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Federal Agents Assisting Baltimore's Homicide Unit; Baltimore Still Reeling After Riots; "The New York Times": Amazon Workers Suffer Ulcers, Humiliation And Discrimination; Chris Saves A Man From Drowning. Aired 7:30-8a ET

Aired August 18, 2015 - 07:30   ET

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

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[07:31:00] ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back to NEW DAY. Donald Trump further cementing his position as the Republican frontrunner in the 2016 presidential race. A just released CNN/ORC poll shows him far and away the leader with 24 percent of Republican voters. That's almost double his nearest rival, Jeb Bush, with 13 percent. Dr. Ben Carson is in third with 9 percent.

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: Indonesian search crews are recovering the bodies of all 54 people on board of the Trigana Airlines plane that crashed in the mountainous region this past weekend. Helicopters will be used to transfer the remains.

Bad weather is preventing them from reaching the remote crash site. It's been a problem from the beginning. The plane's black box recorders have been retrieved so more information will be forth comings -- Mich.

MICHAELA PEREIRA, CNN ANCHOR: Here's our amazing today. Dash cam video shows a Seattle police officer pulling over a speeding motorist, that's nothing new, but learns that the driver actually had a good reason for blowing those red lights.

His wife was in labor in that vehicle so the officer called an ambulance. He then assisted in the delivery apparently even help clear the air way.

After the daughter was born, the father had nothing but hugs for the police officer. Mother and child were taken to a nearby hospital and are said to be doing very well. What a beautiful picture.

CUOMO: Beautiful ending there. Good luck to them in the rest of their lives as family.

So major cities across the country are still facing the same problem, crime is on the rise, especially deadly shootings. In Baltimore, the homicide rate is reaching record levels, one homicide every day for a month. So what's the answer?

Here to discuss, Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake. She is also the president of the U.S. Conference of Mayors, which had been meeting to try to come up with solutions. Mayor, good to have you on NEW DAY. One of the things that Baltimore is doing that is different, maybe a point of potential criticism, many big cities are dealing with spikes in homicide rates and crime.

Your city seems to always be reaching out for federal health and municipalities to help. Why can't Baltimore get it done by itself?

[05:30:06] STEPHANIE RAWLINGS-BLAKE, PRESIDENT, U.S. CONFERENCE OF MAYORS: It's good to be here, Chris. It's not that we can't get it done by ourselves is that we shouldn't. A lot of the targets that we have are high value targets for the federal government as well as the city police and partnerships work.

We know the spike in crime that we are seeing here in Baltimore is happening in other cities around the country. We know, historically, when cities across the country and when our country has dealt with national spikes in violence, there has been a national response. That's what we need here.

As president of the Conference of Mayors that's what I'm going to continue to push for.

CUOMO: Mayor, early on, there was a suspicion that the spike had to do with the civil unrest, that it had to do with the policing situation there. Do you still believe that or do you believe there are plenty of reasons for things to go the wrong way?

RAWLINGS-BLAKE: There are plenty of reasons for the spike in crime in Baltimore. We know that there is, just like other places around the country, there is a nonstop flow of illegal guns in our cities. We know there are many -- the availability of drugs is very high and we know that once a series of violent activity commences, there's a lot of retaliation.

That same story is happening in cities all across the country. I think it's important that we, as mayors, come together and look for a national solution in partnership with the federal government.

CUOMO: Chief Batts was making the same arguments saying, it is not just the Freddie Gray effect although that did dump a lot of new drugs on the street. There are a lot of problems here. We need federal help. He wound up being removed. Was that a mistake?

RAWLINGS-BLAKE: No, I think Commissioner Batts, we have had many conversations and it was clear that he had become a distraction. The focus was on whether or not he should be commissioner, and not the crime fight and that's what I'm focused today.

Interim Commissioner Davis is very focused on bringing our partners together so we can bring more safety to our city. The thing is, the partnership that we are working on here in Baltimore is the same type of partnership that mayors are looking to replicate in other parts of the country.

So we are looking to find the model that works so we can target these repeat violent offenders, these ones that are determined to bring death and destruction to our community and bring them to justice and off of our streets.

CUOMO: Is there any indication that you have had a pullback in policing because of what happened with Freddie Gray and officers are worried about being cited for misconduct when they are doing what they believe is their job?

