Heartland Labor Forum: Recent Episodes

KKFI 90.1 FM

This podcast tracks the audio archives for the “Heartland Labor Forum” radio show. The Heartland Labor Forum is Kansas City’s only program about the workplace. It’s radio that talks back to the boss! Whether you’re a union member or your workplace isn’t organized, Heartland Labor Forum (HLF) has stories for you, guaranteed to inspire, educate, or enrage you.

Coming of age is hard, especially for impoverished undocumented youth who come here to work. We’ll hear about the lives and work of unaccompanied minors from Dr. Stephanie Canizales, author […] The post Stephanie L. Canizales, Without Parents Or Papers: Unaccompanied Migrant Youth Coming of Age in the United States and Hot Kansas Legislative Races appeared first on KKFI.

Does work make you feel productive and proud? If you’re a member of the working class, your job may not give you the warm and fuzzies. This week on the […] The post On The Clock; What Low-Wage Work Did to Me and How It Drives America Insane and Leadville Colorado: Labor History at 10,000 Feet appeared first on KKFI.

It’s all about rights. First, we’ll talk to Trini Murguia from the US Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division about the many laws they enforce from child labor to […] The post What Do You Know About the Fair Labor Standards Act? and IBEW 124 Wins Paid Family Leave appeared first on KKFI.

Many candidates call for less government regulation, nursing homes need more. Workers complain of unsafe staffing, and poverty wages and owners who view patient bodies only as profit centers. This […] The post The Problems with Nursing Home Jobs and Disconnected Call Center Workers II appeared first on KKFI.

We celebrate the 80th birthday of Si Kahn, singer, songwriter, author, organizer, and activist. We’ll hear a few tracks from his new album, Labor Day: A Tribute to Hardworking People […] The post Si Kahn at 80: Honoring a Life of Song and Activism appeared first on KKFI.

We will feature two Books. First, in Disconnected: Call Center Workers Fight for Good Jobs in the Digital Age author Debbie Goldman shows how workers struggle for good jobs against […] The post Two Books: Debbie Goldman's Disconnected: Call Center Workers Fight for Good Jobs in the Digital Age and Jake Friedman's The Disney Revolt: The Great Labor War of Animation's Golden Age appeared first on KKFI.

Immigration polls as a top issue for voters this Fall. We’ll talk about the candidates’ positions on the border, asylum, and jobs and also ask where’s the invasion. Then, we’ll […] The post Project 2025, Trump and Harris on Immigration and KCMO School District’s International Welcome Center appeared first on KKFI.

Will you get a pension when you retire? Pensions have been disappearing for decades, and now companies like AT&T are selling off their pensions to insurance companies. Find out why […] The post The New Plan to Fleece Workers’ Pensions and IBEW Local 53’s Ben Bush appeared first on KKFI.

Ever wonder why every system we deal with is on the verge of overload? In the 1980’s management adopted “Lean Production” to keep workers and consumers constantly under stress and […] The post Is It Really the End of Lean Production? and KC and the Pregnancy Fairness Act appeared first on KKFI.

On the last day of its 2024 session, the Missouri legislature put ranked choice voting on the August ballot. Already ten states outlaw it. Will Missouri voters do the same? […] The post Why Are They Trying to Outlaw Rank Choice Voting? And Ethan Marcotte, You Deserve a Tech Union appeared first on KKFI.

The show is all about worker and citizen frustration with unresponsive public institutions. First the Post Office. We’ll ask American Postal Workers President MARK DIMONDSTEIN what the hell is wrong […] The post What the F*** Is Wrong with the Postal Service and Mizzou Workers Ask When the University Will Bargain in Good Faith appeared first on KKFI.

Asset managers today like Blackstone and BlackRock own our roads, our water, schools, homes, farmland and hospitals. This week on the Heartland Labor Forum we’ll talk to Brett Christophers, author […] The post Why Asset Managers Own the World and Presente! appeared first on KKFI.

The Supreme Court has shown once again that it’s no friend of labor. In fact, recent decisions hurt unions. This week on the Heartland Labor Forum, we’ll speak with law […] The post Latest Decisions on Unions from the Supreme Court and The East Side Freedom Library appeared first on KKFI.

The Emergency Workplace Organizing Committee is helping workers organize. This week on the Heartland Labor Forum we’ll talk to a Trader Joes worker from New York City and a social […] The post The Emergency Workplace Organizing Committee Helps Demystify How to Organize and Doug Genens – Oral Labor Historian appeared first on KKFI.

Trade policy is very political. Find out this week on the Heartland Labor Forum what happens when workers are ignored. Author James Benton will talk about his book Fraying Fabric: […] The post The Politics of Trade Policy and Do We Need More Militarized Police? appeared first on KKFI.

We’ll interview Michael Zweig whose new book Class Race & Gender; Challenging the Injuries and Divisions of Capitalism explains how our capitalist economy is the root of many of our […] The post Michael Zweig and his New Book Class Race & Gender; Challenging the Injuries and Divisions of Capitalism and Jenny Agee: Truck-Driving Woman appeared first on KKFI.

Ever wonder how workers move mountains of dirt or lift tons of steel to the tops of buildings? This week on the Heartland Labor Forum, we’ll talk to Aaron Brown, […] The post Operating Engineers Local 101 Union Leader Aaron Brown and Vets and Unions Go Fishing for Freedom appeared first on KKFI.

In a landslide victory, faculty and academic staff at the University of Kansas voted to unionize with the American Federation of Teachers. This week on the Heartland Labor Forum, we'll […] The post Jayhawks Flock to the Union and Labor Song Covers appeared first on KKFI.

If we could grade them, this year’s Missouri and Kansas legislatures both flunked. Missouri gets an F minus with less than 30 non-appropriation bills passed, but Kansas bombed out on […] The post The Legislative Sausage Grinder: What happened This Year in Jeff City and Topeka? appeared first on KKFI.

Ken Grossinger, author of Art Works: How Organizers and Artists Are Creating a Better World Together believes activism needs art to imbue social struggles with purpose and solidarity. We’ll hear […] The post Art Works: How Art Enlivens Social Struggles appeared first on KKFI.

The Labor Notes Conference last month was chock full of almost 8,000 union troublemakers. A highlight was UAW President Shawn Fain and dozens of members who are rebuilding a more […] The post Reassessing the Legacy of Walter Reuther appeared first on KKFI.

Ron Carey was the first Teamster President elected directly by the members. A new book gives us the inside scoop on the enormous challenges this union reformer faced. Author Ken […] The post Ron Carey: From UPS Driver to Teamster President and What Constitutional Rights Do Corporations Have? appeared first on KKFI.

Across the country proponents of school vouchers promise choice, freedom and upward mobility. Nicole Abshire of Mothers for Democracy Institute says vouchers are a scam on students, teachers, unions and […] The post The Voucher Scam and the Construction Contractor Tax Dodge appeared first on KKFI.

Heartland Labor Forum listeners know that U.S. labor law sucks. Are there places in the world where workers have real rights and employers can’t violate the law with impunity? This […] The post Comparing Our Labor Law with Europe and Canada and Gerald Epstein: Busting the Bankers’ Club: Finance for the Rest of Us appeared first on KKFI.

Libertarians and fans of Ayn Rand would like to dismantle our labor laws and any regulations that interfere with the rights of corporations. This week on the Heartland Labor Forum […] The post ZEDE Prospera: A Libertarian Fantasy with Nightmare Results and Bob Bruno's What Work Is: How Worker See Work appeared first on KKFI.

Third parties are busting out all over this Spring and on this week’s Heartland Labor Forum. Do 3rd parties "spoil" our elections or strengthen democracy? Labor leader and Socialist candidate […] The post Third Parties: Are They Spoilers or Do They Strengthen Democracy? appeared first on KKFI.

A year ago, a Norfolk Southern train derailed and blanketed East Palestine Ohio with vinyl chloride? We’ll talk to a union rep about the lives impacted, the cleanup and threats […] The post East Palestine: Still Derailed One Year Later and Blood in the Machine: Workers vs. Automation appeared first on KKFI.

The debate is raging between labor and activist groups on whether or not to support the 40-year ½ cent sales tax for the Royals to build a new stadium in […] The post The 3/8th cent sales tax pro and con appeared first on KKFI.

Two years ago, Missouri lawmakers passed a law to criminalize librarians for giving students books that the legislators think are obscene. As a result, public school libraries have purged science […] The post Librarians vs. the Book Ban and Kansas City Labor’s 40 Political Club appeared first on KKFI.

It’s women’s history month and time for some feminist labor history on the Heartland Labor Forum. We’ll ask Mary Ellen Miller how stewardesses at TWA became flight attendants and split […] The post The Flight Attendant Rebellion: A History of the Independent Federation of Flight Attendants at TWA appeared first on KKFI.

Longtime labor activist and writer Les Leopold has a new book: Wall Street’s War on Workers, which delves into how mass layoffs and stock buybacks enrich shareholders at the expense […] The post Les Leopold: Wall Streets War on Workers and What's the Kansas Legislature Cookin' Up for Us? appeared first on KKFI.

What’s the Missouri legislature cookin’ up this session? Bills are being proposed that would assault people’s rights and attack public education. This week on the Heartland Labor Forum, we’ll ask […] The post What Are they Cookin’ up This year in Jeff City? and Marijuana Dispensary Workers Organize appeared first on KKFI.

Honduras President Juan Orlando Hernandez goes on trial this month in New York for drug trafficking. Honduran workers faced repression, corruption and forced migration during his reign. We’ll ask whether […] The post A Dictator Goes on Trial and Hamilton Nolan: The Hammer: Power, Inequality, and the Struggle for the Soul of Labor appeared first on KKFI.

We all remember Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. for his legacy in the civil rights movement. Maybe you know he was shot while supporting a strike of garbage collectors in […] The post Organized Labor and the Civil Rights Movement appeared first on KKFI.

We’ll find out what it’s like to work and support your family as refugees in your own land. We’ll talk to two Palestinians about jobs, wages, and the war. Then […] The post Work Under Occupation and Unions Come Out for Ceasefire in Gaza appeared first on KKFI.

We’ll have a tribute to music, labor and musicians. The Kansas City Latin Jazz Orchestra is a tuition free cultural immersion education and performance non-profit orchestra. We talk with bandleader Pablo […] The post The Work of a Jazz Musician and Some Great Labor Songs appeared first on KKFI.

Is Trump a Fascist? More and more experts are saying “yes he is.” So, what’s a fascist? And how, if Trump wins in November, could working people be hurt by […] The post Is Trump a Fascist? and Kevin Hendrickson of Pipefitters Local 533 appeared first on KKFI.

We'll talk to journalist Lawrence Tabak, author of Foxconned, on how the Taiwanese company conned former Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker and how corporations transfer taxpayer money to themselves benefitting consultants, […] The post Foxconned by Lawrence Tabak and The Chevron Deference Case: A Corporate Power Grab? appeared first on KKFI.

