WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.720 --> 00:00:05.960 You're listening to Later with mo Kelly on demand from KFI AM six forty. 2 00:00:06.280 --> 00:00:11.679 It's Later with mo Kelly Tiffy Hop sitting in with you until ten pm tonight. 3 00:00:12.439 --> 00:00:18.359 Are you celebrating Juneteenth practically over? But did you celebrate Juneteenth? Were 4 00:00:18.399 --> 00:00:23.760 you off of work today? Did you find yourself at any sort of community 5 00:00:23.800 --> 00:00:27.160 event? Did you have a special meal? I don't know what you did, 6 00:00:27.679 --> 00:00:32.880 but if you celebrate it June teenth, then this is probably something that 7 00:00:33.039 --> 00:00:37.759 is a new addition to your life. It's a new addition to many people's 8 00:00:37.840 --> 00:00:43.880 lives. Let's be honest, because before twenty twenty one, many people had 9 00:00:43.960 --> 00:00:50.719 no clue what the heck Juneteenth was. June nineteenth was just another date on 10 00:00:50.759 --> 00:00:57.159 the calendar. But now June nineteenth is a federal holiday, a holiday in 11 00:00:57.200 --> 00:01:00.640 which many people get the day off, and, like other how holidays that 12 00:01:00.679 --> 00:01:03.760 we may not know the significance of, we are happy to engage ourselves in 13 00:01:03.799 --> 00:01:07.280 the fruits of that holiday so that we may get a day off. Right. 14 00:01:07.280 --> 00:01:11.799 We don't really care what's going on as long as we can reap the 15 00:01:11.799 --> 00:01:15.840 benefits. But I'm here to tell you a little bit more about June teenth, 16 00:01:15.879 --> 00:01:21.959 and why it's a kind of a frustrating day for me as a black 17 00:01:22.000 --> 00:01:30.640 American. Well, Juneteenth started in eighteen sixty five. And the significance of 18 00:01:30.879 --> 00:01:36.719 June nineteenth, eighteen sixty five is that two years prior, in eighteen sixty 19 00:01:36.799 --> 00:01:42.319 three, then President Abraham Lincoln, and you may know this, already signed 20 00:01:42.359 --> 00:01:49.359 the Emancipation Proclamation making slavery illegal in the United States and the contiguous United States. 21 00:01:51.079 --> 00:01:55.480 Those slaves, those people who were enslaved, because they are people first 22 00:01:55.799 --> 00:02:01.439 slaved. Second, those people who were enslaved, were their rights as human 23 00:02:01.480 --> 00:02:07.040 beings to be free. They were essentially freed, effectively freed from slavery, 24 00:02:07.079 --> 00:02:12.560 from bondage. That was eighteen sixty three came with its own set of issues. 25 00:02:12.680 --> 00:02:16.800 You take millions of people and changed their lives in an instant. There's 26 00:02:16.800 --> 00:02:23.639 a lot to deal with two years later is what Juneteenth has now become. 27 00:02:24.120 --> 00:02:30.400 Because for two more years, the state of Texas still observed slavery. They 28 00:02:30.439 --> 00:02:38.319 did not tell their enslaved people that they were freed. They just kept up 29 00:02:38.360 --> 00:02:42.639 with what was going on. You have a free workforce, a free labor 30 00:02:42.680 --> 00:02:45.719 force. Why tell them that they don't have to work for you? Anymore. 31 00:02:46.080 --> 00:02:50.639 They kept it up for two years successfully until eighteen sixty five, when 32 00:02:50.680 --> 00:02:55.439 word finally made it to Galveston, Texas that enslaved people were granted their freedom 33 00:02:55.479 --> 00:03:01.240 two years prior. They were very late, but sex six five everyone was 34 00:03:01.319 --> 00:03:07.960 free, and that date became known as Juneteenth. It's a contraction between June 35 00:03:07.039 --> 00:03:12.080 nineteenth, June and nineteenth, and so now it's June teenth. It's cute, 36 00:03:12.080 --> 00:03:16.919 it's catchy, and it is highly marketable. With it being highly marketable, 37 00:03:17.360 --> 00:03:25.000 it has become very corporatized. It has become yet another holiday in which 38 00:03:25.360 --> 00:03:30.360 the focus seems to be on how much you can spend to observe the holiday 39 00:03:30.520 --> 00:03:36.840 versus what the holiday actually entails and why it was created in the first place. 40 00:03:36.919 --> 00:03:38.599 I wanted to give you that history so you can know a little bit 41 00:03:38.639 --> 00:03:43.039 about the background if you didn't already, because honestly, a lot of people 42 00:03:43.120 --> 00:03:46.919 don't know and they may be afraid to ask. So I'm here for you. 43 00:03:46.120 --> 00:03:52.280 Just want to share that with you. But here's why I'm frustrated, 44 00:03:52.639 --> 00:03:58.800 and I'm looking at actually an op ed piece that came out MSNBC by an 45 00:03:58.840 --> 00:04:01.080 author who name actually don't have in front of me. Right now. But 46 00:04:01.199 --> 00:04:06.800 this author wrote his own or their own opinion piece about why June teenth for 47 00:04:06.879 --> 00:04:14.639 them is problematic. It's entitled the vibes are very off this June teenth, 48 00:04:14.879 --> 00:04:17.639 And as I skimmed it, I said, I could have written this myself. 