12/28/22 12/28/22 [captioning made possible by democracy now!] amy: from new york, this is democracy now! >> this feels like a bucket of water. we were told tough 42 has been prolonged. amy: the supreme court conservative majority has ordered the biden administration to continue enforcing title 42. it blocks asylum seekers at the u.s.-mexico border. we will go to el paso for a

response. in a buffalo, new york, where the death toll from this weekend for store blizzard has climbed to at least 31 as people froze to death in their homes and cars. thousands were left without power, heat, or food, pleading for help as the mayor complained about looting. >> i just want add people who are out looting when people are losing their lives in this harsh winter storm is aolutely reprehensible. i don't know how these people can even live with themselves, how they can look at themselves in the mirror. they are the lowest of the low. amy: we will get an update on what some are calling a katrina moment in buffalo from india walton, longtime community activist, and a former police officer arrested during the storm. then thousands of southwest airlines passengers remained

stranded across the country amidst an unprecedented operational meltdown. >> no flights available for 3, 4, five days. if i could reschedule and go home -- right now it is saturday. that is a long way away for me. i need to get back so i can get to work. amy: as a transportation secretary calls for an investigation, we will get response from southwest airlines flight attendant union and from the president of flyer's rights. all that and more, coming up. welcome to democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. the supreme court ordered the biden administration to continue enforcing the trump-era title 42 while it prepares to hear oral arguments by republican-led states challenging its termination. the court will determine the policy's fate in its next

session, which begins in february. this comes after a lower court had allowed biden officials to end the policy earlier this month. title 42 has been used to expel over 2 million migrants at the u.s.-mexico border since march 2020, blocking them from seeking asylum. thousands remain stranded in mexico, often in extremely dangerous conditions. we will have more on these latest developments after headlines. in buffalo, new york, the death toll from this weekend's historic blizzard climbed to at least 31, with nationwide fatalities surpassing 60 people. state and military police were deployed to buffalo tuesday to enforce buffalo's driving ban as road conditions remain treacherous. erie county chief executive mark poloncarz pleaded with residents to stay off the roads. >> that have no access whatsoever and people are trying

to drive on these roads or trying to get into these neighborhoods and they can't. please, please you heard them airbag and i am begging, stay home. amy: meanwhile, the air travel chaos caused by the christmas snowstorm has left thousands stranded around the country. the transportation department said it will investigate flight cancellations and delays by southwest airlines, which has canceled around two thirds of its flights since the storm. this is a southwest passenger at los angeles international airport. >> i was in flight for like four hours -- on the phone for like four hours on hold. i said, let's come to the airport to see what is going on. apparently the flights are canceled, canceled, and more canceled. these amazing people that have come to work, they don't deserve our frustration of having to get home. amy: southwest workers and union

members say the company had ignored warnings its software is out of date and unable to handle such disruptions. 90% of the cancellations were southwest. we will have the latest from buffalo and the situation at southwest airlines later in the broadcast. the house committee investigating the january 6 insurrection released a new batch of transcripts tuesday, including the explosive testimony from trump staffer cassidy hutchinson who said former chief of staff mark meadows burned documents in his office fireplace once or twice a week in the final weeks of the trump administration. the transcripts confirm earlier reports that hutchinson said at least two of the burnings came after meetings with congressmember scott perry, who has been linked to a plan to use the justice department to overturn trump's 2020 loss. meanwhile, trump's director of personnel testified the former president considered blanket pardons for people facing charges linked to the attack on the capitol.