This week on the Heartland Labor Forum, we’ve got a rerun of our Thanksgiving show, which we’re betting you missed. Tune in and appreciate the work of our volunteer programmers […] The post The Best of 2023 on the Heartland Labor Forum appeared first on KKFI.

Last January the Heartland Labor Forum volunteers and labor programmers from as far away as England looked in their crystal balls to predict what would happen to workers in 2023. […] The post Labor's Crystal Ball for 2024 appeared first on KKFI.

Despite a number of attempts by the UAW to organize foreign-owned Southern auto plants, there’s been stiff resistance from the foreign companies, politicians, community, and workers themselves. This week on […] The post UAW's Southern Strategy – an Assessment and Nanni Balestrini's We Want Everything – A Strike Novel appeared first on KKFI.

From the Gilded Age to the 1920s, employers and allies used terrorism to control workplaces and communities. We’ll talk to Chad Pearson, author of Capital’s Terrorists: Klansmen, Lawmen & Employers […] The post Chad Pearson, Capital’s Terrorists: Klansmen, Lawmen & Employers . . . – and – from Prison Guard to Union President Lynn Fields Is Making Prisons Safer for All appeared first on KKFI.

We’ll talk about organizing and labor’s future with New Yorker writer Eleni Schirmer who thinks labor guru Jane McAlevey has transformed the labor movement and then with former ILWU organizing […] The post Can Labor Seize the Movement Moment? – and – How Jane McAlevy Transformed the Labor Movement appeared first on KKFI.

Kansas City’s Alise Martiny is one of the highest ranking women in building trades union history. This week on the Heartland Labor Forum, we’ll talk to her and find out […] The post Alise Martiny: Woman at the Top – and – Steve Gercone of the Roofers Union appeared first on KKFI.

It’s Thanksgiving and we thought it would give us an opportunity to appreciate the work of our volunteer programmers on the Heartland Labor Forum throughout 2023 by playing clips of […] The post Best of 2023 on the Heartland Labor Forum appeared first on KKFI.

Teamsters for a Democratic Union or TDU has for almost half a century led the fight for rank-and-file union democracy and been a leader fighting back against increasingly greedy corporations. […] The post Teamsters for a Democratic Union: Is It in the Vanguard of Labor? appeared first on KKFI.

In May 2022, the Heartland Labor Forum reported on censorship in public schools. We’ll follow up with KCMO school librarian, Rebecca Parker about the escalation of book bans and the […] The post Banned but not Forgotten; The State of KCMO School Libraries – and – Challenges and Opportunities in the Midwest Since COVID – EPI appeared first on KKFI.

Amazon is a serial labor law violator. In fact, there is a veritable river of decisions holding the company guilty of violating its workers rights, but last we checked Amazon […] The post Amazon Delivers — Bad Faith and What's in the New Auto Contracts? appeared first on KKFI.

First they were essential, then they were exhausted, then they were enraged. This week on the Heartland Labor Forum, we’ll talk to Jamie McCallum about his new book Essential: How […] The post Two Books: Essential: How the Pandemic Transformed the Long Fight for Worker Justice and Migration As Economic Imperialism appeared first on KKFI.

Did you see the film Oppenheimer? If so, did you wonder who built the buildings where the Manhattan Project did its work or who cleaned up the radioactive waste or […] The post What the Oppenheimer Film Missed appeared first on KKFI.

Reggie Thomas leads Laborers local 264. This week on the Heartland Labor Forum as part of our Labor Leader Series we’ll ask him about the work members of the Laborers […] The post Reggie Thomas – What do Laborers Do? and Jason Roberts: Why the Shortage of Teachers and Other School Personnel? appeared first on KKFI.

We used to call them sailors. Now they’re seafarers who work the ships that transport goods around the world. From the days of mutinies and striking the sails to today they’ve […] The post The Lives of Maritime Workers and Does the Jones Act Really Protect Their Jobs? appeared first on KKFI.

When we talk about labor organizing these days, we rarely talk about farm workers, who have been left in the dust in wages working conditions and rights. This week on […] The post When Will Farmworkers Get Labor Justice? and JwJ’s Erika Smiley: The Future We Need; Organizing for a Better Democracy in the 21st Century appeared first on KKFI.

What’s the matter with Kansas Workers Compensation Law? Well, it’s possibly the worst program in the country. This week on the Heartland Labor Forum we'll talk to labor lawyer Keith […] The post What's the Matter with Kansas Workers Comp? and The New McCarthyism appeared first on KKFI.

On June 27th, the Pregnant Worker Fairness Act went into effect with new protections for women workers. This week on the Heartland Labor Forum learn who is covered and what […] The post The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act and How to Blow the Whistle on Unsafe Conditions at Work and Not Get Fired appeared first on KKFI.

In July an undocumented laborer working at night without lights fell 12 floors to his death when the elevator malfunctioned. Ever wonder what other immigrant construction workers face each day […]

The post The Perils of Working Non-Union and Immigrant and Heartland Women in Trades Need for Childcare appeared first on KKFI.

Is there such a thing as philosophy of labor? Find out this week on the Heartland Labor Forum for a lively discussion with retired AFSCME member Richard Mellor. Then, Harry […]

The post Worker Philosophy – Philosophy of Work and Robert Cherny: Harry Bridges; Labor Radical, Labor Legend appeared first on KKFI.

The United Autoworkers, in its first direct election, threw out the caucus that ran the union for decades and elected Shawn Fain President. Now Fain is riding a wave of […]

The post Shawn Fein, Bernie Sandeers and UAW 31 President Dontay Wilson on the Auto Negotiations appeared first on KKFI.

When there’s a life-threatening emergency at your house who sends help? It’s a dispatcher. This week on the Heartland Labor Forum we present a day in the life of a […]

The post The Life of a Dispatcher and Machinists Leader Scott Brown appeared first on KKFI.

Two books for your summer reading. First long-time labor guru Bill Fletcher Jr’s second novel: The Man Who Changed Colors is a mystery where a shipyard worker falls to his […]

The post Summer Reading: Bill Fletcher, Jr. The Man Who Changed Colors and Working Class Giant: The Life of William Z. Foster appeared first on KKFI.

Should the labor movement endorse reproductive justice, including abortion rights, as a working families’ issue? This week on the Heartland Labor Forum, we’ll ask union women who are leading a […]

The post Should the AFL-CIO Endorse the Right to Abortion? and UPS: What Do the Workers Think? appeared first on KKFI.

There’s a growing chorus of workers demanding more democracy in their unions. We talk to leaders of Essential Workers for Democracy – EW4D who have formed the rank & file […]

The post Essential Workers for Union Democracy: a Growing Movement and The Ghost Workers Behind AI appeared first on KKFI.

What do Starbucks, and Trader Joes have in common? Right their workers are organizing unions and some with great success. What else do they all have in common? They both […]

The post Organizing Starbucks and Trader Joes appeared first on KKFI.

Union busting has been around since the Pharaohs. Today’s “union avoidance” methods may be more sophisticated, but they’re still union busting, and the busters are getting rich off it. We’ll […]

The post 21st Century Union Busting and What’s in the Meany Labor Archives? appeared first on KKFI.

As Red State Governors and legislatures ban books and dictate to schools and colleges what they can’t teach, we’ll take a look at the damage to young minds from the […]

The post Whitewashing Labor and American History appeared first on KKFI.

The Industrial Workers of the World or IWW is remembered as militant and creative. Its vision was one big union where workers decide what to produce, working conditions, and pay. […]

The post Ahmed White: Under the Iron Heel: The Wobblies and the Capitalist War on Radical Workers and Isn’t It Time to Nationalize the Railroads? appeared first on KKFI.

State legislatures including Iowa and Arkansas are rolling back child labor law protections. Ultra conservative groups, including the National Restaurant Association, are pushing bills that allow 14-year-olds to work the […]

The post The Return of Child Labor — Again??? appeared first on KKFI.

IT’S PLEDGE DRIVE. PLEASE CALL OR GO ONLINE TO MAKE A PLEDGE Should the slogan “Good Jobs for All” include the disabled? In Missouri it’s not so clear. This week […]

The post Sheltered Workshops and 22¢ an Hour The Fight to Ban the Subminimum Wage appeared first on KKFI.

The Kansas City Labor Beacon is under new ownership – the Kansas City AFL-CIO. We’ll hear from Labor Beacon editor Tristen Amezcua- Hogan and publisher Abril Negrete about the past, […]

The post The New Labor Beacon under KC AFL-CIO Ownership and Labor Leader Profile: United Steelworker District 11 Director Emil Ramirez appeared first on KKFI.

As the largest collective bargaining unit in North America, the National UPS agreement with the Teamsters Union is a classic Labor vs Capital stand-off. Both sides are heavily dug-in […]

The post Teamsters Team Up to Fight UPS appeared first on KKFI.

Wage theft is more common than we think, especially against immigrant workers whose employers often skip out without paying them for their work. This week on the Heartland Labor Forum, […]

The post The Fight Against Wage Theft and Jon Carpenter on the Clay County Fair Contracting Ordinance appeared first on KKFI.

We’ll delve into two hot Kansas City – City Council races – the 5th district at-large featuring Darrell Curls and Mike Kelley and in the 1st district Chris Gahagan. We’ve […]

The post Candidates in Two Hot KC City Council Races: Darrell Curls and Michael Kelly and Chris Gahagan and Nathan Willett (invited) appeared first on KKFI.

Robert Pollin what it will cost as we phase out the fossil fuel industry to provide a just transition for fossil fuel workers into other jobs without major losses in […]

The post Robert Pollin: Just Transitions to a Green Economy and New Stadium: Who Will Pay? Who will Benefit? appeared first on KKFI.

“We don’t trust teachers to teach, we’re banning books, we’re doing educational gag orders, but now because of the politics, we trust them to carry a loaded firearm.” So says […]

The post American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten with Local 691’s Jason Roberts on the Attack on Teachers and Whitewashing of Education appeared first on KKFI.

There’s an apprenticeship program for people who want to find work in the industrial sewing and garment trades. Indeed, Kansas City’s Sewing Labs offers the only apprenticeship program in sewing […]

The post Inside the Sewing Lab Apprenticeship Program and Traveling Musicians Local 1000 appeared first on KKFI.

We take a ride on the bad bills clown car through Kansas and Missouri. Get on board to find out what’s happening in the legislatures. Bills are being proposed that […]

The post What Happens When Work Disappears? and Management Rights vs Workers appeared first on KKFI.

We’ll be riding the bad bills clown car through Kansas and Missouri. Get on board to find out what’s happening in the legislatures. Bills are being proposed that would assault […]

The post Riding the Bad Bills’ Clown Car through Kansas and Missouri appeared first on KKFI.

Meet Saul Schniderman American labor’s culture maven, founder of the Great labor Arts Exchange, assembler of the national inventory of American labor landmarks, author of the Friday Labor Folklore newsletter, […]

The post Labor’s Friday Folklorist, Saul Schniderman appeared first on KKFI.