49 00:04:18.319 --> 00:04:21.040 So instead of reading it too, I'm gonna tell you how I feel. 50 00:04:21.079 --> 00:04:25.920 Okay, just a little bit about how I feel. June teenth is 51 00:04:25.959 --> 00:04:30.040 great. I'm happy that people were freed two years after the initial freedom date, 52 00:04:30.519 --> 00:04:35.040 but that in itself is problematic. I don't necessarily feel that June teenth 53 00:04:35.199 --> 00:04:40.399 is a date in which we should be celebrating. Instead, I feel like 54 00:04:40.480 --> 00:04:46.399 it requires a bit more somber of an observance and could very well be specific 55 00:04:46.519 --> 00:04:51.319 to the region in which this happened right Instead, it has gone nationwide. 56 00:04:53.000 --> 00:04:58.439 I saw a commercial today by I can't name it because it's a sponsor, 57 00:04:58.680 --> 00:05:06.360 but by a company that was essentially talking about Juneteenth as a marketable ploy. 58 00:05:06.879 --> 00:05:14.000 They said they were having a freedom sale. A freedom sale. I've seen 59 00:05:14.079 --> 00:05:19.800 car companies say that they are having freedom deals. Buy this specific car, 60 00:05:19.879 --> 00:05:25.040 and they tag on some cute little item to it, or some some sort 61 00:05:25.040 --> 00:05:30.959 of adage, and now it's connected to June teenth. I've seen plenty of 62 00:05:30.439 --> 00:05:38.399 companies capitalizing on the language around Juneteenth, namely the word freedom, but instead 63 00:05:38.399 --> 00:05:43.519 of actually observing why we're having a holiday, they're just using it to make 64 00:05:43.720 --> 00:05:47.120 more money, and that is very frustrating. When it became a corporate holiday 65 00:05:47.120 --> 00:05:53.800 a national holiday in twenty twenty one, which was signed into law by President 66 00:05:53.920 --> 00:06:00.839 Joe Biden, it mirrored the protests that were going on in the wake of 67 00:06:00.920 --> 00:06:04.040 what happened with George Floyd and other sorts of civil unrests around the country. 68 00:06:04.639 --> 00:06:12.519 But what was a holiday celebrating freedom again turned into a question of who is 69 00:06:12.519 --> 00:06:16.319 this for? What is this for? And that question is one that's hard 70 00:06:16.319 --> 00:06:21.519 to answer without offending people on any end of the spectrum. There are some 71 00:06:21.600 --> 00:06:25.160 who just want to celebrate it, just enjoy it, take it for what 72 00:06:25.199 --> 00:06:27.759 it is, they may say. And then there are others who might be 73 00:06:27.920 --> 00:06:31.079 like myself, who are frustrated and want people to understand the gravitas of the 74 00:06:31.120 --> 00:06:36.279 situation and actually don't want the cake and balloons and all of the fun stuff 75 00:06:36.319 --> 00:06:42.279 that goes along with positive holidays, because this isn't necessarily a positive day. 76 00:06:42.439 --> 00:06:46.720 It's a day that's built on what was a lie for two years? Why 77 00:06:46.759 --> 00:06:50.120 are we celebrating a lie? Why are we celebrating a lie that was maintained 78 00:06:50.160 --> 00:06:56.480 for two years or the absence of truth for two years. Because it's a 79 00:06:56.519 --> 00:07:01.480 way for people to make money. Now you get a day off. I'm 80 00:07:01.519 --> 00:07:04.720 here, I'm working. I don't get a day off, but most of 81 00:07:04.759 --> 00:07:09.439 us get a day off. Banks are closed, the Dow was closed. 82 00:07:10.079 --> 00:07:15.720 Everyone is reaping the benefits. And as this holiday continues to grow in popularity, 83 00:07:15.040 --> 00:07:20.720 more and more companies will observe Juneteenth and will use it again as a 84 00:07:20.800 --> 00:07:29.319 way to capitalize because it is an aspect of capitalism. It's a holiday that 85 00:07:29.439 --> 00:07:34.000 is now part and parcel with capitalism. You go to Target, you see 86 00:07:34.079 --> 00:07:40.480 Juneteenth shirts everywhere. You go again to your local whatever restaurant, and you'll 87 00:07:40.480 --> 00:07:46.000 see deals for juneteen hamburgers. What does a hamburger have to do with freedom? 