william walker, the house sergeant at arms and then-head of the d.c. national guard told lawmakers -- "i'm african american. i think it would have been a vastly different response if those were african americans trying to breach the capitol. you're looking at someone who gets stopped by police for driving a high value government vehicle. no other reason." last week, the house committee recommended the justice department issue criminal charges against president trump. the kremlin has banned oil sales to any country that adheres to a $60-per-barrel price cap on maritime imports of russian crude imposed earlier this month by the g7. the european union and others have imposed their own bans on such imports, but the cap affects third countries that use cash third parties that use g7

and european union vessels and companies. meanwhile, climate activists in germany have been staging protests to call out their government's use of coal to make up for the russian gas previously supplied by the nord stream 1 pipeline. indian authorities say they are investigating the deadly fall of russian sausage tycoon and politician pavel antov from a hotel window in the eastern state of odisha. one of antov's travel companions died of an apparent heart attack at the same hotel two days earlier. kosovo has closed its largest border crossing after protesters blocked it amid mounting tensions between serbia and kosovo. serbia said tuesday its army has been put on high alert following weeks of protests and roadblocks. what started as a dispute over car license plates is now threatening to boil over, with kosovo accusing serbia of attempting to destabilize the country under the influence of russia. some 50,000 ethnic serbs live in northern kosovo but do not recognize kosovo's independence.

the arrest of a former serbian police officer in northern kosovo earlier this month has refueled the simmering tensions. in indonesia, at least 185 rohingya refugees reached western aceh province nday after their overcrowded wooden boat was adrift on the andaman sea for over a month without a working engine. survivors said at least 26 refugees died at sea. the surviving passengers, including children, nearly starved, with many so malnourished and dehydrated they could barely walk. this is shafiq rahman, a rohingya refugee, speaking from a makeshift shelter in indonesia. >> we became refugees of bangladesh. we were provided assistance from bangladesh and we came to indonesia in a boat. amy: just a day earlier on christmas, another boat carrying over 50 rohingya refugees came

ashore in indonesia. the u.n. says the number of rohingya refugees undertaking the dangerous trek by boat to indonesia and other destinations in the region had increased six-fold in 2022. it's estimated er one mlion rohing muslims have fled persecution in burma since 2017, with most languishing in dangerous and squalid refugee camps in neighboring bangladesh. the u.s. military academy at west point has begun removing confederate monuments from its new york state campus following a congressional review and pentagon orders to take down or rename 13 confederate assets and memorabilia. the removal includes a portrait of general robert e lee,ho was a graduate and superintendent of west point. the southern poverty law center says over 230 confederate symbols have been removed or renamed in the u.s. since may 2020, when nationwide racial justice protests swept the country. in michigan, a federal judge sentenced a leader of the 2020 plot to kidnap governor gretchen whitmer to 16 years in prison.

adam fox, who was convicted in august of kidnapping conspiracy and conspiracy to use a weapon of mass destruction is a member of the far-right anti-government boogaloo boys. other boogaloo members took part in the january 6 capitol insurrection. another leader in the whitmer kidnapng plot, barry croft, is being sentenced today. and in labor news, university of california graduate student workers ratified a new contract last friday, putting an end to their historic six-week strike. the strike involved 48,000 student workers at all 10 uc campuses. the contract includes increases in salary, more childcare support, and new measures to protect against bullying and harassment. but some union members rejected the new contract, including a majority of voters at the santa cruz, santa barbara, and merced campuses. opponents say the economic gains don't go nearly far enough, the new agreement weakens the ability to organize, and initial demands that would have benefited undocumented, international, and disabled workers were sacrificed.

meanwhile, here in new york, part-time and non-tenure track full-time faculty at fordham university have overwhelmingly voted to authorize a strike starting january 30 if they are unable to reach a tentative agreement and a commitment to fair wages. and those are some of the headlines. this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman in new york, joined by democracy now! co-host juan gonzález in chicago. hi, juan. juan: hi, amy. welcome to all of our listeners and viewers from around the country and around the world. amy: hundreds of migrants facing freezing cold temperatures in camps along the u.s.-mexico border were among those closely watching a decision by the supreme court tuesday on whether it would halt the trump-era title 42 panmic policy, which has been used to expel over 2 million people at the border since march 2020, blocking them from seeking asylum.