Did any of you listeners wonder whether the Ohio rail derailment could happen here? Do we have bomb trains coming through KC? On the show we’ll find out from the […]

The post Derailed in Ohio! What About Kansas City? What’s Coming Thru A Rail Near You? appeared first on KKFI.

The Kansas City Building Trades – the union of construction unions – has a new leader: Ralph Oropeza. We’ll ask Ralph about himself and whether he’s expecting a building boom […]

The post New Building Trades Council Leader Ralph Oropeza and SMART Local 2’s Greg Chastain appeared first on KKFI.

There’s a new book out on how organized labor can build its power to take on corporate America and win. It asks how we get the leverage necessary to force […]

The post Labor Power & Strategy: Organizing around the Choke Points appeared first on KKFI.

The National Nurses Union represents the RNs at Menorah and Research Hospitals. Does HCA want to bust their union? Find out this week on the Heartland Labor Forum. Then, one […]

The post Staffing Our Hospitals: Nurses vs HCA and The Cost of Worker Misclassification appeared first on KKFI.

Between attacks on our public schools and what LGBTQ folk called “hate week” the Kansas legislature is full of bizarre agendas. This week on the Heartland Labor Forum well ask […]

The post Sherman Smith, Reflecting on the Kansas Legislature and Kansas City Public Schools Update from AFT Local 691 – New Superintendent and big Contract Win! appeared first on KKFI.

Many workers today work in teams. That sounds great because workers know how to run things, but more often than not their knowledge is used against them by management. This […]

The post Beyond Team Management and Teamsters Delivering a New UPS Contract appeared first on KKFI.

Do rural working-class people vote against their economic interests because of cultural issues, or could something else be pushing them to vote conservative? Shane Hamilton’s book, Trucking Country: The Road […]

The post Trucking Country; The Road to America’s Wal-Mart Economy by Shane Hamilton and Labor Leader Series: Amber Gibson Navigating the Future for Argosy Casino Workers appeared first on KKFI.

Despite a Democratic majority for 18 months, the National Labor Relations Board has moved at a glacial pace. Recently though, there’s been a flurry of new decisions. Is it too […]

The post New NLRB Rules for Organizing and Fighting Times by Jonathan Melrod appeared first on KKFI.

Tonight, on the Heartland Labor Forum: Last November, AFT and AAUP announced they were organizing 1500 faculty and staff at the Un iversity of Kansas. This week on the Heartland […]

The post Rock Chalk Union – Organizing at KU and M-Power – The Multilateral Partnership for Organizing, Worker Empowerment, and Rights appeared first on KKFI.

Are you one of those people who thinks that the kids are lazy? That they can’t get to work on time? No work ethic. Are going to make the U.S. […]

The post Busting the Myth of Lazy Youth appeared first on KKFI.

AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Fred Redmond and retired AFSCME and civil rights leader Bill Lucy on labor and Martin Luther King. Then we’ll ask Missouri’s freshman legislator Jaime Johnson about the new […]

The post Fred Redmond and Bill Lucy on MLK and Rep Jamie Johnson on the MO Leg appeared first on KKFI.

We have an inspiring story of retirement. After 31-years at the post office Willa Robinson turned her passion for reading into a gem of a bookstore uplifting black history, music […]

The post Ex-Postal Worker Willa has a Passion for Books and New Rules for Gig Workers appeared first on KKFI.

Labor radio programmers and podcasters from around the country, from Kansas City and from as far away as England will get out their union made crystal balls and tell us […]

The post Labor’s 2023 Crystal Ball: Will It Be Good for Working People appeared first on KKFI.

Justin Akers Chacon author of The Border Crossed Us argues that our polices of open borders for goods and closed borders for people hurt all American workers. He makes the […]

The post Justin Akers Chacon: The Case for Opening th Border and Why Doesn’t the NLRB Cover Ag and Domestice Workers? Might I Have to Do with Race? appeared first on KKFI.

Y’all know the story of Scrooge in Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol. What if it were a musical put on by the San Francisco Mime Troupe? Huh? Mime on the […]

The post The San Francisco Mime Troupe’s Red Carol appeared first on KKFI.

Tonight, on the Heartland Labor Forum: Has your metropolitan newspaper turned into a zombie? Is local news coverage just a fading memory? We’ll look at the corporatization of the media […]

The post The Fading of Local For-profit Print Media and Rise of the Non-Profits and Independence Firefighters’ Fight for Health Care appeared first on KKFI.

Do you ever think about the fact that just about everything you buy passes first through a warehouse? Then it gets delivered in a truck to a store or your […]

The post Jerry Wood of Teamsters Local 955 and Stories from the 1970s of Women in Non-Traditional Jobs with Jenny Agee – Trucker and Teamster Organizer appeared first on KKFI.

Ellen Cassidy was a founder of 9 to 5 the working women’s organization that became a union and and a movie with Dolly Parton, Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin. We’ll […]

The post Ellen Cassedy, Working 9 to 5 and The UAW’s First Direct Election for Top Officers appeared first on KKFI.

The Kansas City labor community lost Herb Johnson over a year ago on October 18th 2021. On this Thanksgiving the Heartland Labor Forum will remember Herb’s life and honor him by replaying the memorial we did after he died. Herb was a non-stop fighter for the rights of working people from his early days with […]

The post Remembering Herb Johnson a Year after his Death appeared first on KKFI.

Have you dreamt of a world where your job gives you fulfillment and respect? Where income inequality and discrimination have disappeared? Where we have health care for all? We will interview Michael Yates who dreams of such a world in his new book, Work Work Work: Labor, Alienation, and Class Struggle. Then, we’ll hear from […]

The post Work Work Work: Labor, Alienation & Class by Michael Yates and Will Jay Ashcroft Take Away Your Right to Read? appeared first on KKFI.

The US Supreme Court is about to hear a case that could have devastating consequences for unions. The issue is whether unions can be sued in state court for economic damage to a company because of a strike. Then, OSHA the Occupational Safety and Health Administration: Is it on the move again to protect the […]

The post Will the Supreme Court Preempt the Right to Strike? and The Return of OSHA appeared first on KKFI.

We’ll find out why zookeepers in Salina Kansas (yes there’s a zoo there) just voted to be represented by a union. Then, railway track workers in the BMWE voted against the contract recommended by the federal emergency board. We’ll ask a BNSF worker about why and can this lead to a nationwide rail strike or […]

The post The Zookeepers’ Union and Why the BMWE Rejected the Rail Contract appeared first on KKFI.

School librarians weigh in on recent book banning, how students are affected, and the recently proposed rule by the Missouri Secretary of State to ban books at public libraries. Are we losing our freedom to read? Then the Kansas City Fair Contractor Alliance, a coalition of building trades unions, wants accountability and enforcement of labor […]

The post Librarians Speak Out about Book Banning and the Kansas City Fair Contractor Alliance appeared first on KKFI.

The Kansas City Missouri School District just announced its Blueprint 2030, an ambitious plan of transformation including the closing of ten schools. We’ll talk to Jason Roberts, president of the Kansas City Federation of Teachers and get his reaction. Then, Dave Coleman is business manager of Iron Workers Local 10. Why do they call iron […]

The post What’s the Teachers’ Union Have to Say about the KCMO School Closings? and Ironworkers’ Dave Coleman appeared first on KKFI.

On Labor Day ROC United introduced the Restaurant Worker Bill of Rights, with model local, state, and federal legislation. Find out how they want to add some rights to your working or dining experience. Then, hundreds rallied last Saturday for the formation of KC Power, the political arm of KC Tenants. They promise to be […]

The post ROC United’s New Restaurant Bill of Rights and KC Tenants New Political Arm appeared first on KKFI.

We talk with Daisy Pitkin, organizer, about her book On the Line which takes us into a union organizing drive in an industrial laundry in Arizona. You’ll see joys, obstacles and politics on the way to winning a union. Then, Vice President Harris says she’s looking for the root causes of why so many people […]

The post Daisy Pitkin: On the Line and Does the State Department Union Bust? appeared first on KKFI.

As outrage at oppressive and exhausting working conditions grows among rail workers, they’re pushing for a showdown with the carriers, but the Biden administration has switched the track for that […]

The post Will There Be a National Railway Strike? And Wire Women Lighting It Up – What It’s Like to Be a Female Union Electrician appeared first on KKFI.

Do you get lost in all the mumbo jumbo of incentives for developers and wonder what they cost taxpayers, local government, school districts and even the public library? This week […]

The post TIFs and Other Incentives: Welfare for Rich Developers? appeared first on KKFI.

The Alliance for Retired Americans, a grassroots labor organization with 4.4 million members in 39 states, has just expanded to Kansas. We’ll talk to its leader Rich Fiesta. Then labor […]

The post The National Alliance for Retired Americans Goes to Kansas and What Liberals Get Wrong about the New Deal appeared first on KKFI.

If you’re working class, and you’re wondering if the political class has done anything for you lately, tune in to this week’s Heartland Labor Forum where Rep. Sharice Davids and […]

The post Rep. Sharice Davids and KS AFL-CIO’s John Nave on What Has Congress Done for Us Lately appeared first on KKFI.

Large classrooms and too few teachers are nothing new to education, but this year as shortages pile up, we’re asking, “Where have all the teachers gone? We’ll try to answer this week on the Heartland Labor Forum with Jason Roberts president of the Kansas City Federation of Teachers Union. Then, we’ll have tales from the […]

The post Where Have All the Teachers Gone? and Tales from the West Virginia Mine Wars Museum appeared first on KKFI.

School shootings have us all on edge, but as school starts up again this month, our educators are speaking out strongly against guns in schools. Should teachers be armed? Should conceal carry be allowed on our campuses? We’ll talk to Jason Roberts, President of the Kansas City Federation of Teachers and to Ron Barrett, a […]

The post Teachers with Guns/Students with Guns appeared first on KKFI.

When the economy goes south, or there’s a war or pandemic, rather than hunker down, American workers organize. Former NLRB Chairman William Gould has written a book called For Labor to Build Upon: Wars, Depression, Pandemic. He’ll be on the show. Then, the Missouri AFL-CIO has hired a political organizer for Western Missouri. He’s Carson […]

The post Former NLRB Chair William Gould, and Carson Pope on Missouri labor politics appeared first on KKFI.

Why is it so hard for workers to win unions? CWA organizer Jeff Hayes will debunk many of the antiunion lies that bosses tell their workers and explain what’s in it for workers to unionize. Then, the Area Transportation Authority is facing many post-COVID challenges: a shortage of drivers, declining ridership, late buses and violence […]

The post Profile of two union leaders: CWA organizer Jeff Hayes and ATU 1287 President Will Howard appeared first on KKFI.