88 00:07:46.959 --> 00:07:51.279 Very little, very little. So I just wanted you to consider that 89 00:07:51.439 --> 00:07:57.079 today, that even though you get a day off, even though you may 90 00:07:57.079 --> 00:07:59.319 not have been able to go to your bank, or you might have got 91 00:07:59.319 --> 00:08:03.759 some special deal or whatever it might have been that was on sale for the 92 00:08:03.879 --> 00:08:09.920 day, understand the true impetus behind Juneteenth and why not everyone is necessarily excited 93 00:08:11.079 --> 00:08:18.319 about the commercialism of it and how widely spread this very specific, culturally specific 94 00:08:18.319 --> 00:08:22.560 holiday has become. When we come back, we're going to talk about why 95 00:08:22.600 --> 00:08:28.120 your avocado prices are going up and why you're not going to be able to 96 00:08:28.120 --> 00:08:33.159 buy that avocado toast without grimacing. You're listening to Later with Moe Kelly on 97 00:08:33.279 --> 00:08:39.480 demand from KFI AM six forty. It's Later with Moe Kelly. I'm Tiffany 98 00:08:39.519 --> 00:08:45.080 Hobbes sitting in till ten o'clock tonight with you. Do you like avocados? 99 00:08:45.600 --> 00:08:50.639 I do. I love a good avocado. Have you noticed how expensive avocados 100 00:08:50.679 --> 00:08:54.879 are? Avocados you need a second job to purchase avocado's At this point you 101 00:08:56.000 --> 00:08:58.519 gotta take it a loan to get one. You know, there's a loan 102 00:08:58.600 --> 00:09:01.919 that's required for the purchase of avocados. I am sure of it. And 103 00:09:01.039 --> 00:09:05.919 then there may very well be a juneteen sale on avocados. So get to 104 00:09:05.960 --> 00:09:11.120 your local grocer and say run faster now they do. There's it's a conspiracy. 105 00:09:11.159 --> 00:09:15.000 It has to be. They know what they're doing. It's sponsored by 106 00:09:15.120 --> 00:09:20.480 Big Avocado, right, So Avocados are already expensive. As we all agree. 107 00:09:20.519 --> 00:09:24.720 That was Jackie Ray there and Steph. Avocados are super pricey and the 108 00:09:24.759 --> 00:09:31.919 price is only going to go up. Why, you may ask, because 109 00:09:31.200 --> 00:09:37.440 of cartels, and you're like, what the heck do cartels have to do 110 00:09:37.519 --> 00:09:39.840 with avocados. Well, let's let's make the connection. Follow me here, 111 00:09:39.919 --> 00:09:48.840 Okay. The us DA inspects everything that comes in and out of the United 112 00:09:48.879 --> 00:09:52.519 States, especially into We don't want to bring in any sort of bugs or 113 00:09:52.559 --> 00:09:56.600 any sort of diseases. So the USDA is very particular about inspecting fruit and 114 00:09:56.679 --> 00:10:03.559 vegetables and other things. Avocados are a They're a fruit. They're vegetable. 115 00:10:03.559 --> 00:10:05.799 They have a seed. What is it? They have a seed, It's 116 00:10:05.799 --> 00:10:09.039 a fruit. They're a fruit, right, I always wonder because they're so 117 00:10:09.120 --> 00:10:11.960 good and like a fruit can't tastes good. Avocados are amazing. They inspect 118 00:10:11.960 --> 00:10:16.519 avocados. They also inspect mangoes. And the reason that these two are connected 119 00:10:16.559 --> 00:10:22.600 in this story is because both avocados and mangoes are now at risk of not 120 00:10:22.799 --> 00:10:28.240 making it to your shelves in time for Fourth of July and that guacamole that 121 00:10:28.279 --> 00:10:33.919 you plan to make, so the USDA has employees on both sides of the 122 00:10:33.960 --> 00:10:37.879 border. We have our American employees, we have our other employees, and 123 00:10:39.360 --> 00:10:46.759 it just so happens that avocados are a big business. And when they are 124 00:10:46.799 --> 00:10:50.240 a big business, that gets other people sniffing around trying to figure out how 125 00:10:50.279 --> 00:10:54.159 they can make money off of avocados in more nefarious ways. Who am I 126 00:10:54.240 --> 00:11:01.399 talking about? The cartels where Mitchella, Kan Mexico and Jalisco, Mexico, 127 00:11:01.720 --> 00:11:07.120 two states where we get avocados from. We only get avocados from these two 128 00:11:07.200 --> 00:11:11.159 states in Mexico. You think they would come from other places, but no, 129 00:11:11.240 --> 00:11:15.720 there's something special about the soil there. They grow and we get them 130 00:11:15.799 --> 00:11:20.919 from those two states, Mitchuacan and Jalisco. But there are two employees from 131 00:11:20.960 --> 00:11:30.240 the USDA working in Mitchuacan who were kidnapped, assaulted, and held temporarily. 132 00:11:30.720 --> 00:11:35.159 They were released, so that's important. Temporarily designates that they were released, 133 00:11:35.240 --> 00:11:41.440 but they were assaulted. And because of that, the USDA has halted all 134 00:11:41.440 --> 00:11:46.879 sorts of testing and the checks and balances system that the USDA goes through for 135 00:11:46.200 --> 00:11:56.120 specifically avocados and mangoes due to these security concerns. They were attacked by the 136 00:11:56.200 --> 00:12:01.759 cartel. Why because cartels want to make money and what makes money drugs, 137 00:12:01.759 --> 00:12:11.840 and apparently avocados and mangoes. These three entities are very very lucrative money makers. 