RAWLINGS-BLAKE: You know, I think while there was a lot of conversation about that with pundits, the numbers don't bear that out, the number of arrests in Baltimore City has gone up. Actually the number of gun seizures has gone up this year over last year.

We've got more drugs and guns are off the streets and more arrests in the past two to three weeks than we had the previous two to three weeks have shown. I'm sure that is a statistic that you see around the country.

In Baltimore, we had an unrest, but that didn't happen in Milwaukee or Chicago and they are still having the fights and violence. While people, pundits say it was a pullback. We know the violence is a national epidemic.

We are focused on those repeat violent offenders that are bringing death and destruction, not just in Baltimore, but cities across the country. We are going to focus on them and work with all the partners that we can pull together to get them off our streets.

CUOMO: What is one area that you think you will be able to measure over time that you can make a difference in the amount of crime you have?

RAWLINGS-BLAKE: I think we'll definitely make progress with the homicide rate. Under my administration, we have been able to pull the homicide rate down to the lowest it's been since the '70s.

I'm not going to give up. We are focused, like mayors across the country in dealing with this surge in crime. We are not deterred. We are not taking our foot off the gas.

This is a battle. It's a battle we are engaged in every hour of every day. We are going to continue to focus on driving down the homicide rates. A lot of crimes that happen, you have a do over.

You can, if -- you can prepare if a window is broken or a car is broken into. That can be repaired. If we lose a life on the streets of Baltimore or any city in the country, you can't do that over. You can't bring that person back.

That's why this work is urgent and that's why it's important to look for all of the resources that we can bring to this battle, to bring safety back into our communities. That's what the people in Baltimore deserve and the people experiencing a spike in violence deserve.

That's what we are going to focus on. As mayor, I'm focused on that in Baltimore and as president of the Conference of Mayors, I'm focused on bringing those mayors together that are having the same struggles and finding ways to work together better and work together with federal partners.

CUOMO: One in particular is somewhat is captured the fascination of people in Baltimore and around the country that, of course, is Freddie Gray. We will keep our eyes in that prosecution and see which way it goes.

Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, thank you for being on NEW DAY. We look forward to talking with you again. Hopefully there will be better news on this front.

RAWLINGS-BLAKE: Thank you.

CUOMO: Alisyn.

[07:40:12] CAMEROTA: OK, Chris, listen to this story. It's a great place to find a deal, but is Amazon a bad place to work? Wait until you hear the stories of what goes on behind closed doors at Amazon.

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PEREIRA: So, do you see the story about Amazon? Amazon is fighting back against that blistery report in the "New York Times" alleging a harsh working environment within the company.

Among the claims, criticism from peers crying in the bathrooms frequently, getting low performance ratings after going through personal issues like miscarriages and even cancer. So will the report inspire change in Amazon or affect its future business?

Here to discuss is senior media editor at Re/code, Peter Kafka. Peter, we both read this and felt like, I have worked in places like that. Not to make light of it, but you hear some of these things that are going on at Amazon. Did it feel to you that it was different from other big corporations and companies, even industries that you talked to?

[07:45:05] PETER KAFKA, SENIOR MEDIA EDITOR, RE/CODE: It was the edge. It's like more extreme.

PEREIRA: More extreme?

KAFKA: More than some workplaces. This is a story that I read about on a company like maybe Netflix, an Amazon competitor.

PEREIRA: Specific to only technology, though?

KAFKA: No, no.

PEREIRA: I have heard anecdotally from other people in other industries, whether it's hedge funds or --

KAFKA: A law firm or emergency room, you pull long hours all the time. It's a very intense, high pressure work place. It's not unique to technology. It's not unique to Amazon.

PEREIRA: OK, so one of the things I was reading, they fired staff. This is a former Amazon human resources director. Is this sour grapes?

KAFKA: I don't know about sour grapes. Cut the lowest performers. You see that in other industries. What is different from Amazon is they are a very big company embracing the culture you see in a smaller start up, sort of going 80 miles an hour, 24 hours a day. That slows down as you get bigger. Amazon wants to keep it going.

PEREIRA: Do you think maybe the reason it is shocking or resonating or even getting across the collective consciousness is because Amazon is in our homes, right. We all use it. It's a feel good company. It allows us to prime users, et cetera. Do you think maybe that's why it is kind of making us feel that?