Last month over 4,000 rank and file labor activists met in Chicago for the biannual Labor Notes Conference. There were 250 workshops teaching how to make good trouble, plenaries with luminaries like Amazon’s Chris Smalls, the new Teamster President Sean O’Brien, and even Bernie Sanders made an appearance. The Heartland Labor Forum was there. We […]

The post 4000 Union Troublemakers – A Report from the Labor Notes Conference appeared first on KKFI.

Last month over 4,000 rank and file labor activists met in Chicago for the biannual Labor Notes Conference. There were 250 workshops teaching how to make good trouble, plenaries with luminaries like Amazon’s Chris Smalls, the new Teamster President Sean O’Brien, and even Bernie Sanders made an appearance. The Heartland Labor Forum was there. We […]

The post 4000 Union Troublemakers! A Report from the Labor Notes Conference appeared first on KKFI.

Max Alvarez of the Real News has a new book, The Work of Living. In it, he dives deep into the lives of essential workers and how they survived being essential. He’ll be here this week on the Heartland Labor Forum. Then, in 1969, an NLRB lawyer’s testimony undid 20 years’ of labor-friendly law on […]

The post Max Alvarez-The Work of Living and Revisiting Joy Silk – can the NLRB Make It Easier to Organize? appeared first on KKFI.

When a Heartland Labor Forum programmer became pregnant, she began investigating maternity and family leave to find out how her pregnancy would impact her financial health. Turns out pregnancy in Missouri can be downright harmful to a family’s financial health. Find out more on this week’s Heartland Labor Forum. Then, the national AFL-CIO wants to […]

The post A Pregnant HLF Volunteer Investigates Maternity Leave and The New AFL-CIO Leadership appeared first on KKFI.

We interview 9 to 5’s Ellen Bravo and Rethinking Schools’ Larry Miller about their new novel based on their lives as labor activists. Then after years of inaction to expand Medicaid by the Missouri Legislature, the voters took matters in their own hands and passed it. But it’s still a fight to get Medicaid to […]

The post Ellen Bravo and Larry Miller: Tales of Struggle and The Long Wait for Missouri Medicaid appeared first on KKFI.

President Biden signed The Postal Service Reform Act April 6th. It will provide much needed financial and operational changes to the US Postal Service. Learn what improvements to your service may result as well as to the quality of life of our postal workers. Then, we’ll focus on a new type of union, a tenant […]

The post The Postal Reform Act and UMKC Student Tenant Union appeared first on KKFI.

The leaked draft opinion from the Supreme Court tells us that overturning women’s right to abortion is likely, and soon. Meanwhile anti-abortion politicians in Kansas put an amendment on the August 2nd ballot aimed at ending the Kansas Constitution’s protection of a woman’s right to control her own body. This week on the Heartland Labor Forum […]

The post Is the Right to an Abortion a Working Women’s Issue? Is it Common Sense? appeared first on KKFI.

What would happen if a global social media empire merged with the world’s largest online retailer? Would everything become company business? Join award-winning author Dave Eggers, author of Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius, on this week’s Heartland Labor Forum and his newest,: The Every, a dystopian vision of the future. Also, Know Your Rights with […]

The post Dystopian Novelist Dave Eggers, Author of The Every and the Circle appeared first on KKFI.

What would happen if a global social media empire merged with the world’s largest online retailer? Would everything become company business? Join award-winning author Dave Eggers, author of Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius, on this week’s Heartland Labor Forum and his newest,: The Every, a dystopian vision of the future. Also, Know Your Rights with […]

The post Dystopian novelist Dave Eggers, author of the Circle and the Every, nominated for a Pulitzer appeared first on KKFI.

The National Labor Relations Board’s General Counsel Jennifer Abruzzo wants to bust the union busters. She’s moving to outlaw anti-union captive audience meetings where employers push workers to vote against union organizing drive. We’ll hear from Abruzzo, some workers who have been forced to attend these one-side rants and with local labor lawyer Dana Apple. […]

The post The Need to Ban Anti-Union Captive Audience Meetings appeared first on KKFI.

We ask a teacher why unions matter in public schools. We’ll talk to AFT Local 691 member Jennifer Gwinner and ask how do we stop privatization of schools and what solidarity has to do with it. Next we’ll get the latest on Starbucks organizing in area. Also Safety First with Mary Erio.

The post Why Teachers Need Unions and Starbucks Update appeared first on KKFI.

This week on the Heartland Labor Forum we’ve asked educators to comment on and slam the suppression of teaching about race and gender and book banning. As politicians direct curriculum supposedly in the name of parents, hear what teachers and librarians have to say about teaching authentic history and science and who should decide what […]

The post Teachers and a Librarian Slam CRT and Book Banning appeared first on KKFI.

The Kansas Legislature isn’t done yet, but there’s plenty to talk about, like workers compensation, food sales tax, redistricting, voter suppression, sports gambling, and how to spend a $3 billion budget. This week on the Heartland Labor Forum, we’ll talk to the Kansas AFL-CIO’s Executive VP, John Nave on what Kansans can expect. Then in […]

The post Kansas Legislative Wrap-up with the Kansas AFL-CIO’s John Nave and Union Leaders Series: Chris Fairbanks – Independence Firefighter appeared first on KKFI.

Thinking about a career as a skilled trades person? Need some prep to qualify? We’ll talk to Rudy Chavez about the new Missouri Apprentice Ready Program. Then Kim Kelly, labor columnist for Teen Vogue has new book: Fight Like Hell! The Untold History of American Labor is getting lots of publicity. It tells the story […]

The post The Missouri Apprentice Ready Program and Kim Kelly with her new Untold History of American Labor appeared first on KKFI.

In the early 1990s, just before NAFTA was rammed through Congress, two unions – one in Mexico and one in the U.S. formed a solidarity partnership to organize workers on the jobs that were fleeing to low wage havens south of the border. This week on the Heartland Labor Forum we’ll talk to the leaders […]

The post Solidarity Without Borders – the Partnership of UE and FAT and Ranked Choice Voting appeared first on KKFI.

In 1922 Railway shopworkers went on strike against wage cuts and union busting in the largest and most violent rail strike of the 20th Century. This week on the Heartland Labor Forum, we’ll mark the centennial of the Railway Shopmen’s Strike then talk about the current rail negotiations that have dragged on for two years […]

The post Remembering the Railway Shopmen’s Strike and What’s the State of Current Rail Negotiations? appeared first on KKFI.

In January 1990 a gang of assassins invaded a Ford assembly plant in Mexico City and opened fire on the assembly line workers killing one and injuring several. The workers had been organizing an independent union. Who hired and paid the thugs who assaulted them? What did it have to do with the AFL-CIO and […]

United Autoworkers Local 249 is the largest local union in KC. It represents Ford workers. This week on the Heartland Labor Forum we interview Jason Starr, President of Local 249 and find out the challenges and joys of representing almost 8000 autoworkers. Then the Kansas City Labor Beacon has seen some big changes in the […]

Nora Guthrie, daughter of America’s great folk singer, Woody Guthrie, has released a book called Woody Guthrie: Songs and Art, Words and Wisdom. This week on the Heartland Labor Forum we’ll talk to Nora about her father’s genius. Then, health care workers at University Hospital formerly known as Truman are starting negotiations on a new […]

This week on the Heartland Labor Forum, we will talk to the authors of two new books: first is Joe Burns with Class Struggle Unionism. He asks if the labor movement is losing ground or gaining traction. He clearly wants more movement in the labor movement. Then, Natasha Iskander asks, “Does Skill Make Us Human?” […]

The post New Books: Joe Burns: Class Struggle Unionism & N. Iskander: Migrant Workers in Qatar appeared first on KKFI.

This week on The Heartland Labor Forum, we look into the explosion of bills attacking teachers and dumbing-down education across Missouri. We’ll cover bills expanding charter schools, banning critical race theory in favor of teaching fairy tales, bills requiring parental oversight of professionals — that is, teachers — and bills calling for censorship of books […]

The post Is the Missouri Legislature Out to Destroy Public Schools? appeared first on KKFI.

This week on the Heartland Labor Forum, it’s New York Times reporter Peter Goodman on his new book Davos Man: How the Billionaires Devoured the World. Goodman lampoons ultra-rich guys as a voracious uber-species preying on all of us. Then- employers have long used threats and coercion to oppose union organizing campaigns. The NLRB’s top […]

The post Davos Man by Peter Goodman & An Interview with NLRB General Council Jennifer A. Abruzzo appeared first on KKFI.

In recent years, Missouri voters have bypassed a recalcitrant legislature to take burning issues directly to the voters through the initiative process. That’s how Missourians defeated right to work, raised the minimum wage, and expanded Medicaid. The majority in the legislature hate being bypassed and they’re trying to make it impossible to ever win an […]

The post Searching for Good Bills among the Bad in Jeff City appeared first on KKFI.

What’s it like to be on strike for almost a year? How do you stay hopeful? How do you pay the bills? What do you tell your kids? This week on the Heartland Labor Forum, we’ll interview Haeden Wright, wife of a coal miner for Warrior Met Coal in Alabama and her daughter Avery on […]

The post Warrior Met Coal: How to Survive a Strike and Coal Miner Songs appeared first on KKFI.

Who are the good people who do the bad jobs no one wants, and at what cost? This week on the Heartland Labor Forum, we talk to the author of Dirty Work: Essential Jobs and the Hidden Toll of Inequality in America. Then, has the Biden administration found a renewed interest in enforcing anti-trust regulation? […]

The post Dirty Work: Essential Jobs and the Hidden Toll of Inequality in America and Unchecked Mergers with the Institute for Local Self Reliance appeared first on KKFI.

We recognize and honor the life of Bill Onasch who died last year. Son of a KC meat packing worker, Bill cut his teeth on radical unionism and grew up to be a member, leader and organizer in several unions. He worked tirelessly to grow a labor party in the U.S. His writings circulated widely. […]

The post Remembering Bill Onasch appeared first on KKFI.

Irish immigrant silver miners in Colorado died penniless and were buried in pauper’s graves. This week on the Heartland Labor Forum, we’ll talk to an historian who dug up their stories. Then-did you think that working from home would protect you from your boss’s prying eyes? Think again. The corporate class has new tricks up […]

The post The Leadville Irish Miners Memorial and Workplace Monitoring: Is Your Boss Spying on You? appeared first on KKFI.

Ever notice that the mainstream media rarely put the voices of workers on the air? Well, the Heartland Labor Forum does, and this week in our new union leaders series we’ll talk to Todd Howerton, President of Electrical Workers Local 124. Find out what apprentices and journeyman electricians do and how the union protects them. […]

The post New Union Leaders: IBEW’s Todd Howerton and Firefighters’ Dan Heisman appeared first on KKFI.

As the mainstream media swells fears of inflation, blaming Biden, greedy workers, the supply chain and COVID, on the Heartland Labor Forum we’ll ask economist Richard Wolff what’s the real cause. He says none of the above. Then, Google customer service workers are organizing a union. KC was Google’s first wired city, so it figures […]

The post Who Is to Blame for the Current Inflation? We’ll Ask Richard Wolff and KC Google Workers Organize appeared first on KKFI.