138 00:12:11.960 --> 00:12:16.720 You would think that drugs might be something a little separate from fruits and 139 00:12:16.799 --> 00:12:24.279 vegetables, but no, not in this case. Avocados are the new drug 140 00:12:24.360 --> 00:12:28.600 trade. And in the last couple of years there have been numerous attacks on 141 00:12:28.799 --> 00:12:35.080 us DA employees. These employees have been victimized in different ways, resulting in 142 00:12:35.120 --> 00:12:43.039 the pausing temporarily of the USDA's operations in Mexico. And while they are paused, 143 00:12:43.440 --> 00:12:48.440 the exporting doesn't happen. It just it's math. You can't check and 144 00:12:48.600 --> 00:12:52.240 export if you don't have anyone to check if the whole entire system is shut 145 00:12:52.279 --> 00:12:56.159 down. So when those avocados, mangoes, other things can't make it to 146 00:12:56.240 --> 00:13:01.919 us, what then happens? The limited supply we do have goes up in 147 00:13:03.000 --> 00:13:07.639 value and the prices skyrockets. So an avocado that might be two dollars today 148 00:13:07.759 --> 00:13:13.600 when of those small little haas avocados may very well double in value. So 149 00:13:13.600 --> 00:13:16.960 if you have avocados and you need to make some money. That might be 150 00:13:16.039 --> 00:13:20.879 something you want to look into possibly selling on the side. I expect to 151 00:13:20.919 --> 00:13:26.000 see more people selling avocados after this story. I think I might myself, 152 00:13:26.240 --> 00:13:28.480 unless they go back, like Jackie said, really fast, because they are 153 00:13:28.519 --> 00:13:33.960 manipulating the food so that we can buy more avocados. It's all connected. 154 00:13:35.360 --> 00:13:39.360 But what we do know is that these USDA inspectors again who were released, 155 00:13:39.440 --> 00:13:46.039 were victimized, were assaulted in such a way and it was severe enough that 156 00:13:46.279 --> 00:13:52.240 security concerns were sparked by the entire government entity, and a spokesman for the 157 00:13:52.279 --> 00:13:58.639 agency said that it will remain paused until it can ensure that it's Animal and 158 00:13:58.679 --> 00:14:05.080 Plant Health Inspection Service inspectors working in Mexico are safe, so that pause date 159 00:14:05.279 --> 00:14:11.399 is somewhat indefinite. They have not said yet when they will resume operations. 160 00:14:11.480 --> 00:14:16.120 As of right now, it's open ended, which means again we'll be feeling 161 00:14:16.159 --> 00:14:20.200 this for a while. And avocado season is something that is really really not 162 00:14:20.240 --> 00:14:26.080 relegated, but it's it's we really buy avocados during certain times of year. 163 00:14:26.279 --> 00:14:30.679 The fourth of July is a big one, Super Bowl is another one. 164 00:14:30.720 --> 00:14:35.159 These are times in which we're buying this sort of food, expect again to 165 00:14:35.279 --> 00:14:41.759 see your prices sky rocket stuff. Do you like avocados? Yeah, actually 166 00:14:41.799 --> 00:14:43.720 yeah, I got kind of I'm new to it because I really kind of 167 00:14:45.200 --> 00:14:46.960 you for a while. Yeah, I didn't like them for a while, 168 00:14:46.000 --> 00:14:50.480 and then a couple of years ago, one of my friend's girlfriends made some 169 00:14:50.600 --> 00:14:54.639 guacamole in a really like a unique way, to my opinion, and I 170 00:14:54.679 --> 00:14:58.840 now I can't get enough. See, I was thinking about guacamole, and 171 00:14:58.879 --> 00:15:03.200 I'm sad for producing Armando from the Gary and Shannon Show, because he's an 172 00:15:03.200 --> 00:15:09.039 award winning guacamole person, guacam moly maker, and I just I fear for 173 00:15:09.120 --> 00:15:13.279 what's gonna happen to him. You know, his prices are probably gonna go 174 00:15:13.360 --> 00:15:15.919 up to unfortunately, and you know, if he's a business guy, that's 175 00:15:15.919 --> 00:15:18.440 what he's got to do. That's what she gotta do. And that's what's 176 00:15:18.440 --> 00:15:22.720 happening right there because of the USA and the Dagon cartel, Like, just 177 00:15:22.799 --> 00:15:26.279 focus on the drugs, leave hands off the avocados and the mangoes. Please, 178 00:15:26.399 --> 00:15:30.559 if anyone has any connections to them, can you please pass that along. 179 00:15:31.039 --> 00:15:33.960 I would love to not have to spend that much money on avocados. 