>> i would like to spend christmas in a place where it is not cold. i would really like to have shelter. everyone here would like to spend christmas under a roof because the cold is strong. amy: b on tuesy, the u. supre court dered thbiden adminiration tcontinue enrcing tie 42 while it epares to he oral guments februarby 19 moly republan-ledtates whare chlenging den'push to d the licy. th is an alum seek from veneela respding to the news. >> this feels like a bucket of cold water. we don't know what to do now. we were told to 42 has been prolonged. amy: conservative justice neil gorsuch sided with the three liberal justices in objecting to the ruling, with justice ketanji brown jackson and gorsuch writing -- "the current border crisis is not a covid crisis. and courts should not be in the business of perpetuating administrative edicts designed for one emergency only because elected officials have failed to address a different emergency."

white house press secretary karine jean-pierre said the biden administration will continue to enforce title 42 but called it "a public health measure, not an immigration enforcement measure" and said it "should not be extended indefinitely." for more we go to el paso, texas, to speak with luis chaparro, a journalist reporting from the u.s.-mexico border. his latest vice news article is headlined "migrants surging to the border 'pray to god' for end of title 42." welcome back to democracy now! on this day after the supreme court ruling. can you talk about what is happening on both sides of the border? you are in el paso and you have en in see a dead war is. >> thank you for having me. the u.s. supreme court keeping

in place to 42 and unfortunately for tens of thousands of migrants stuck in mexico and the bucket of ice water for them. simmer 21st for title -- december 21st for title 42 to end told they have to wait another week to find out it is kept in place. they really have no plan in juarez. we talking about more than 25,000 migrants. some living in shelters. many are literally sleeping at the back of the rio grande. in el paso, the city is also overwhelmed by those are waiting to be processed from their asylum seeking process. hundreds are sleeping in the streets.

it is freezing outside at the border. juan: we keep hearing reports i have this unprecedented surge of people trying to cross the border. how much of this are the same individuals trying several times or even dozens of times to cross the border and being caught and then sent back again? how much of it is also just the fact that border has been effectively closed now for going on two years? >> to be perfectly honest, title 42 is creating harsh situation at the border. it is not that many of them are trying over and over, although some are trying to get handed over to border patrol in the request political asylum.

the real situation down here is title 42 is creating a blockage for also they -- tens of thousands of migrants along the u.s. border wall and wait to be processed border patrol. the fact the majority are not comingrom venezuela. they don't hold any chance to properly ask for political asylum. [indiscernible] watching other migrants, and process while venezuelans are innately sent back to mexico, tle 42. by three hours to get across and process back to mexico. this is creating another

situation, for smugglers and drug cartels in mexico because they know ny of them are going to get [indiscernible] they are disappointed and desperate and they're going to go after them to be smuggled in. juan: could you expand on that? the role of the mexican cartels and human smuggling groups taking advantage of the current situation? >> definitely. they have been praying on migrants since last year. they know they can make a lot of money. one of the smugglers [indiscernible] he said right now a migrant worth more than a kilo of cocaine.

this is how they are looking at migrants in mexico. they know if the border is blocked, if the border is closed for asylum seekers -- you have to remember these are not migrants trying unlawfully reach the u.s., these are asylum seekers looking to enter lawfully to the u.s. under the political asylum policies. if they are blocked from doing that, they are desperate to get away from danger that they're facing in their country and they know -- can reach out to them in mexico. i interviewed 20, 25 people last week in ciudad juárez and you literally have -- they were thinking on may be staying in mexico if title 42 was blocked

and the other half was actually thinking of going to the smugglers to be smuggled into the u.s. amy: on saturday, you tweeted, "it is 20 degrees outside and hundreds of migrants entered the country without being processed border patrol are not being allowed in el paso shelters that receive federal funding. the solution a city is offering this to connect them to border patrol authorities to be processed but that means they will get expelled immediately under title 42." can you elaborate on that? >> that was a sad situation to learn from them migrant. we have them turn themselves into the border patrol authorities and made their journey to the u.s. lawfully by crossing the river or crossing the border wall and ended up in