This week on the Heartland Labor Forum, it’s Johnnie Kallas from Cornell University about his new Labor Action Tracker strike map of the US. It will help you see who needs your solidarity. Then, since Ronald Reagan busted the air traffic controllers, employers have knocked themselves out trying to permanently replace strikers. Biden’s National Labor […]

The post Mapping the Current Strike Wave and Replacing Permanent Replacement appeared first on KKFI.

If you’re a wage earner in Kansas City, it’s very likely that you have been a victim of wage theft during your work life. This week on the Heartland Labor Forum, learn how wage theft impacts all of us and how the new KC Wage Theft Ordinance can benefit you. Then, Labor Council President Duke […]

The post KC’s New Wage Theft Ordinance and Duke on Biden appeared first on KKFI.

“Racism in our politics and in our policy making is why all of us can’t have nice things. And by we who can’t have nice things, I mean the white folks, the largest share of the impoverished and the uninsured, and I mean the folks of color who are disproportionately so,” says Heather McGhee, author […]

The post Why Stamping Out Racism Is Good for White People (and everyone else too) Heather McGhee in KC with Terrence and Bridgette from Stand Up KC appeared first on KKFI.

This week on the Heartland Labor Forum, we’ll have another in our new union leaders series. We’ll talk to Kevin Gard, business manager of Cement Masons Local 518. His members do lots of stuff from tilt-up cement walls to the ornamental plastering of the ceiling at Union Station. Then, we hear a lot about the […]

The post New Union Leaders Series: Kevin Gard, Cement Masons & Who’s In the Working Class? appeared first on KKFI.

This week on the Heartland Labor Forum, we’ll talk about two victories for working people. First, pro-worker leftist Gabriel Boric won Sunday’s presidential election in Chile and may finally exorcize the ghost of General Augusto Pinochet in Chile’s extremely anti-labor/anti-democratic constitution. Then, United Autoworker Rank and Filers just approved one man one vote in elections […]

The post Two Victories for Workers: Chilean Workers Can Now Purge the Pinochet Constitution and Autoworkers Vote for Democracy appeared first on KKFI.

Will Santa be late for Christmas? Will his supply chain deficiencies leave your stocking empty? Some want to blame workers who don’t want to work or a global pandemic. On this week’s Heartland Labor Forum, we’ll explore the truth about “Supply Chain Blues” with Richard Wolff. Then we’ll ask American Postal Workers Union president Mark […]

The post Getting There for XMAS: Supply Chain Blues and Will Santa Deliver? appeared first on KKFI.

It’s a hundred years since The Battle of Blair Mountain, the only union organizing attempt where the US government threatened to bomb workers. Hear about it, and find out where the term “red neck” comes from this week on the Heartland Labor Forum. Then, there are new startups in Amazon organizing, an NLRB decision overturning […]

The post Teamsters Vow to Organize Amazon and the Battle of Blair Mountain Centennial appeared first on KKFI.

The Kansas City labor community lost Herb Johnson on October 18th. Herb’s life was a non-stop fight for the rights of working people from his early days with the Machinists at TWA to his last role building the Alliance for Retired Americans. In between, he held the number two post with the Missouri AFL-CIO, fighting […]

The post A Labor Tribute to Herb Johnson (1943-2021) appeared first on KKFI.

Twenty years ago, Transworld Airlines ceased operations, driven into bankruptcy by corporate raider Carl Icahn. The union that represented the thousands of Kansas City TWA maintenance base workers was Machinists Local 1650. Its president and vice president were Herb Johnson and Keith Nelson. Both died recently, and this week on the Heartland Labor Forum, we’ll […]

The post Remembering Herb Johnson & Keith Nelson from the 2011 show on TWA appeared first on KKFI.

Vaccine mandates. Biden and OSHA are for them. Your company may be too, but what about unions and what about you? We’ll ask leaders of the Postal Workers and CWA what’s happening where they work. Then, the education privatizers are using the phony threat of Critical Race Theory to twist the teaching of history into […]

The post Unions and Vaccine Mandates and Is CRT: Turning Parents Against Teachers? appeared first on KKFI.

Can toxic workplace culture contribute to deadly mass shootings? This week on the Heartland Labor Forum, we’ll discuss this year’s deadliest workplace shooting and what unions can do to stop them. Then, when coal miners, factory workers, teachers and nurses all flex their muscles, you get Striketober. Are these strikes just a reaction to the […]

The post Workplace Shootings: One ATU Leader’s Plea for Workplace Mental Health and Remember, Remember Striketober in November? appeared first on KKFI.

There’s a new gang of labor reporters online. They want more justice, more accountability, more power for the people. They’re called More Perfect Union, and this week they’ll be on the Heartland Labor Forum. Also, we’ll ask: after 20 years of the Afghan war, what have we learned? Author, labor lawyer, and peace activist Dan […]

The post More Perfect Union: Labor News and Lessons for Labor from the Afghan War appeared first on KKFI.

How safe is your vote? This week on the Heartland Labor Forum, we talk to Sara Zorich of the Jackson County Election Board about your ballot’s journey from the voting booth to the counting room, rule changes for absentee voting, and other issues. Then, we’ll talk to Adrienne Pine about the book Asylum for Sale: […]

The post Voting in Missouri: The Old Rules Again to Limit Voting and Asylum for Sale – Adrienne Pine’s book on the Asylum Industrial Complex appeared first on KKFI.

The International Brotherhood of Teamsters is facing a new era of leadership and perhaps some sweeping changes. Longtime President James P. Hoffa is retiring and the election for his successor is hotly contested. Find out more this Thursday on the Heartland Labor Forum. Then, the National Labor Relations Board sets the basic rules for union […]

The post Teamsters International: Is the Tide Changing? And Biden’s NLRB appeared first on KKFI.

This week on the Heartland Labor Forum, we mark Indigenous People’s day and pay tribute to our First Nations. Then, we’ll ask why many progressive organizations resist unionization. We’ll get examples around the country, and talk to the United Media Guild’s Shannon Duffy about a situation closer to home. Tune in Thursday at 6pm, rebroadcast […]

We’ve heard a lot from the media about the new KC Airport: its design, its cost, its food choices, but little has been said lately about the workers – more than 900 of them – who are building it. This week on the Heartland Labor Forum, we go out to the airport to talk to […]

This week on the Heartland Labor Forum, meet Bo Moreno, the new Business Manager of IBEW Local 124 whose highly skilled members wire Kansas City. Then, we’ll talk to Tom Gebken, Heartland Labor Forum volunteer and new president of CWA Local 6360. His members connect us in many ways from phones to 911. We’ll ask […]

Workers of the World Unite! Let’s go to the movies. It’s the Workers Unite Film Festival, and this week on the Heartland Labor Forum we’ll hear all about it. Then eleven hundred coal miners have been on strike against Warrior Met since April 1. That’s right – over 5 months. We’ll talk to them and […]

The AFL-CIO has a new president, the first woman – Liz Shuler, who got the job after the death of Richard Trumka. But elections are scheduled for next year, and already there are competing visions. So, it’s a great time to discuss the future of the US labor movement. This week on the Heartland Labor […]

Last year, under pressure from citizens, the city of Kansas City, Missouri conducted a Pay Equity Analysis Report. Did it find that women city workers have equal pay to men? Did it even ask the right questions? Find out this week on the Heartland Labor Forum when we talk to Councilwoman Ryana Parks Shaw and […]

Ed Asner died on August 29th. He was Kansas City born and raised, and he made it big in Hollywood, winning a bundle of Emmys for The Mary Tyler Moore Show and it’s sequel, Lou Grant. Ed was also a union leader. He was President of the Screen Actors Guild in the 1980s. Ed was […]

It’s almost Labor Day, and the volunteers of the Heartland Labor Forum are celebrating by sharing our recommendations of our favorite books about working people. We’ll also share some favorite labor songs and reveal the origins of our theme song, “Step by Step”. Tune in Thursday at 6pm, rebroadcast Friday at 5am.

For years, New York Times labor reporter Steven Greenhouse was one of only a couple left in the US: then, he retired. Turns out, he’s still covering labor, and this week on the Heartland Labor Forum, we’ll talk to him about his book, Beaten Down; Worked Up. Then, we’ll ask Uniting All Workers for Democracy […]

As the workplace changes, so does resistance by workers to increased exploitation. This week on the Heartland Labor Forum, we’ll interview Robert Ovetz on his book on Global Class Struggle: its strategies, tactics and goals. Then, Jesus Chuy Negrete, folklorist, musicologist, radio producer, performer and teacher died in May. This week we’ll play Chuy’s songs […]

They don’t get much notice, but union officers are important leaders of Kansas City’s working class. This week on the Heartland Labor Forum, we’re catching them coming and going. We’ll talk to Michael Bell, Recording Secretary of Laborers Local 264 who is retiring and to Jason Roberts, new President of the Kansas City Federation of […]

The KC Tenants Union fights to keep people housed amidst the pandemic and end of the eviction moratorium. They expose mega corporate slum lords and defend renters from being displaced. They’ll be on the Heartland Labor Forum this week to talk about their campaigns for the mobile home residents being expelled for a new jail, […]

Last week, the Missouri Supreme Court gave a resounding YES to Medicaid Expansion. This week on the Heartland Labor Forum, we’ll ask the lawyers about the decision and when uninsured Missourians can expect to get coverage. We’ll also share some voices from the huge rally earlier this month in Jefferson City targeting Gov. Parson for […]

Wyandotte County is electing a new mayor and there are a lot of contenders for the job. This week on the Heartland Labor Forum, we’ll have highlights from this week’s candidate forum. Then, we’ll have voices from the picket line at Frito Lay in Topeka. Tune in Thursday at 6pm, Rebroadcast Friday at 5am.

Thomas Frank, author of What’s the Matter with Kansas, Listen Liberal, and Pity the Billionaire is in town this month visiting his Dad. He’ll be on the Heartland Labor Forum this week and we’ll ask him, “What’s the matter now, Tom?” We’ll get his take on populism, the Democrats and what the Wuhan lab leak […]

In the past 6 months, Critical Race Theory has been at the front of a media storm of fear and misinformation about the role of racism in our history. This week on the Heartland Labor Forum, we’ll clear up these misconceptions and ask education expert Dr. Denisha Jones what Critical Race Theory is, and what’s behind the […]

First it was five, then it was three, then two, and now the railroad companies want only one worker running an entire train. If they get their way, those one-man trains will be barreling through Kansas City’s numerous rail lines and yards and on across the nation. Find out more this week on the Heartland […]

Jeremy Brecher has written fifteen books on labor and social movements. His best seller, Strike, originally written in 1972, was just updated for its 50th anniversary. We’ll interview him this week on the Heartland Labor Forum. Find out about mass strikes in the US from the Great Railroad Strike of 1877 to recent strikes of […]

When you think of labor leaders, think women. This week on the Heartland Labor Forum, we’ll profile two local women leaders. Alise Martiny leads the KC Building Trades. She’s making sure the airport gets done right. She also knows first-hand the challenges women in construction face on the job. We then flip to the president […]

Once upon a time, you could work for one company your whole adult life, you could make a decent living, and you could buy your piece of the American Dream. Not any more, says Dan McCrory, who started at the phone company in 1973 and has written Capitalism Killed the Middle Class; 25 Ways the […]

As we reopen after a year of COVID, what’s happening to the so-called heroes who do essential work? This week on the Heartland Labor Forum, we’ll look at how we failed essential workers, whether we’re still failing them, and what would have been a better approach. Tune in Thursday at 6pm, rebroadcast Friday at 5am.