180 00:15:33.120 --> 00:15:35.759 When we come back, we're going to talk a little bit about something else. 181 00:15:35.799 --> 00:15:41.120 I spend a lot of money on too much money on Amazon. The 182 00:15:41.200 --> 00:15:45.919 collective sigh and looks from everyone in the studio. Amazon has my heart and 183 00:15:45.919 --> 00:15:48.200 also my pockets. Unfortunately. We'll talk about that when we come back. 184 00:15:48.679 --> 00:15:54.919 You're listening to Later with Moe Kelly on demand from KFI AM six forty. 185 00:15:54.399 --> 00:15:58.559 It's Later with Moe Kelly. Mo's not here, I am. I'm Tiffany 186 00:15:58.600 --> 00:16:04.159 Hobbs. In with you until ten tonight. I love me some Amazon. 187 00:16:06.000 --> 00:16:08.240 I love Amazon, love it, love it, love it. Probably an 188 00:16:08.320 --> 00:16:12.840 unhealthy level of love for Amazon, and that's what they've created in me. 189 00:16:14.360 --> 00:16:18.639 They may have created that in you as well, because of the convenience, 190 00:16:18.840 --> 00:16:23.639 because of the cheaper prices, because of just how readily available everything is. 191 00:16:23.720 --> 00:16:29.440 That's what drop shipping. Does you want something, it's practically there at your 192 00:16:29.480 --> 00:16:33.200 fingertips with a few dollars, a few clicks, boom, it's on your 193 00:16:33.200 --> 00:16:36.360 doorstep. You don't have to worry about anything, you have to contend with 194 00:16:36.399 --> 00:16:41.000 any crowds. It's right there. And I really became an aficionado of Amazon 195 00:16:41.320 --> 00:16:48.120 during the coronavirus shutdowns of twenty twenty. I didn't want to go anywhere, 196 00:16:48.399 --> 00:16:52.000 so I had everything come to me and that became my relationship. I loved 197 00:16:52.000 --> 00:16:56.879 it. I still use it. I have paper towels being delivered by seven 198 00:16:56.919 --> 00:17:03.799 am right now because I can. But my benefit is not necessarily the gain 199 00:17:04.359 --> 00:17:14.480 of the workers in the Amazon warehouses. California is actually finding Amazon almost six 200 00:17:14.640 --> 00:17:21.880 million dollars five point nine million dollars to be exact for breaking warehouse safety rules 201 00:17:22.240 --> 00:17:29.000 that are supposed to be in place to protect workers and reduce worker injuries in 202 00:17:29.799 --> 00:17:34.559 its warehouses. And there are two warehouses specifically, one in Marino Valley and 203 00:17:34.640 --> 00:17:40.519 one in Retlands, so they're out of the way and they are very popular. 204 00:17:41.559 --> 00:17:49.279 I always see advertisements for employees or for open positions at these Amazon warehouses. 205 00:17:49.759 --> 00:17:55.759 I know quite a few people who have passed through these warehouses as employees 206 00:17:55.839 --> 00:18:00.200 or who have encouraged others to do it because of how quote easy it is 207 00:18:00.240 --> 00:18:06.559 to get the job. But the common thread between all of these people is 208 00:18:06.599 --> 00:18:11.400 that it is not a place. These warehouses are not places you want to 209 00:18:11.519 --> 00:18:18.519 stay because your quality of life will degrade extremely fast due to the working conditions 210 00:18:18.920 --> 00:18:26.000 within the warehouse as a result of these working conditions, again, California has 211 00:18:26.359 --> 00:18:33.440 fined Amazon six million dollars and that may not seem like a lot, but 212 00:18:33.599 --> 00:18:38.279 it is. It sends a message, and that message is you have to 213 00:18:38.319 --> 00:18:44.880 take care of your workers. Why does this matter well, Labor Commissioner Lilia 214 00:18:44.960 --> 00:18:51.759 Garcia Brower set that Amazon's performance evaluation system, the system that they use to 215 00:18:52.759 --> 00:18:59.920 hold Amazon accountable as an employer to their employees, has led to undiscs, 216 00:19:00.079 --> 00:19:08.839 closed quotas that pressure employees to work faster, work faster, work faster, 217 00:19:08.960 --> 00:19:12.200 work faster, work faster. You're going too slow, you need to speed 218 00:19:12.240 --> 00:19:21.079 it up. And this pace has become just a huge hazard to these employees 219 00:19:21.440 --> 00:19:26.799 because the faster pace, these demands placed on the employees have resulted in an 220 00:19:26.880 --> 00:19:37.039 uptick in workplace injuries and it has completely led to the degradation of morale within 221 00:19:37.240 --> 00:19:41.640 the warehouse because employees are trying to meet their targets, and when they don't 222 00:19:41.640 --> 00:19:47.200 meet their targets, they're trying not to be the slowest within their departments. 