the streets during the freezing temperatures this week. they had no place to go because the shelters that receive funding from the federal government are not taking them in, fearing they will lose that feral fding. d many othe othe sheers li churches or privatelyun elters a overwheed. th have no more place, so they have to sleep on the streets. the city is telling them to basically go and turn yourself into border patrol for processing, but that means they will be immediately deported back to mexico, back to where they started. they paid probably around $10,000 to be smuggled in. juan: luis chaparro, could you talk about the sudden rise in

the last year or so of asylum seekers from nicaragua at the border, generally speaking, those who are coming in previous ars from honduras, also door, guatemala? we have heard about the venezuelan surge but now nicaraguans as well? can you talkbout how they are being received? >> many latin americans are facing difficult situation right now including venezuela and nicaragua. many nicaraguans get into the border are being processed and i interviewed many of them also and the streets of el paso. at least half will receive -- it is so confusing who are qualifying to get political asylum process a who are

turned back into mexico. the on that already here in el paso are telling me that at least they are here, they feel fe, but literally they say the nightmare did not end when they crossed the border because they still receive a bunch of insults and racism by border authorities who hold them at ice facilities. it is until now they feel relief while they are in el paso but also don't know where to go because many don't have anyone to receive them in the u.s. amy: in the case of venezuela and cuba increase of immigrants coming over the border, do they at all discuss u.s. sanctions imposed on their country, putting a strangle hold the economy as well? >> exactly.

most -- most are running from a situation enforced by the u.s. policies against their own countries. the people from venezuela are fleeing from starving in their own country, fleeing from gangs, they are fleeing from government policies as well is a couple of nicaraguans i interviewed -- a father and an 11-year-old kid -- went out to the streets processed against the government and he was taken by the police, tortured inside official facilities until he was let out because of his medical situation . he decided he needed to leave because he knew he would get killed by the military in nicaragua so now he is here.

the venezuelans are facing a different situation. there are no diplomatic relationships in the u.s. and venezuela, so either fleeing their country or being a target of their own government which will apply under the asylum policies. they cannot be turned back into their countries of origin. so that is what -- why they will have to stay in mexico while -- under title 42, they are not allowed in the u.s. amy: very quickly, we last talked to you when you wrote about a bus it from the texas governor to washington, d.c. as a publicity stunt. it happened this week again when governor abbott sent a busload of immigrants and dropped them off in front of the official residence of the vice president kamala harris and washington,

d.c., i think it was something like 18 degrees. can you talk about this? >> yes, definitely. migrants are still being used on a legal sub between democrats and republicans. this group of migrants were sent out now to someplace they don't know -- they have no clue where they're going in the last time we spoke, i followed the bus to new york. most of the migrants did not even want to go to new york. many were dropping off the bus along the way in places that they did not even know where they were. thought they were going to dallas and went to miami and he jumped out in -- it was a long

way to go. some others jumped off in tennessee. there are still using them as props. places they don't want to be for have no clue where they are going. this is a publicity stunt to maybe stop them from getting here but also to make a point against democrat-lead states. amy: luis chaparro, thank you for being with us, journalist reporting from the u.s.-mexico border. we will link to your vice news article "migrants surging to the border 'pray to god' for end of title 42." next up, we go to buffalo, new york, which is experiencing a katrina moment after this weekend's historic blizzard. the death toll come over 31 at this point, as people froze to death and their homes and cars. stay with us.