KAFKA: A big, beloved brand. You may not want to think what it takes to get a package from Amazon to your house in an hour or less. Even if you don't have as intense a job as someone at Amazon, you may not have to work 24 hours seven days a week, but you have to bring your phone home and be accessible on a Sunday night. It's sort of standard operating procedure.

PEREIRA: Jay carney, the former press secretary for the White House and is the senior vice president for global corporate affairs for Amazon. If you are a smart person, who wants to innovate and create, of course, you want to work hard. You are hearing from some inside Amazon like we are at the top of our game.

KAFKA: It's a great place to work and have worked. It's great optionality. If you work there, you are set up for a future job down the line.

PEREIRA: What do you make of Jeff Bezos' e-mail? He sent an e-mail or memo to 180,000 Amazonians, employees of Amazon. I don't think any company adopting the approach portrayed could survive much less thrive in today's high competitive tech hiring market. You are recruited every day by other world class companies and you can work anywhere you want," which in a way almost sounds dismissive.

But he also goes on to say in that letter to the employees, if you hear of any of these kinds of things happening, get in touch with HR or e-mail me personally. What does that --

KAFKA: Look, he's not denying the work abuses alleged in the "New York Times," which is telling. Again, you have Jay Carney, a former White House guy helping him create a very closely --

PEREIRA: Yes, yes, yes.

KAFKA: And the fact he's responding is yes, I get this is serious. They are very quiet at Amazon. For them to even send Jay Carney, it says all right, we are taking this seriously.

PEREIRA: They are quiet. What do you think the net is of this? What do you think is going to happen? What is the result?

KAFKA: I think you'll see record sales for Amazon.

PEREIRA: You really think that this going to be -- barely a blip?

KAFKA: It's a little uncomfortable, but people move on. It's somewhere in the back of their heads, but not enough to get stop clicking on a prime purchase.

PEREIRA: Do you think any other tech company is going to take notice?

KAFKA: Maybe recruiters showing up saying if it's that bad, come see us.

PEREIRA: Come over here. Really interesting, all right, Peter Kafka, really interesting your perspective on all this. We'll be watching or not depending on what happens -- Alisyn.

CAMEROTA: All right what is your take on all of this? Tweet us using #newdaycnn or post your comments on facebook.com/newday. Tell us your horrible work stories as well.

Meanwhile, the newest CNN/ORC poll shows Donald Trump holding on to his strong lead. We'll look at what it reveals about his strengths, possible weaknesses, and his closest rivals, who they are. We are going to talk about all of this with Governor Rick Perry. Stick around.

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[07:52:59]

PEREIRA: I have got a story to tell. It is one that hits very, very close to home. There's a guy swimming off Long Island. Gets caught in a rip current and he is apparently moments from drowning. Guess who was there to save him, this guy.

Chris and his family have their boat anchored off Shelter Island when the swimmer was swept right past their boat. This guy went in after him, pulled him to safety.

We're told by a witness that said if Chris wasn't there the man certainly would have drowned. Here's my issue. I asked you how your weekend was and you didn't say a word.

CUOMO: Well, the weird part is my wife threw me in after. In truth I was leaving it alone because I didn't want to reveal the guy. It was fast-moving water. A lot of boaters were anchored and he went for a swim. As he came by us I said how are you doing? He said I'm not doing well. We swam across.

PEREIRA: Was Christina freaking out?

CUOMO: No. She was OK, and also we were so far away so fast that I didn't think there was really any time to think about it. I didn't want to embarrass him.

CAMEROTA: That's nice of you. But what's the lesson here for everyone watching? CUOMO: The lesson is don't jump in fast-moving water and think before you do something like that. I didn't think the guy was going to make it. He didn't look good.

CAMEROTA: Thank goodness you were there.

CUOMO: I hope that he's well and I hope people don't chase down his name. I'm only talking about it because somebody called and put it in the paper and it wasn't me. I would have embellished more. It was ten people and a shark bit me in the leg and I punched him in the face.

CAMEROTA: We're so proud of you. All right, back to our top story. There is a suspect in the deadly Bangkok bombing. We'll have more on the latest manhunt.

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