223 00:19:47.839 --> 00:19:53.440 It's causing employee strife, internal complications, and it's led to just a horrible 224 00:19:53.720 --> 00:20:00.720 workplace environment. That unfortunately you and I benefit from because our good are still 225 00:20:00.720 --> 00:20:06.480 coming without us knowing that all this is going on in the background. This 226 00:20:06.640 --> 00:20:12.279 law was created by Assembly Member Loraina Gonzalez, and the law states that there 227 00:20:12.359 --> 00:20:22.039 has to be a disclosure, there has to be honesty about what these quotas 228 00:20:22.240 --> 00:20:29.680 are. California demands that Amazon let the governing bodies know what these quotas are 229 00:20:29.720 --> 00:20:33.920 and how employees are expected to reach them. But of course that hasn't been 230 00:20:33.960 --> 00:20:41.359 happening, and the law was created because of the highlighting of demands again for 231 00:20:41.480 --> 00:20:45.759 speed and production, which produce higher than average injury rates. Again, the 232 00:20:45.839 --> 00:20:53.160 two warehouses in Retlands and in Marino Valley have reported that upwards of eight percent 233 00:20:53.480 --> 00:21:00.319 six to eight percent of all employees have experienced workplace injuries, range from minor 234 00:21:00.559 --> 00:21:06.599 to major. Most of them have to do with wrists and hands because of 235 00:21:06.640 --> 00:21:10.960 the packing and the lifting of the heavy things, heavy materials, heavy boxes, 236 00:21:11.000 --> 00:21:15.720 whatever it may be, the sorting. But they're all injuries and people 237 00:21:15.799 --> 00:21:22.559 are expected, according to these warehouse workers to continue working despite their injuries lest 238 00:21:22.799 --> 00:21:29.680 they forfeit their positions willfully, or because California is an at will state, 239 00:21:30.119 --> 00:21:33.720 they can be dismissed, fired for not producing or meeting the quotas again that 240 00:21:33.839 --> 00:21:41.680 remain unchecked. Always advertising jobs shows you that there is a high turnover rate. 241 00:21:42.039 --> 00:21:48.160 These jobs are consistently turning over, and people are now reporting what's happening 242 00:21:48.240 --> 00:21:55.240 within these warehouses. One worker said, if you don't work a certain number 243 00:21:55.240 --> 00:21:59.400 of items per day and make sure that you meet your rate, you'll get 244 00:21:59.440 --> 00:22:04.319 a right up or a verbal coaching. They will come over and chastise you 245 00:22:04.400 --> 00:22:08.920 and wag their fingers at you if you do not meet your quota. But 246 00:22:10.000 --> 00:22:14.119 what they're saying is they don't even know what their quotas are. How many 247 00:22:14.160 --> 00:22:18.160 boxes am I supposed to move? I don't know, And if you don't 248 00:22:18.160 --> 00:22:21.759 know, how can you meet that? It makes it very open ended, 249 00:22:21.799 --> 00:22:26.279 It makes it very fluid and ambiguous, and it again avails these people to 250 00:22:26.400 --> 00:22:32.960 being fired, being mistreated. That's what's happening. The worker goes on, 251 00:22:33.000 --> 00:22:37.039 her name is Carrie Stone, and she said that if she missed her quota 252 00:22:37.160 --> 00:22:41.759 by one percent then she would get written up, but that she never knew 253 00:22:41.039 --> 00:22:48.240 what that one percent actually entailed. So the constant emotional toll, the constant 254 00:22:48.279 --> 00:22:52.920 psychological toll of being told you're right at the brink of losing your job, 255 00:22:52.960 --> 00:22:56.920 but you don't really know why. Is also something that's ever present in these 256 00:22:57.000 --> 00:23:02.599 Amazon warehouses while we're just waiting for our goods to make it to our doorstep. 257 00:23:03.359 --> 00:23:07.079 The law doesn't actually ban the use of quotas, so they can still 258 00:23:07.119 --> 00:23:12.640 have quotas. It just requires that employers notify workers of these quotas in writing, 259 00:23:14.000 --> 00:23:18.839 make it clear, and make it available to the employees so that when 260 00:23:18.839 --> 00:23:23.359 they're hired, they can understand whether or not these quotas are something that's imposing 261 00:23:25.039 --> 00:23:30.480 or something that they're willing to try and take on. Employees are also saying 262 00:23:30.519 --> 00:23:36.559 that the quotas are so stringent that it restricts them from being able to use 263 00:23:36.680 --> 00:23:42.039 the bathroom or take breaks. They're just so focused on getting the packages out, 264 00:23:42.440 --> 00:23:47.960 getting my toilet paper and my paper towels packaged, that they can't take 265 00:23:48.000 --> 00:23:53.279 a break. And that's no way for any worker, let alone a huge 266 00:23:53.480 --> 00:24:00.279 warehouse worker to have to to have to exist, have to exist us for 267 00:24:00.319 --> 00:24:04.440 our benefit because something's