The attack on public education is nothing new, but recent legislation coming out of the Missouri Legislature has public school teachers fighting back. This week on the Heartland Labor Forum, we will talk to Jess Piper, a teacher, about the school voucher program and its impact on Missouri education. Then, novelist Eric Lotke tells us about his […]

After over a year of the pandemic and its resulting economic ruin, and as politicians now debate when to kick people off unemployment, isn’t it time to revisit the idea of full employment? This week on the Heartland Labor Forum, we’ll air a forum on labor and a jobs guarantee and hear how the promise […]

Scabby the Rat, the iconic supersized symbol of anti-union employers across America, has been under attack by Trumpers in the NLRB. Find out on this week’s Heartland Labor Forum whether this defender of workers’ rights can escape the trap and continue to shame the union busters. Then, our two minute profile for labor history month […]

KKFI has been discouraging the use of words that dehumanize people in the wake of the Black Lives Matter movement. So what about words like “illegal” and “alien?” This week on the Heartland Labor Forum, we discuss the book A is for Asylum: How We Talk about Immigration. Then, volunteer Tom Gebken interviews our lead […]

Is organized labor up for the fight against climate change? Do climate activists get the importance of transitions to good clean jobs? This week on the Heartland Labor Forum, we celebrate May Day – International Labor Day – and Earth Day with interviews on these key questions with labor and environmental leaders and scholars. We’ll […]

This week on the Heartland Labor Forum, we spend the show with longtime successful organizer Jane McAlevey. We ask her what happened at Amazon, how to defeat the union busters, and what’s the first step a worker here in Kansas City should take if they’re fed up and want a union where they work. McAlevey […]

It’s the last month of this year’s legislative session in Missouri. This week on the Heartland Labor Forum, we’ll talk to Minority Leader Crystal Quade and Senator Barbara Washington about Medicaid Expansion, charter school growth, infrastructure, COVID relief funds, and, of course, the usual attacks on unions. Tune in Thursday at 6pm, rebroadcast Friday at […]

This week on the Heartland Labor Forum, we’ll focus on radical unions. First, we’ll talk to Toni Gilpin about her new book The Long Deep Grudge: A Story of Big Capital, Radical Labor, and Class War in the American Heartland. Then, workers at Google are forming the Alphabet Workers Union, or AWU, organizing regular and […]

Reporters at the Lawrence Journal-World have formed a union. In response, the bosses have hired one of the most expensive anti-labor law firms in the country to handle negotiations. This week on the Heartland Labor Forum, we’ll speak to the reporters union representative, Shannon Duffy, of the United Media Guild and one of the reporters […]

As the legislature considers expanding charter schools, The Heartland Labor Forum will look at the pros and cons of charters. Will they expand beyond St. Louis and Kansas City? What’s their record in academic achievement? Are they good for minority kids? Are they good for teachers? Will they lead to the privatization of public education? […]

Judy Morgan interviews Tammy Queen, the Kansas City Missouri Finance Director about the KCMO earnings tax renewal. She ask how much our sales and property taxes will rise if it’s defeated in the April 6th vote. Then, Mike Stout, author of The Homestead Steel Mill: The Final Ten Years, returns to tell us how to give your union a check-up to see if it’s healthy. Also Know Your Rights with new labor law guru Michael Amash about the Butch Lewis Pension Act

We ask “What difference does a union make?” Prof. Mark Anner talked to union and non-union banana workers in Guatemala, we’ll talk to him. Then - is it David against Goliath? That's what people are calling the effort to unionize the Amazon Warehouse in Bessemer, Alabama. Workers are voting until March 29--hear about how it's going. Episode originally broadcast on March 11, 2021 on KKFI Kansas City Community Radio.

Anne Feeney was the most celebrated singer song writer of the labor movement for the last forty years. This week on the Heartland Labor Forum, we’ll celebrate her life with stories about Anne and her music.

There’s a lot going on in Congress. This week, the Heartland Labor Forum asks Rep. Emmanuel Cleaver where it’s all going. Then, tens of thousands of Indian farmers driving tractors and on foot have converged on New Delhi to reverse new agricultural policies. UMKC economist Sirisha Naidu explains why. Thursday at 6pm, rebroadcast Friday at 5am.

Find out what’s cookin’ in the Missouri and Kansas legislatures. Missouri Representative Wes Rogers and Kansas Senator Tom Holland will provide a menu of good bills and bad affecting working people, Medicaid expansion, and other issues. Tune in Thursday at 6pm, and rebroadcast Friday at 5am and find out if you’re on the menu.

The not-yet-confirmed new Secretary of Labor, Marty Walsh, will be the first in decades to actually come from organized labor. What could that mean for America's workers?. . . And, as the new Biden administration begins to undo Trump’s anti-asylum policies, new Caravans of migrants are already coming from Central America. Why do they come? What changes would let them be able to stay home? And will Biden’s new policies make any difference?

Steelworker Mike Stout chronicles the closing of the famous Homestead Steel Mill in a new book which is a manual for fighting plant closings. Martin Luther King called the Reverend James Lawson “The leading theorist and strategist of a non-violent world” Lawson called himself “a Jesus-oriented activist.” Historian Michael Honey made a film called Love and Solidarity: about Lawson’s Search for Workers Rights.

Kansas City native Thomas Frank, author of What’s the Matter with Kansas, has a new book about American populism and the long trail of elites who hate it. It’s called The People. . .NO! A Brief History of Anti-populism. Find out why pundits called Donald Trump a populist and why he’s nothing of the kind. We’ve got Tom Frank for the whole show this week on the Heartland Labor Forum.

“History isn't made by kings and politicians, it is made by us.” So say the people who wrote Working Class History: Everyday Acts of Resistance and Rebellion. This week on the Heartland Labor Forum, we’ll hear untold stories of working class people who changed history. Then, we’ll find out who is making history in Milan, Missouri, where the Rural Community Workers Alliance is organizing and defending the immigrant workers who process pork for Smithfield

Exhausted hospital and healthcare workers continue to be in the front lines fighting COVID-19. This week on the Heartland Labor Forum, join healthcare workers and Tim Sheard, a nurse turned mystery novelist, as they attempt to find out what solidarity has to do with defeating COVID.

One would think that during a pandemic workers who stock the grocery shelves, cook our take-out orders, and process our meat would at least get paid sick leave to get well or care for a sick family member. But most don’t, and many come to work sick. Isn’t it time workers had paid leave? They just passed it in Colorado. Why not here?

This week’s Heartland Labor Forum is on New Year's Eve. Our volunteer producers are picking short clips of our favorite interviews to air as we bid good riddance to the hardest year for working people since 1933. Workers contended with eternal shifts in hospitals and nursing homes, pervasive fear of Covid, mass unemployment, eviction. Yet many made lemonade by organizing, writing postcards to voters, phone banking and demonstrating against killer police. Tune in Thursday for a review of 2020 at work and a look at what’s to come.

It’s almost Christmas Eve, and Santa is loading the sled with toys. But, hark! The elves are on strike and will tell all on the Heartland Labor Forum about what really goes on in Santa’s workshop. Tune in to find out the naughty and nice about toy makers. And that’s not all: we’ll celebrate labor with some great holiday song parodies.

After all the alarm about votes lost in the mail, we’ll ask Andy Tuttle, Kansas State President of the union of Letter Carriers, if all the votes got delivered and what’s the next crisis for the US Postal Service. Then - it’s been widely reported that women workers are big losers in the COVID catastrophe. We’ll find out how bad it is, and how hard it will be to recapture lost jobs and careers from Nicole Bateman of the Brookings Institution.

First, he was an electrician. Next, he served in the Missouri House and Senate. Now Jake Hummel is President of the Missouri AFL-CIO. This week, we’ll find out what’s in store for Missouri’s working people in 2021. Then - the Protecting the Right to Organize or PRO Act promises to reform labor law, but does it stand a chance in the new Congress? We'll talk to Margaret Poydock from the Economic Policy Institute about what the law could do for workers and the labor movement overall.

Who were the Europeans at the first Thanksgiving? Were they Pilgrims or colonizers? Were they religious Freedom Riders or Religious Tyrants? And what about the myth of the welcoming soon-to-be dead Indians? Tune in to the Heartland Labor Forum after your Thanksgiving Feast to play Two Truths and a Lie about this holiday.

While labor is celebrating Joe Biden’s win, the election results in Kansas and Missouri are a disaster for the working class. This week, we’ll do some analysis of the results in our two states and then ask what role unions played in the national vote and how some unions boosted voter turnout. We’ll talk to reporters from Labor Notes about it.

Almost a decade ago, Democracy Now!’s Juan Gonzalez published his path breaking book, Harvest of Empire. This week on the Heartland Labor Forum, we’ll update it on how US imperialism continues to uproot people, forcing migration and how that has impacted the Latino vote. Then, we’ll talk with activist, poet, model and musician, Eleanor Goldfield, about her award-winning new documentary film, The Hard Road of Hope about West Virginia miners and their ongoing struggle with greedy bosses.

As companies downsize in a bad economy, workers on temporary furloughs are being fired. This week on the Heartland Labor Forum, we talk to Jim Kolve, coordinator of the Missouri AFL-CIO Dislocated Worker Program about options for new employment. Then - maybe we should just all work less. We’ll hear how from Alex Soojung Kim Pang, author of Shorter: Work Better, Smarter, and Less.

Wine and aspirin sales are skyrocketing for parents. What's to blame? This week on the Heartland Labor Forum, we’ll sing the "Virtual School Blues". Then, what? A political party based on worker rights and fair wages for all? We’ll talk to Mark Dudzic, who was a major leader of the Labor Party that almost was.

It’s all politics. First we’ve got some candidates for the Kansas legislature who are in hot races. We’ll ask them questions important to the working class. We’ll hear from Sen. Tom Holland, Rep. Willie Dove, Sen Anthony Hensley, Rep. Stan Frownfelter, Candidates Linda Featherston and Rashard Young. Then why are Missouri voters being asked to overturn an initiative they passed overwhelmingly two years ago and cut children and immigrants out from being counted for representation? Find out what Amendment 3 is really all about. And KKFI is just ending its fall pledge drive. Please make a donation to show your support for labor and community radio. Call us at 888-931-0901 or online at kkfi.org.

