The Leslie Marshall Show lesliemarshall

Leslie is joined by Nick Wilson, Senior Director for Gun Violence Prevention at American Progress, where he leads the organization’s efforts to reduce gun violence and shrink the footprint of the criminal justice system while improving public health and safety.The pair discusses the Biden Administration taking a major step towards closing the 'gun show loophole,' requring thousands more gun dealers to run background checks.The administration first proposed the rule in August, after the passage of the most sweeping gun violence bill in decades, a bipartisan compromise in response to the massacre of 19 students and two teachers at a Uvalde, Texas elementary school.That law expanded the definition of those who are “engaged in the business” of selling firearms, and are required to become licensed by the ATF and therefore run background checks. The rule, which implements the change in the law, will take effect 30 days after it is published in the Federal Register.There are already roughly 80,000 federally licensed firearms dealers. Administration officials believe the new rule will impact more than 20,000 dealers who have gotten away with selling firearms without a license and performing background checks at places like gun shows and over the internet by claiming they aren’t “engaged in the business” of firearm sales. The website for the Center for American Progress is www.AmericanProgress.org.  Nick's handle on X is @NickWilsonB.

Leslie is joined by Liz Shuler, president of the 60 unions and 12.5 million members of the AFL-CIO, and the first woman leader of America’s labor movement.The two discuss the Union's 2024 'Death on the Job Report,' the recent UAW win in Tennessee and what it means for the broader Union movement in the South, as well as the Inaugural 'Climate, Equity and Jobs Launch' held by the AFL-CIO on Earth Day this year.The 2024 'Death on the Job Report' can be read here: https://aflcio.org/press/releases/afl-cio-releases-2024-death-job-report-ahead-workers-memorial-dayA visionary leader and longtime trade unionist, Liz Shuler believes the labor movement is the single most powerful vehicle for progress and that unions are a central force in leading lasting societal transformations. She is committed to busting myths about labor, leveraging the labor movement’s diversity for innovative approaches to social justice and making the benefits of a union voice on the job available to working people everywhere.The website for the AFL-CIO is http://www.AFLCIO.org and their handle on X is @AFLCIO. Liz's handle is @LizShuler.

Leslie is joined by the International President of the United Steelworkers (USW), David McCall.The two explore the topic of restoring the United States' lost shipbuilding capacity.President McCall first details how the USW, alongside four other labor organizations, filed a petition last month requesting the United States Trade Representative (USTR) open an investigation into China’s non-market practices as it seeks to dominate the commercial shipping market. Next, Leslie and President McCall discuss how the loss of shipbuilding capacity poses a grave threat to America's national security.The pair also explores how the U.S. loss of commercial shipbuilding capacity has directly resulted in the loss of high-paying manufacturing jobs in the sector and across the supply chain.Finally, President McCall breaks down how the COVID-19 pandemic laid bare the danger of relying on foreign manufacturers to supply America's needs.President McCall previously served four years as International Vice President, leading negotiations that delivered wage increases, stronger job security and other gains for tens of thousands of workers in steel, tire and other key industries.McCall, a fourth-generation Steelworker, was born and raised in Gary, Indiana. His great-grandfather, grandfather, great-uncles, uncles and mother all worked at U.S. Steel’s Gary Works, and he walked his first picket line at age 7 during the USW’s 116-day, industry-wide strike in 1959.The website for the United Steelworkers is www.USW.org and their handle on X, Facebook and Instagram is @steelworkers.