♪♪ [music break]

amy: "when the train comes along" by elizabeth cotten. this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman with juan gonzalez. we turn now to buffalo, new york, where the death toll from this weekend's historic blizzard has climbed to at least 32 as more and more victims are discovered. state and military police were deployed to buffalo tuesday to enforce a driving ban as road conditions remain treacherous after buffalo was buried in more than 50 inches of snow. any people froze to death on snowbanks as well as in their homes and cars. among them come a 22-year-old woman named anndel taylor whose family said she was stuck in her car for more than 18 hours

before she died. her body was found on christmas after rescuers were unable to reach her earlier. she had moved to buffalo to care for her ailing father. her family in charlotte, north carolina, spoke to the news. >> just after midnight, christmas eve, anndel sent another video. you can see conditions completely detiorated. >> called 911 and said she was waiting. >> for sister said she began to get angry. she seemed it was no one was coming to her sister's aid. >> for everyone that tried to get to her that got stuck, the fire department, police, why didn't they have chains on their tires? this is a state known for snow. amy: as thousands were left without power, heat, or food, pleading for help, buffalo's mayor byron brown reported about losing. >> i want to add people who are

out lifting when people are losing their lives in this harsh winter storm, it is absolutely reprehensible. i don't know how these people can even live with themselves, how they can look at themselves in the mirror. they are the lowest of the low. amy: for more we areoined by india walton, form buffalo mayoral candidate and longtime community activist. and cariol horne, a buffalo, new york police officer -- former buffalo police officer who was fired for stopping a white cop from choking a handcuffed black man during an arrest in 2006. shield really got back pay fighting back against her unjust fighting. she was arrested sunday night on charges of disorderly conduct, obstruction of justice, and harassment as police responded to reports of looting.

we welcome you both back to democracy now! cariol horne, talk about what happened and the gravity of the horror of this storm. can you hear me? >> i can hear you. amy: we hear you, too. if you can talk about what happened to you, how you got arrested in this storm and the seriousness of the storm and the deaths of over 32 people at this point? >>, actually what happened for me to get arrested is that i was driving along one of the major streets, which is daley street, and when i was drivg down i saw a car with a trunk open.

there were people sitting on the ground in the snow and the police were there. so i was going to drive past but i was saying that's not right for them to be in the snow because it was cold, they could get hypothermia. i don't know why the police placed them in the snow. i got out of my vehicle and went around and the officer came to me and said, "how can i help u?" i said, "i know these people were probably stealing but you need to get them out of the snow." he said if iid not stop impeding his investigation -- i was t -- that i wou be in the snow and proceeded to point his finger in my face. then after that, -- i'm not sure what i did. i think i pushed him back. he picked me up and slammed me on the ground and arrest me and charged me with those three charges all because he had

people on a cold, wet, snowy, icy ground and i did not feel like i should have the audacity to ask they not be on the ground. juan: was it your says that the ark -- officer recognized to you were or he was just being normally uncivil to a civilian who migh question him? >> i'm not sure. when he first approached me, he was polite and immediately that changed. imdiately. it is thculture of the buffalo police departmento treat people that way. that is why i even wrote the law, cariol's law, in the first place, to try to change the culture. ere are people and senior citizens building. my father is 77 years old and has no power. i could not get to him.

i call the police and actually saidhey could not do anything . there was a dead by on the ground for like two days and they are just down the street, so how they were not able to get that body, i'm not su. but it took two days. and the persistence of regular people in order for them to go and get that body. that was only one of the bodies. there were bodies on the expressway in their cars because they were stoppe they were not prepared at all. i have been working with community advocates and also a housing inspector. we went in. there was water leaking from the ceiling onto electrical lines. we called the fire department and said they knew about it and as far as i know, they have got

into the buildings but they did not evacuate this people at all. these people are living in deplorable conditions with no backup generators. the body count i think is more than what they are saying. you see live news crews come to buffalo. you should come because it is about to get warm, the snow is going to melt, and i'm sure the body count is going to be up there. the city was ill-prepared. they basically lt people to die. they try to say people are looting -- not trying, because it did happen, but they are trying to mask the fact they were not prepared so now they want the looting to be the top story and they want me in there to seem as if i was looting when i was only trying to tell them to te the people off the snow.