cheaper. When we come back, we are going to 268 00:24:04.519 --> 00:24:11.519 talk about a woman's lost luggage, an air tag, and a homeless encampment 269 00:24:11.559 --> 00:24:15.880 what happens when all three of those walk into a bar. You'll find out 270 00:24:15.200 --> 00:24:22.000 when we come back. You're listening to Later with mo Kelly on demand from 271 00:24:22.119 --> 00:24:26.279 KFI AM six forty. It's Later with mo Kelly. I'm Tiffany Hobbs sitting 272 00:24:26.279 --> 00:24:33.440 in with you. Do you know what these little Apple brand AirTags are? 273 00:24:33.640 --> 00:24:37.680 They're kind of a newer phenomenon. I don't have one. I've heard people 274 00:24:38.000 --> 00:24:41.720 talk a lot about them. I've actually never seen one in the wild. 275 00:24:42.319 --> 00:24:49.119 But this is something I'm interested in investing in because there are apparently this little 276 00:24:49.279 --> 00:24:56.720 GPS tracking device that can be put in practically anything to assure that you know 277 00:24:56.799 --> 00:25:03.119 where your belongings are. I've heard of people sewing Apple air tags into the 278 00:25:03.200 --> 00:25:08.240 shirts of their children so that they know where their children are on field trips 279 00:25:08.279 --> 00:25:11.640 or out with friends, whatever it may be. I've heard of people putting 280 00:25:11.640 --> 00:25:18.480 Apple air tags in different possessions if they are moving, and in this case, 281 00:25:19.039 --> 00:25:25.119 I'm now hearing of putting an Apple AirTag in your luggage. If you 282 00:25:25.359 --> 00:25:29.920 travel a lot, like our dear beloved mo Kelly does and is currently right 283 00:25:29.960 --> 00:25:34.240 now, and you check your luggage, perhaps using one of these Apple air 284 00:25:34.400 --> 00:25:42.200 tag GPS tracking devices is something that should be a necessity for you. Here's 285 00:25:42.319 --> 00:25:48.799 why. There's a woman, her name is Annie Grace, and she flew 286 00:25:48.039 --> 00:25:55.000 from Denver to Bourbank Airport right here over the hill, and she checked her 287 00:25:55.079 --> 00:25:59.240 luggage. She made it. She had a few connections, but her luggage 288 00:25:59.279 --> 00:26:04.160 actually made it. And here is where the story gets a little strange and 289 00:26:04.400 --> 00:26:08.720 goes right back to what I was talking about in the first hour of maybe 290 00:26:08.759 --> 00:26:18.039 you shouldn't necessarily confront a crime. So Annie's traveling. She makes it to 291 00:26:18.240 --> 00:26:23.279 Bourbank Airport, Hollywood Burbank Airport. Her luggage doesn't. She gets a phone 292 00:26:23.319 --> 00:26:26.759 call from someone at the airport, because of course, she goes to the 293 00:26:26.799 --> 00:26:29.519 office and she says, my luggage is missing, and the person in the 294 00:26:29.599 --> 00:26:33.160 airport says, hey, no, no, no, your luggage actually made 295 00:26:33.240 --> 00:26:37.920 it home. She's in Burbank and her luggage has made it to Denver, 296 00:26:37.160 --> 00:26:42.319 where she came from. She calls home, it's not there. Then she 297 00:26:42.440 --> 00:26:45.960 realizes, wait, I put an Apple air tag in there. I should 298 00:26:47.000 --> 00:26:51.319 be able if it's still on and operating, to track my luggage and see 299 00:26:51.319 --> 00:26:56.240 where it is. I don't think that Annie expected to find out what she 300 00:26:56.400 --> 00:27:00.920 found out, But she did, and what she found out is that her 301 00:27:00.119 --> 00:27:11.279 luggage was slowly at that time moving north down Western Avenue towards Santa Monica. 302 00:27:11.920 --> 00:27:18.119 Western in Santa Monica. If you know anything about Los Angeles, Western in 303 00:27:18.160 --> 00:27:23.799 Santa Monica is nowhere you want your luggage to be. You don't want to 304 00:27:23.799 --> 00:27:30.720 be at Western and Santa Monica. But Annie's luggage was on Western and Santa 305 00:27:30.799 --> 00:27:34.480 Monica. Let me paint the picture for you of what Santa Monica and Western 306 00:27:34.599 --> 00:27:38.119 looks like. For those of you who are unaware, those of you who 307 00:27:38.160 --> 00:27:41.759 are aware are probably shaking your head and waving your hands saying no, no, 308 00:27:41.759 --> 00:27:48.039 no, no no, because there's some PTSD associated Western and Santa Monica 309 00:27:48.039 --> 00:27:55.000 Boulevard has numerous stores, numerous businesses, a couple of new apartment complexes, 310 00:27:55.440 --> 00:28:03.079 and also a metro station. The metro station has metro station activities, big 311 00:28:03.119 --> 00:28:12.119 time metro station activities. The shops and stores around are essentially holding tanks for 312 00:28:12.319 --> 00:28:18.839 those activities. It's a