Leslie is joined by Scott Paul, President of the Alliance for American Manufacturing (AAM), a partnership established by some of America’s leading manufacturers and the United Steelworkers union.First, Scott explains how high interest rates and trade deficits are stifling U.S. factory jobs growth.Second, Leslie and Scott move across the globe to discuss China, where U.S. Treasury Secretary, Janet Yellen, is wrapping up a five day trip.Scott begins this discussion by highlighting how Beijing's economic success remains tied to U.S. market access, and how that offers America leverage.Next, Leslie and Scott discuss the increasingly high risk that China will flood the globe with EVs and green tech thanks to their government subsidized overcapacity in both industries.During her current trip to the Communist nation, Secretary Yellen says that the concern about excess capacity is shared by many other countries in addition to the U.S., both developing as well as rich ones.“This is not anti-China policy,” she said. “It’s an effort for us to mitigate the risks from the inevitable global economic dislocation that will result if China doesn’t adjust its policies.”Finally, Scott shares the advice he provided to a panel convened last week by the Washington International Trade Association (WITA) about Chinese auto imports.To summarize, he encourages the U.S. not to wait for China’s heavily subsidized car to arrive here.  But instead, to be PROACTIVE!For over 16 years, Scott Paul and AAM have worked to make American manufacturing a top-of-mind issue for voters and our national leaders through effective advocacy, innovative research, and a savvy public relations strategy.Their website is www.AmericanManufacturing.org and their handle on X is @KeepItMadeInUSA.Scott's handle is @ScottPaulAAM.

Leslie is joined by Sean O'Brien, General President of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters.
The two discuss the Teamsters' recently ratified contract with Anheuser-Busch, their striking brothers and sisters at Molson-Coors, organizing at UPS and DHL, as well as their Presidential roundtables.
Sean is a 4th-generation Teamster from Boston, and is committed to winning and defending strong national contracts, organizing new members, and aggressively taking on employers. He is focused on mobilizing rank-and-file Teamsters through education and increased engagement—traveling extensively to visit with members at worksites throughout the country.
Founded in 1903, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters represents 1.3 million hardworking people in the U.S., Canada, and Puerto Rico. Visit Teamster.org for more information. Follow them on X and Instagram, where their handle is @Teamsters, and “like” them on Facebook at Facebook.com/Teamsters.Sean's handle on X is @TeamsterSOB.

Leslie is joined by two young women, Afghan refugee Sola Mahfouz and Malaina Kapoor (Stanford ‘25), who are raising awareness about the untold story of millions of Afghan women brimming with potential and longing for freedom in their acclaimed book, “Defiant Dreams: The Journey of an Afghan Girl Who Risked Everything for Education."
Sola Mahfouz was born in Kandahar, Afghanistan, in 1996, the year the Taliban took over her country for the first time. They banned television and photographs, presided over brutal public executions, and turned the clock backward on women’s rights, practically imprisoning women within their own homes and forcing them to wear all-concealing burqas. At age eleven, Sola was forced to stop attending school after a group of men threatened to throw acid in her face if she continued. After that she was confined to her home, required to cook and clean and prepare for an arranged marriage. She saw the outside world only a handful of times each year.
As time passed, Sola began to understand that she was condemned to the same existence as millions of women in Afghanistan. Her future was empty. The rest of her life would be controlled entirely by men: fathers and husbands and sons who would never allow her to study, to earn money, or even to dream.
Driven by this devastating realization, Sola began a years-long fight to change the trajectory of her life, deciding that education would be her way out. At age sixteen, without even the basic ability to add or subtract, she began to teach herself math and English in secret. She progressed rapidly., Within just two years she was already studying subjects such as philosophy and physics. Faced with obstacles at every turn, Sola still managed to sneak into Pakistan to take the SAT. In 2016, she escaped to the United States, where she is now a quantum-computing researcher at Tufts University.
An engrossing, dramatic memoir, co-written with young Indian American human rights activist Malaina Kapour, 'Defiant Dreams' is the story of one girl, but it’s also the untold story of a generation of women brimming with potential and longing for freedom. This story inspires us to unleash the potential that lies within us and all the women across the globe. It is a universal story of striving for greatness, reaching for the stars, and transcending the boundaries of our birth.
In alignment with this year’s International Women’s Day theme "Invest in women: Accelerate progress," Sola and Malaina want to shed light on the need to invest in women’s rights and access to education. Sola's story aligns perfectly with the values and goals of Women's History Month and the United Nations' commitment to #InvestInWomen. The book is available for purchase at www.DefiantDreams.com.