when you arrestomeone come up when is it that 70 puts 70 on snow or ice? you put them in the -- when you arrest someone, when is it that someone puts them on snow or ice? you put them in the police car. they target me and my family and it continues to happen in the storm when i was out there helping people because they were not answering calls. juan: i would like to bring in india walton to the conversation as well. buffalo is famous for having these major snowstorms -- obviously, this was a far greater blizzard. i went your assessment of how the city and the state are prepared or responded, especially considering governor hochul is from erie county. if anyone knows about these storms, it is the current governor of new york. >> good morning.

thank you for having me on. i think the city's handling of the storm has been deplorable. i do applaud kathy hochul for a quick response. i think it is more a model of what the people buffalo should expect in the collaboration between our state and local government when it comes to at least keeping people iormed. i know many state resources ve come into the area a i believe folks like me who basically serve as a de facto triage center folks calling, i mailing me, we wonder where this people are going because they're peopl like myself, like cariol and the buffalo mutual aid network who are delivering food d wrestling people and going on search missions and doing wellness checks. it is the people buffalo that

ve been taking care of one another and there's been an abject failure on the part of our city government to make sure those things are being done. as caroil alluded to, there's a lot of victim blaming going on. the story being told is about hooting but what i know is i am not looting because i am in a coortable home, i have power, food, and resources. when community is -- does not have resources, creates a kind of conditions where folks who are already in desperate situations and in needy times feel more afraid they won't be able to get their basic needs met. amy: how me warming centers are there in buffalo with this freezing cold weather? can you hear me?

>> i can now. amy: how many warming centers are there in buffalo? >> the city of buffalo has -- centers open. i live very close to a private college, so it opened its doors independently of any collaboration with the city. there were a lot of private citizens who were opening their homes. but as far as any city-sponsored warming centers, i knoof about two. at one point, there were 30,000 people without power. two warming centers, no public transit, no emergency services. 911 was basically suspended. they said out of their own melts publicly, don't even bother calling because we can't help you. i just don't understand how folks pay taxes, work hard

trying to do the right thing and still receive this type of treatment. amy: let me ask you something. you are in buffalo bill taylor tour. why would we raise this now with this katrina-like moment in buffalo? in march, new york officials approved record-breaking $850 million and public subsidies to help the buffalo bills build a new football stadium, including $600 million from the state of new york, $250 million from erie county. your thoughts on this and what kind of money is being spent to prepare for these massive storms that are increasing? >> buffalo has a work fleet of snowplows that is inadequate. the health department remains understaffed. we spend more money opolicing and making sure we have basic

resources. in fact, buffalo police were calling for private citizens who own snowmobiles to come help rescue people. why doesn't the city have snowmobiles? why doesn't the ty have better equipment? there are lots of wise but i think when it comes to spending $1 million to fund a billionaire's new stadium project, we need to look at the infrastructure of the city, we need to look at why we see photos of little houses being blown over because we have the oldest housing stock in the nation. we have to look at why people are still with inadequate basic infrastructure, why people have been without power for four or five days. i think $1 billion is much better invested in infrastructure and adequate space for affordable housing and other things that keep people truly safe than it is in our

sports team -- i am a huge fan -- but there are many other ways that we can better use our resources and subsidizing folks who could very well build the stadiums themselves if they really wanted that. i wanted to ask you, given the possible warming weather now, your concerns about flooding and how the city will he to dea with flooding? >> interesting fact, the automated self pump was invented in buffalo. we are already seeg a trend not only will there be massive flooding but there will also be ice -- conditions all the warmer are going to be very hazardous and as of now, i have not heard any plans to do with any of this. i am hearing reports snowplows are making it down the streets as people are shoveling out,