very transient area. There's a lot of crime that 313 00:28:18.920 --> 00:28:22.960 goes on in that area. There's a lot of grime that is in that 314 00:28:22.079 --> 00:28:30.000 area, and there are numerous homeless encampments on each corner. Annie's or Annie, 315 00:28:30.039 --> 00:28:36.839 excuse me, Annie's luggage was at one of these homeless encampments. Annie, 316 00:28:37.720 --> 00:28:42.279 her sweet Denver, Colorado self, decided she was going to go to 317 00:28:42.480 --> 00:28:51.200 the homeless encampment to confront whoever had her luggage. Bless her heart, well 318 00:28:51.319 --> 00:28:53.960 she did. Unfortunately, this story doesn't take a turn. We're not talking 319 00:28:55.000 --> 00:29:00.759 about Annie's unfortunate demise or anything, but her luggage. WI was completely emptied. 320 00:29:02.440 --> 00:29:07.559 She did find the luggage itself. The bag. She said her belongings 321 00:29:07.599 --> 00:29:11.039 were kind of strawn about, and that people were just there kicking it, 322 00:29:11.559 --> 00:29:18.039 just around her stuff, hanging out as if nothing ever was wrong. She 323 00:29:18.079 --> 00:29:22.559 says, she started grabbing her stuff. She's grabbing it. She's crying. 324 00:29:22.039 --> 00:29:26.279 She said. Vendors are looking at her like she's crazy, because guess what, 325 00:29:26.319 --> 00:29:27.960 Annie, you were. You were a little crazy to do that, 326 00:29:29.079 --> 00:29:33.440 girlfriend, but you did it. And she said she started grabbing stuff out 327 00:29:33.559 --> 00:29:38.640 of a cart. The homeless person who had her bag said, hey, 328 00:29:38.680 --> 00:29:42.000 wait a minute, I bought this bag Barren Square. This is my bag, 329 00:29:42.319 --> 00:29:45.759 and Annie's like, no, this is my bag. Instead of going 330 00:29:45.799 --> 00:29:48.079 back and forth, She's crying. Can you imagine this scene on the corner 331 00:29:48.119 --> 00:29:53.359 of It's already a crazy scene. Now you add all these extra elements and 332 00:29:53.400 --> 00:29:57.920 it's just something out of the best reality show ever or the worst. For 333 00:29:57.960 --> 00:30:03.519 Annie, I imagine, she then pays to get her bag back. She 334 00:30:03.119 --> 00:30:07.000 had a friend with her. They put their money together because of course, 335 00:30:07.319 --> 00:30:11.319 now the bag itself is being held for ransom, and the homeless people are 336 00:30:11.359 --> 00:30:15.119 telling her it will give you your bag for this nominal fee. They fork 337 00:30:15.200 --> 00:30:21.759 over whatever it was. They get their bag back, They contact the airport, 338 00:30:22.319 --> 00:30:26.119 and the airport just says, you know, we don't know what happened. 339 00:30:26.720 --> 00:30:30.640 We don't know. We thought it got there, sorry to tell you, 340 00:30:32.000 --> 00:30:34.680 They said, they're also working on addressing the issue, as if that 341 00:30:34.799 --> 00:30:41.079 offers any sort of consolation to miss Annie. Right, so, she said 342 00:30:41.119 --> 00:30:47.480 that after all of this happened, she felt however, she felt she felt 343 00:30:47.480 --> 00:30:52.000 a little relieved that she had that reconciliation, she found her bag. But 344 00:30:52.119 --> 00:30:56.160 how much confidence does this then? Does this then give you as a traveler, 345 00:30:56.680 --> 00:31:02.480 knowing that your bag could make its way to Western and Santa Monica of 346 00:31:02.599 --> 00:31:06.640 all places. What airline was this? I just need to know for future 347 00:31:06.680 --> 00:31:14.400 reference. It is American Airlines. American Airlines. It's not even Spirit activities. 348 00:31:14.440 --> 00:31:19.839 This is American Airlines, which has experienced its own share with their Boeings. 349 00:31:19.880 --> 00:31:22.720 And people don't want to fly American because of the Boeings. But now 350 00:31:22.720 --> 00:31:26.599 you're not gonna want to fly American because your back would make it to Western 351 00:31:26.640 --> 00:31:30.799 and Santa Monica. Unsavory activities indeed. But congratulations to Annie for getting her 352 00:31:30.799 --> 00:31:34.759 empty luggage back. I applaud, I applaud her bravery. I don't think 353 00:31:34.799 --> 00:31:38.319 I would have done it, definitely, not without some police or some sort 354 00:31:38.319 --> 00:31:44.720 of military militarized component, because that's that corner right there is whoo. I 355 00:31:44.720 --> 00:31:48.160 don't want to do that one. It's KFI A M six forty live everywhere 356 00:31:48.240 --> 00:31:52.359 on the iHeartRadio app. If you're miss it, we got it. K 357 00:31:53.359 --> 00:32:00.640 S I HD two, Los Angeles, Orange County lives everywhere on the Chart 358 00:32:00.720 --> 00:32:00.279 Radio app.