What’s the world going to look like after the pandemic? This week on the Heartland Labor Forum, we’ll have a roundtable panel discussion with economists, labor and business leaders and we’ll imagine a post-COVID future. And, KKFI is having it’s fall pledge drive. Please make a donation to show your support for labor radio. Call us at 888-931-0901 or online at kkfi.org.

We hear from candidates in seven races for the Missouri General Assembly. We’ll ask them how they stand on key issues for working people like minimum wage, unemployment, health care, gerrymandering, union rights, education, and Black Lives Matter. We won’t endorse, but we will inform. #laborradiopod

How did politicians get obsessed with saving the middle class, and when did middle class become just white guys while the economy increasingly failed to work for the diverse working class? This week on the Heartland Labor Forum, we talk to KU historian David Roediger, who explains in his new book, The Sinking Middle Class. Then, we’ll pay homage to the most iconic woman leader in labor history and talk to labor historian Rosemary Feurer, who is inviting you to help spread the legacy of Mother Jones.

When workers at nonprofit organizations unionize, they often get grudging acceptance from their bosses, and sometimes they face union busting. This week on the Heartland Labor Forum, we’ll talk to two organizers of unions that represent non-profits and find out more about what’s going on at the Kansas ACLU. Then, we’ll discuss the impacts of COVID-19-related budget cuts to the Children’s Division of the Missouri Department of Social Services with a frontline worker.

We welcome back John Boyd, a leading attorney for labor. We'll talk about what’s at stake for working people in this election year. Then, KC Tenants and its leader, Tara Raghuveer, are making national news fighting evictions and standing up for housing justice. Can’t pay the rent? Learn how you can avoid eviction during the pandemic.

Since the pandemic began, Cuba has had only 88 deaths from COVID-19. Their doctors have been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize. This week on the Heartland Labor Forum, we’ll ask Missouri author Don Fitz about Cuba’s international medical solidarity. Then it’s been bad news for workers since Eugene Scalia, son of Antonin, became Secretary of Labor. Find out from a union leader what he’s done to OSHA and Wage and Hour enforcement.

The new head of the post office, Louis DeJoy, told Congress last week that despite the predicted dramatic increase in mail voting, elections won’t be a problem for the starved and crisis-ridden USPS. Mail delays, however, are already reported around the country. This week on the Heartland Labor Forum, we’ll talk to the presidents of three area postal unions to find out what’s going on here and also ask if there’s a plot to privatize the US mail. Tune in Thursday at 6pm, rebroadcast Friday at 5am. #laborradiopod #LaborHistory

Shut up and dribble. Shut up and play! Millionaires don't have the right to speak! Do we believe in the "I'm not black, I'm O.J." sentiment when it comes to the professional athlete? Are professional athletes hurting or helping social justice movements? This week on the Heartland Labor Forum, we'll ask former NFL player and players association employee Nolan Harrison, Dr. Shawn Alexander, professor of African and African American Studies at KU, and KU professor Dr. Francis Kish. Tune in Thursday at 6pm, rebroadcast Friday at 5am. #laborradiopod #LaborHistory

This week on the Heartland Labor Forum, we’re celebrating a hundred years since some women won the right to vote. What can we learn from that struggle for today’s fights, what it's going to take to get women into the Constitution by passing the Equal Rights Amendment, and why should working women care? We’ll talk to Erica Benson from Project 28 MO fighting to get Missouri to ratify the ERA.

This week on the Heartland Labor Forum, we talk to Communications Workers Union District 6 VP Claude Cummins, who also heads the union’s nationwide Human Rights department. We’ll find out how you do all that during a pandemic with large scale unemployment. Then, we’re going international to talk to historian Jeffrey L. Gould about his book, El Salvador: Solidarity Under Siege, on the rise and the fall of the militant Salvadorian labor movement. Tune in Thursday at 6pm, rebroadcast Friday at 5am.

This week on the Heartland Labor Forum: Are we going back to school? How? Will it be virtual or in person? What are teachers saying about how safe it is? We’ll talk to Kansas City Federation of Teachers’ union president Andrea Flinders, the principal from Kipp Charter School and others. Tune in Thursday at 6pm, rebroadcast Friday at 5am.

Planning a road trip? Want to learn if your travels may take you near some of Labor’s Sacred Places? This week on the Heartland Labor Forum, we talk to Saul Schneiderman, who has assembled a guide to America’s labor landmarks. Then, Trump is proposing massive changes to rules for asylum which would make it almost impossible for desperate people fleeing persecution to gain entry into the U.S. Tune in Thursday at 6pm, rebroadcast Friday at 5am when we talk to local immigration attorney Clare Murphy Shaw about the possible impact.

This week on the Heartland Labor Forum, we’ll profile a hero, a woman who fought for indigenous rights, the environment and democracy. We talk to Guardian reporter Nina Lakhani about her new book Who Killed Berta Caceres; Dams, Death Squads and an Indigenous Defender’s Battle for the Planet. Then, what’s a professor to do in the midst of massive budget cuts, wage cuts, and having to teach in a pandemic? We’ll talk to UMKC faculty about the crisis.

If our local healthcare workers are essential, why are their bosses trampling on their rights as workers? We interview hospital workers from two hospitals; one where they're organizing a union; the other where they're bargaining the contract. Then: Amendment 2 on the August 4th Missouri ballot can bring healthcare to 300,000 Missourians by expanding Medicaid. Is it a good deal?

Cuba is world famous for its healthcare system and for sending doctors to poor countries around the world. This week on the Heartland Labor Forum, we’ll talk to Missouri author and journalist Don Fitz about his new book on Cuban healthcare and how its fighting COVID-19. Then- since eating is an essential activity, so are […]

This week on the Heartland Labor Forum, we ask an organizer and a lawyer: are Smithfield and other meat and poultry plants a danger to their workers and the public? Then, as debate in the labor movement rises over the power of police unions, we ask esteemed writer/activist Bill Fletcher why he says, “it’s not […]

Join us Thursday, June 18, at 6:00 PM on the Heartland Labor Forum as we learn if the state budget cuts imposed by the COVID-19 virus shortfalls in Missouri and Kansas will return us to the soup lines of the 1930’s. Our show No Money, Not Funny, intends to ask the age old questions of […]

This week on the Heartland Labor Forum, we’ll talk to Ray Brescia, author of The Future of Change; How Technology Shapes Social Revolutions. We’ll ask him about how communications technology is shaping the Black Lives Matter movement. Then, Kansas Secretary of Labor Delia Garcia inherited an antiquated unemployment system just as jobless claims skyrocketed. We’ll […]

The federal deficit has shot up like a SpaceX rocket because of Trump’s tax cuts and the COVID-19 Recession. Does it matter? And what happened to all the Deficit Hawks who used to predict doom? This week on the Heartland Labor Forum, we’ll ask UMKC economist Matt Forstater. Then, we talk to GS Griffin about […]

This week on the Heartland Labor Forum: As COVID-19 cases go up in the U.S., we’ll look at Cuba with journalist Reed Lindsay for a different take on how to fight a pandemic. Then, when and how did the working class drop out of mainstream news coverage? The answer will surprise you as we talk […]

This week on the Heartland Labor Forum, we explore a new book called Politics of the Pantry which tells the history of protest of the high cost of food by working- and middle-class American housewives. Now that our food chain is in danger, will we see a resurgence of food activism? Then, labor activist Jessica […]

Who is tending our crops during the pandemic? This week on the Heartland Labor Forum, we talk to Baldemar Velazquez of FLOC, the Farm Labor Organizing Committee. Then, what happens when you lock down a country where most people earn their living day-by-day and there’s no social safety net? Honduras: COVID-19 in a narco-state – […]

We’re celebrating May Day from Quarantine by remembering labor’s struggle and the extraordinary contributions of some ordinary folks who led us. Then, we’ll do a primer on the FFCRA – the Families First Coronavirus Response Act. That’s the law which is supposed to provide for paid leave during the pandemic.

How do you rig an election? This week on the Heartland Labor Forum, we investigate the playbook for voter suppression with activist William Waheed and Mac Heller, producer of the new documentary Rigged about the 2016 election. We’ll also get a primer on the Families First Coronavirus Response Act. That’s the law which is supposed […]

Since she retired as a union rep for the teachers union, Pat Jones Maclin has built bridges between organized labor in Kansas City and the Black community, working to overcome years of racism. She’ll tell her story this week on the Heartland Labor Forum. Then, what do you do for health insurance now that you’re […]

Opponents of Medicare for All say it would be inferior to union negotiated health care plans. Tune in to the Heartland Labor Forum this week to find out if Medicare for All is actually a Cadillac health care plan, better even than healthcare plans enjoyed by the highest paid union workers. Then we’ll talk to […]

Giving corporate developers your tax dollars has long been a controversial issue in the Metro. This week on the Heartland Labor Forum, we’ll talk with members of the League of Women Voters, which has just released a comprehensive study of property tax abatements in Kansas City, MO. The study includes ten recommendations for assuring that […]

It’s 55 years since 600 voting rights marchers attempted to cross the Edmund Pettis Bridge in Selma Alabama on their way to Montgomery 50 miles away. They were brutally beaten by state troopers. Heartland Labor Forum and thousands of people went to the anniversary to reaffirm the right to vote. We’ll hear Selma author and activist […]

A private for profit company named Vision Quest is seeking a zoning change to set up a jail for immigrant youth whose only crime is coming to America, and immigrant rights groups say, “Not in our town.” Hear about it this week on the Heartland Labor Forum. Then: can you define socialism? We bet you […]

The federal government is investigating TEH Realty, but it’s the organized KC Tenants who exposed the foreign company and its infested apartments. Hear the story this week on the Heartland Labor Forum. Then, the Kansas legislature is cooking up some bad bills for workers. We’ll talk to two labor activists who are fighting back. Tune […]

Kansas City Mayor Lucas and the City Council want to make KC the first large city with free buses. This week on the Heartland Labor Forum, we’ll find out how much it will cost, how it will be implemented and some of the hopes and fears for the project. We’ll talk to Area Transportation Authority […]

It’s one of the most common crimes in the U.S. today. Its victims lose more to this kind of theft than robbery, burglary, auto theft, and larceny combined, yet government spends less to protect us from it than all other crimes. What’s the crime? Wage theft, and we’ll have two lawyers to talk about it […]

Work teams, team concept, employee involvement are now over 30 years old and not as controversial as they were initially. But despite this, workers still ask, “Are we all on the same team?” “Do teams undercut the union, the grievance procedure?” “Whose interest do they serve?” Join us this week on the Heartland Labor Forum […]

The Employee Benefits Security Administration, or EBSA enforces your pension rights and employer-based health plans under ERISA – the Employee Retirement Income Security Act. They do a lot more, too, that can help protect you. This week on the Heartland Labor Forum, we’ll do a primer on EBSA. Tune in Thursday at 6:00PM, rebroadcast Friday […]

Very few newspapers have labor reporters any more, but these days there’s a proliferation of podcasts and blogs on the internet. This week on the Heartland Labor Forum, we’ll find out about a website called organizing dot work. Then, Clarence Brown led UAW Local 31 in their forty day strike against GM here in Kansas […]

Last year saw a record number of strikes in this century. Are American workers experiencing an inspired new militancy, or have even the most timid reached a breaking point? Tune in to the Heartland Labor Forum to find out if the strike weapon is back. Then, as we celebrate our football team, let’s not forget […]

Recently, workers in France and Colombia have shut down their economies when confronted with pension reforms, which attacked their livelihoods. Tune in Thursday to the Heartland Labor Forum to hear from union leaders in both countries about why they’re in the streets and what’s a general strike. Thursday at 6pm, rebroadcast Friday at 5am.