still finding dead bodies. there are 70 things that have ne unaddressed. there are ople who have been -- there are folks who are hungry, cold, people who have been stuck at work for three or four days. so many issues a it seems like there is no plan, no mmunication. as always, we come together as a community and do our best to take care of one another. amy: india walton, former buffalo mayoral candidate and community activist with working families party and rootsaction. and cariol horne former buffalo , police officer who was fired for stopping a white cop from putting a black man in a chokehold. cariol's requires intervene if a

fellow officer uses excessive force she was arrested again during this storm. when we come back, as thousands of southwest airlines passengers remain stranded across the united states amidst an unprecedented operational meltdown, we will get response from a southwest airlines flight attendant unit and from the president of flyer's rights. stay with us. ♪♪ [music break]

amy: peter paul and mary singing "leaving on a jet plane." that song was written in 1956. if it was and a 2022, mip "not leaving on a jet plane."

this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman with juan gonzalez.after facing outrage over the lack of regulation of the airline industry, transportation secretary pete buttigieg says he will investigate flight cancellations and delays by southwest airlines that resulted in air travel chaos in the christmas snowstorm that left thousands stranded around the united states through today. in an unprecedented operational meltdown, southwest airlines canceled about two thirds of its flights since the storm as baggage piles up at terminals around the united states, passengers sleeping in airports. the city of houston 12 emergency operations mode at houston hobby airport after more than 150 flights were canceled. there are tens of thousands of flights that have been canceled in the last week. this is a southwest passenger at los angeles international

airport. >> i was on the phone for like four hours on hold, no answer, so i said, let's just come to the airport to see what is going on. clearly, the flights are canceled, canceled, canceled and more canceled. these amazing people that have come to work, they don't deserve our frustration of having to get home. amy: as horror stories about travel southwest airlines circulated, the company ceo bob jordan released a video apology tuesday night. >> we are doing everything we can to return to a normal operation. please also here i am truly sorry. the tools we use to recover from disruption service, none in an percent of the time but clearly we need to double down on our already existing plans to upgrade systems with these extreme circumstances. amy: this comes as southwest workers union members say the company has long ignored warnings its software is out of date and unable to handle such disruptions.

for more were joined in chicago by corliss king, the vice president of twu local 556 representing southwest airline flight attendants. we will also speak with paul hudson, president of flyer's rights, the largest nonprofit airline passenger rights organization in that country. he lost his daughter and the lockerbie bombing and she was 16 years old. we begin with corliss king. you hear this apology from the president of southwest airlines. we are talking about some of the largest airlines -- southwest airlines in the country. your union has said come the pilots union has said, that you have been warning southwest about this for years. talk about the problems that has caused this meltdown that other airlines do not seem to be experiencing. 90% of the cancellations of all

airlinesre southwest. >> good rning. thank you for having me. there is -- it is unconscionable to me that we a sitti here today in 2022 whewe heeen unding t alarm, along with our pilots union and other unions, that our technology issu are absolutely going to lead us to this ple. we have seen this before. this is not the first time it is the first time has happened over christmas and affected so many, but we have had issues. spending the night on airport floors. sleeping in hallways. yet we are still showing up. we are still ready to service our passengers even under those conditions. at our union and the pilots union and i'm sure other unions have been asking our company to

please listen to the front-line workers who are able to tell you when your operation on paper is not working out. this is absolutely something that could have been affordable had they listened to the people who could see immediately when a cracks in the operation happen and sounding alarms over and over and over again. it is time we actually invest in our people, in our processes. juan: corliss king, could you be a little more specific in terms of what the particular problem that southwest has versus other airlines? how does the technology affect the ability to get the crews and pilots to the right plane at the right time? >> crew scheduling, which is our heartbeat of our operation for our crew come is using technology thais not

