. That was followed by a pandemic. We know the impact of that pandemic in terms of reading and math proficiency and social, emotional and mental well-being and here we are again.
That is why we made decisions to activate dozens of sites across the community to, number one, distribute, grab and go meals. Being able to provide children in our community with the food that they obtain in our schools. We have also opened dozens of centers for child supervised activities, for working parents to be able to drop off their children.
We just wrapped up the food distribution. We were able to distribute hundreds of thousands of meals to needy kids in our community, indispensable service, considering that 75 percent of our kids live at or below the poverty level.
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What we're looking for now is a rapid solution to this ongoing debate specific to this contract. And I believe that the president of the union and myself, if we go to the table, will be able to meet in the middle and come up with an historic contract for this very deserving workforce group, in addition to returning our kids to protective safety and routine that schools offer.
SANCHEZ: Superintendent, Alberto Carvalho. We appreciate you answering our questions. We hope you come to a resolution with the workers soon and for the kids.
CARVALHO: Thank you very much.
DEAN: Misogynistic, racist and homophobic, that is the type of culture a scathing new review accuses London's Metropolitan Police of perpetuating. How the department's responding to that. That's next.
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SANCHEZ: A damning new review into Britain's largest law enforcement force reveals a culture of racism, homophobia and misogyny at the London Metropolitan Police.
DEAN: It also says, quote, widespread bullying and racism are plaguing the department. CNN's investigative producer Katie Polglase joins us now. Katie, what more are you learning about this report, who commissioned it and also how are the leaders responding to this?
KATIE POLGLASE, CNN INVESTIGATIVE PRODUCER: Well, what prompted this inquiry in the first place was shocking. It was the brutal kidnap and rape and murder of a young woman Sarah Everard, back in 2021 at the hands of a serving armed police officer, Wayne Couzens, in an elite unit here in the U.K. and it sparked outrage in the British public and prompted the inquiry. Have a listen to what Louise Casey said about the incident.
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LOUISE CASEY, LED REVIEW INTO MET POLICE: I find it extraordinary that in policing and in the Met Police, that wasn't their moment of like a plane falling out of the sky. I just think it is so dreadful and you know, has to be a moment that change came. Change didn't come. So now this report has to carry that and has to take responsibility for getting the change needed that we should have had at the point that that young woman lost her life.
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POLGLASE: Now, Louise Casey actually said in her report that the unit to which Wayne Couzens belonged should be disbanded and should be reset with a new ethos. But she also spoke more broadly about the culture in London's Met Police. She said it was a culture of denial, a culture of we know best, so to speak, and that was part of what was making it resistant to reform over the years.
Now there's been some strong language by the leaders here the U.K. The London's Mayor Sadiq Khan has said that the evidence in this report is damning. And the Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has said that the culture of London's Met Police needs to change.
However, this is not the first inquiry into London's Met Police. There have been many over decades with very similar critical conclusions. And so, the question is really whether this will be the turning point for the Met.
SANCHEZ: And the Met Police commissioner saying, sorry we've let you all down and we'll fix this. We'll see how that plays out. Katie Polglase thank you so much for your reporting.
So, there's more heavy rain and snow along with high winds that's moving into Southern California.
DEAN: This is thanks to yet another atmospheric river storm. This is the state's 12th since late December. It's an unusually high number for the West and it means severe flooding remains a threat there. CNN meteorologist Jennifer Gray is watching it all. Jennifer, the storm is already here. I guess the question now is, just how intense will it be?
JENNIFER GRAY, CNN METEOROLOGIST: You're right, it's here. It is going to be peaking through the afternoon, the overnight hours and then it'll start to sort of wind down. But we really are seeing some pretty significant impacts across the California coast. We're seeing very heavy rain. Some of these rainfall rates, about an inch or two an hour. Also seeing very heavy snow, very high winds and power outages. You can even see some spin right there just offshore. And so, once it starts to pull inland or that low will, then we'll start to see this storm peak along the coast and then start to improve.
But that flash flood probability is still there. We have a very high risk of that, moderate across Southern California from Los Angeles to San Diego. And that's where we could see the most significant flooding. So, as we go forward in time, the rain will continue to fall, the snow, and then pulling into the Rockies as well. You can see still raining across the California coast by Wednesday morning. And then it finally starts to wind down where the showers will start to subside a little bit as well as the snow.
But the forecast rain and snow accumulation, we could see anywhere from 2 to 4 inches along the coast. Very high snow amounts as well. We could see several feet of snow. You can see, this also spills to the east into the Rockies and in portions of the Plains. So, zooming down on some of the harder hit areas where we could see some very high totals, guys, before this is all said and done.
SANCHEZ: 12 atmospheric rivers, that feels like a lot.
DEAN: Remarkable. SANCHEZ: Jennifer Gray, thank you so much, Jennifer.
So, after being eliminated from the world baseball classic, a Cuban player reportedly defected while the rest of the team was getting on the plane returning to Havana. We have details ahead.
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SANCHEZ: After losing in their semifinals of the World Baseball Classic this weekend, team Cuba landed back in Havana missing one of its players. The MLB tells "USA Today" that Ivan Prieto Gonzalez, a 26-year-old backup catcher defected from his home country. CNN has reached out to Major League Baseball for comment.
CNN's Patrick Oppmann joins us now live from Havana. Patrick, what more do we know about this?
PATRICK OPPMANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, you know, even before the first pitch was thrown in the game on Sunday, there was an incredible amount of tension around this game. Of course, you had the Cuba's national team playing the U.S. in Miami's Little Havana, the heart of the exile community in Miami.
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So a lot of activists came, anti-Cuban activists came knowing the game would be broadcast live in Cuba and used it to show anti-government signs, they sang protest anthems. The U.S. demolished the Cuba's team. But his was the best showing for Cuba's national team in years. They made it to the semifinals. That's a lot better than they've done in recent years after having so many players leaving the island to play in the MLB over the years.
So, the team was greeted like returning heroes by Cuba's President and other top officials when they returned yesterday. But of course, there was a missing player. As you said, Ivan Prieto did not make the flight home. We don't know why he deserted, if it's for political reasons, if it's that he's hoping to play in the MLB, make more money or like so many other thousands of Cubans, he's just trying to seek a better life outside of Cuba. Typically the Cuban government calls these players that leave deserters and traitors and bans them for up to five years from returning to the island. So, this could be a decision that has a huge impact on his life.
SANCHEZ: Yes, Cuba likely will never allow him to play for the national team again. They don't really like Cubans who leave in Cuba. Kind of like me. Patrick Oppmann, thank you so much for that.
"THE LEAD" with Jake Tapper starts after this short break. Jessica, it's great to be with you.
DEAN: Great to be with you as always, Boris.
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