exndable to the airline we are right now. there are not enough seats and expansion technology of tools to be able to say, on a normal day, we have 500 people at one place but due to a crisis, we now have 1000 people, 1500 people out of place. that technology has to be able to eand to mt an unprecedented tuation. that is not able to happen. it is not our people and scheduling who answer the phone. they're doing what they can with the tools they have. it is inability to be ale and expanding our needs as the situatn unfolds to make sure our crews get, one, where they're supposed to be to work the flights for our passengers, but also to get legal crew rest, to give us accommodations to be so we can prepare the next day to work. our crews are displaced to the

point where southwest does not even know where they are in the system. so when we as front-line workers, as crew that is used to doing what is necessary, what to say, hey, i'm here in kansas city, have a flight that does not have flight attendants are pilots. i will work that flight. we can't get through to scheduling to say we are ae to help you solve the problem and get these people home. that kind of agility is lacking in our technogy, and we have told them for years they need to be -- we need a seat at the table and a contract that lets us be agile we need to be agile and let them protect our quality of life -- we have to be safe to fly those aircraft, so get as proper rest, get as accommodations, and we will be able to serve our passengers. i have watched people in tears. i flew myself in christmas and watched operation -- we are

tired of the apologies from the executives and we are tired of apologizing to our passengers. we have to do better. southwest has a golden opportunity to make it right, and that is what we expect. juan: i would like to bring in paul hudson, president of flyer's rights. the airline industry in america ever since jimmy carter's regulation, it has gotten worse and worse and worse. every plane is full. whenever there is any kind of a weather emergency, they're all kinds of problems with cancellations. what do you see as the main problem? is that these airlines have no capacity to deal with crises? >> they have no capacity because it is more profitable to have bad service than gooservice. every airline is required to have a plan to deal with bad weather and other disruptions. but there's no enforcement of the plan. there are no reserve requirements. there are no customer service standards of any meaningful

nature. the whole idea of deregulation was the airlines would compete to provide better service. it actually what happens today, they compete to provide more profitable but worse service. there's a whole list of reasons why this is happening. the main one i think is we don't have good leadership at the federal level. the airline industry is the only one i knowf that has only one regulator, the federal dot. they are -- they have dropped the ball for many years. specifically southwest, their computer system has been obsolete three years and that has been known. the federal government has not taken any action. computer systems today are a necessity and when it goes down there needs to be a failsafe backup. apparently what happened this week is there was no backup and

the manual rescheduling of flights is totally inadequate. amy: paul, on the significance of transportation secretary and probably presidential hopeful pete buttigieg saying he is launching an inquiry into what happened at southwest, how much hope do you hold out in that and the significance at this point of him talkingbout people should get refunds for their flights? i mean, if it wasn't so horrifying what has happened, it would make you laugh a step. it is so much worse on that. people are stranded in airports. they don't have medicine. you see baggage strewn over airports. what are the rights of flyers today? >> domestically, have no rights to delay compensation.

if the weather is the reason for the cancellation or delay, you don't really have any rights to things like hotel accommodations. it is all up to the airline. of course, they will do anything to avoid those expenses. sec. buttigieg is pretty good at -- he's been doing it for over a year and half and it really has had little result. we haveroposed about 30 fferent solutions back in june, but there has not been any discussion as far as we can tell any of those things. juan: corliss king, southwest prides itself as being an airline where all of the employees are part of the family. have you been feeling family love the last few days? >> i have to be honest with you. i have asked myself personally

many, many times over the last sevel days, you know, mi adopted? i ink many people don'feel like famil i have to say and full transparency, southst does a lot of things right. we da lot of things right. our history proves we have a heart for our famy and our employees. wever, we have sn a huge inux of mdle-management that has changed as from the littl airline that could to th largest carrier in this country but we have to grow with it. we have to keep our profits in line with what we are producing as front-line employees. we are not caring abt them as we should. its not just about money. is absolutely abouthe fact we deserve the quality of le that is comfortable to the contributi that we give. we are the forward facing people

of southwest airlineto our passengers. there is not one single person that buys a ticket on our airline that does not see a flight attendant. amy: corliss king, inc. you for being with us, vice president of local 556 and paul

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