The Missouri and Kansas legislative sessions begin this week and next. The Heartland Labor Forum usually anticipates them with dread. Thursday, we’ll find out from Rep. Judy Morgan for Missouri, and for Kansas, Rabbi Moti Reiber of Kansas Interfaith Action, about what bills are lurking in the halls of Topeka and Jefferson City. Could any […]

You hear a lot of critiques of the economic system we live in on the Heartland Labor Forum. Well, this week we’ll talk about alternatives with Ted Howard, coauthor of The Making of a Democratic Economy. How do we get to economic justice? Then, what does the past tell us about the present? We’ll talk […]

The word neoliberalism gets tossed around, but do you really know where it comes from and what it means? This week on the Heartland Labor Forum, we talk to UMKC economist Sirisha Naidu on neoliberalism. What she has to say may surprise you. Then, we’ll find out how workers are controlling the means of production […]

Roofing is a tough, dangerous job that takes skill. If you don’t have a union, it’s brutal. This week on the Heartland Labor Forum we’ll talk to Kevin King, Business Manager of Roofers Union Local 20. They’re celebrating 100 years as a union. Then we’ll find out how our youth can find good jobs in […]

The Chicago Teachers Union is a leader in today’s labor movement, not just in bargaining for the common good in education, but also showing the country that unions play a key role in fighting back against cuts in public services and in countering the attack on the working class. Tune in to the Heartland Labor […]

Do you think the Supreme Court’s 2018 anti-worker Janus Decision killed public sector unions? Nope. Think again. They have survived, and this week on the Heartland Labor Forum, we give thanks to our unions for fighting back. Also, thanks to the International Labor Communications Association for again awarding us first prize in radio for the […]

This week on the Heartland Labor Forum, we’ll look at what happens to American workers when the company is owned by foreigners. We’ll talk to filmmakers Julia Reichert and Steven Bognar and to UMKC economist Zhongjin Li about the film American Factory about the workers and management at a Chinese owned factory in Ohio. We’ll […]

Last month, the Heartland Labor Forum looked into the Trump administration’s disappearing act on poor people. This week on the show, we’ll explain the statistical trick they want to use to erase them from programs like food stamps. And, we’ll find out about the proposed Tenant Bill of Rights and talk to someone from KC […]

This week on the Heartland Labor Forum, we’ll look at current contract fights. First, it’s auto – what did GM workers get? Will Ford workers take less? Then, the Metropolitan Community College Board is imposing a wage settlement that the faculty union hasn’t agreed to. This is unprecedented, they say. Tune in Thursday at 6pm, […]

This week on the Heartland Labor Forum, we’ll do a primer on Medicare for All. We’ll ask Dr. Anand Bhat how it would work, whether taxes will go up, if there are hidden costs, and if, as a number of candidates for President say, employer paid health insurance is better, and if we have it, […]

The Trump Administration wants to redefine who is poor. Experts say they want to disappear the poor. Find out about it this week on the Heartland Labor Forum. Then, Mark Muro of the Brookings Institute will talk to us about wealth work – that’s the growing number of jobs in what’s called the “new servant […]

This week on the Heartland Labor Forum: trucking safety impacts all of America’s motoring public. Will the Department of Transportation’s new proposed changes in hours of service rules improve safety or is it to improve trucking company profits? Is there a tradeoff between the two? Tune in Thursday at 6pm, rebroadcast at 5am.

This week on the Heartland Labor Forum, we’ll ask what’s Trump is up to with his apprenticeship proposal. We’ll find out from a union leader who knows what a real apprenticeship looks like. Then, we ask if the U.S. Constitution can stand up to a presidency that’s out of control and unaccountable to Congress or […]

This week on the Heartland Labor Forum, we’ll talk about impeachment. Prof. Max Skidmore will explain the constitution and law on it and we’ll take your call-ins and questions. Two unions have endorsed impeachment, should more do so? Is impeaching Trump good for workers? We want to hear from you so tune in and call […]

What would happen to a school teacher who thinks she has the answer to the world’s problems and starts teaching in parks and on street corners, and people stop to listen and like what they hear? This week on the Heartland Labor Forum, we present a radio play about such a teacher. Tune in to […]

Thinking of taking a cruise? Ever wonder about the hours the staff works or their pay? This week on the Heartland Labor Forum, we’ll find out from the International Transport Federation about the good ships and the bad. Then, there’s a new bill in Congress called the PRO Act that would radically improve our right […]

This week on the Heartland Labor Forum, it’s 38 days and counting that the Blackjewell coal miners of Harlan County Kentucky are occupying the tracks saying “No Pay, We Stay!” We’ll get their story. Then, It’s almost 40 years since Ronald Reagan fired over 11,000 striking professional air traffic controllers. What are the lessons of […]

This week on the Heartland Labor Forum, we’re going to cover some labor news – most of it local that you hear little about anywhere else. Then, we preview Kansas’s first Troublemakers School, training worker activists in how to be effective hell raisers. You may even find out which Kansas City icon corporation just fired […]

Heartland Labor Forum is Kansas City’s only program about the workplace. It is produced by and for our working people. We have been agitating on the air since 1989. Find out who is busting unions and who is fighting back.

The Green New Deal promises environmental transformation and jobs, but the AFL-CIO and energy unions fear lost jobs and only empty promises of a just transition. We’ll explore these issues this week on the Heartland Labor Forum. Then, civil rights legacy Fannie Lou Hamer said she was tired of being sick and tired her whole […]

The Missouri Legislative has wrapped-up its work for the year. This week on the Heartland Labor Forum, we’ll ask legislators what happened for the working people of the state. Then, we talk to David Sickler, who started out working on an assembly line at Coors Brewery, and went on to lead breakthrough campaigns that transformed […]

What do you know about bananas? This week on the Heartland Labor Forum, listen to author Peter Chapman peel the layers of corruption and ruthlessness to reveal the origins of Chiquita, the infamous United Fruit Company. Then, Zac Mueller and Diana Martinez discuss the racist history of US immigration policy. They say it’s not just about […]

Kansas has a new Secretary of Labor. She’s Delia Garcia, the first Latina to serve in a Cabinet post. We’ll get to know her this week on the Heartland Labor Forum. Then, the city of Kansas City, Missouri is about …

This week on the Heartland Labor Forum, we explore our radical and socialist roots. Eugene Debs: American Socialist is a new movie-we’ll talk to the film maker. Then, Herb and Jane March came to Kansas City as young communists during …

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Much has been written about the Trump tax cuts and their effects on the federal budget, as well as the economy, but what is less known is how those tax changes have affected the budgets of States, whose tax laws …

One-man trains are not a dystopian nightmare; they’re the near future. This week on the Heartland Labor Forum, we interview Bruce Campbell on his new book on a one-man train disaster: The Lac-Mégantic Rail Disaster: Public Betrayal, Justice Denied. Then, …

We’re celebrating Heartland Labor Forum’s 30th Anniversary this week on air with something old and something new. The old is our first show: it’s about the Eastern Airlines Strike 30 years ago. The new is a talk with railway workers …

Last month, teachers met in El Paso to demand an end to child detention. This week on the Heartland Labor Forum, we’ll hear about their teach-in at the border – a teach-in for freedom. Find out how US policies are …

Before last year, pundits had declared the strike to be dead. You couldn’t win, they said, and added that unions would soon die, too. Wrong! Guess who has revived the strike and is giving us lessons on how to win? …

This week on the Heartland Labor Forum, we’ve got the last of our interviews of mayoral candidates, this time with Phil Glynn, who thinks the mayor’s projects need to start with grassroots consensus. Then, we’ll talk to Cecelia Belser Patton …

Sorry to Bother You may have been snubbed at the Oscars, but not on the Heartland Labor Forum. This magical social satire is about a white collar worker uprising, and it’s too important to ignore. Then: what do you call …

This week on the Heartland Labor Forum, we will bring you another interview with a candidate for mayor. This time it is Henry Klein. He’s a banker who chairs Habitat for Humanity and thinks KC needs a new kind of leadership. Then, we talk to Al Bradbury from Labor Notes about their new pamphlet, Rebuilding […]

This week on the Heartland Labor Forum, we’ll have another candidate for Mayor: Steve Miller, a construction lawyer who says it’s all about connections like transportation, infrastructure and neighborhoods. Then, unions are intended to level the playing field with the …

This week on the Heartland Labor Forum: Medea Benjamin is speaking February 16th for KKFI, we’ll give you a preview and ask her why the U.S. has made Iran one of its primary antagonists, and also, why now Venezuela? Also, …

This week on the Heartland Labor Forum, we’ll look at what’s in store for workers in the 2019 Missouri and Kansas legislature sessions. Will Missouri continue with unpopular bills that the people will overrule? Will Kansas expand Medicaid or reinstate …

Cuba gets demonized all the time by Republicans and Democrats alike, but 95% of Cuban workers voluntarily belong to unions, and women get a year of paid maternity leave. Find out more about Cuban workers this week on the Heartland …

This week on the Heartland Labor Forum, we’ll have another in our series of talks with candidates for Mayor of Kansas City. We want to ask each of them their plan to make KC a city that works for its …

This week on the Heartland Labor Forum, we’ll hear about a labor classic from 1969, The Ink Truck, an award-winning first novel by William Kennedy which recounts the doomed efforts of Bailey, a former newspaper columnist who leads four other workers …

Trump claims his new NAFTA will stop companies from moving to Mexico. This week on the Heartland Labor Forum, we’ll look at what companies like Oreo Cookies gained from their move from Chicago to Monterrey and ask why the AFL-CIO …

Amid all the talk of walls and caravans, few ask why families are fleeing Honduras. This week on the Heartland Labor Forum, we talk to labor historian Dana Frank on her new book: The Long Honduran Night. Then, Barry Eidlin’s …

An answer to budget-strapped school districts? Listen to education activists talk about public schools called community schools this week on the Heartland Labor Forum. Tune in Thursday at 6pm, rebroadcast Friday at 5am.

Last week, politicians were able to officially file their campaigns for mayor. This week on the Heartland Labor Forum, we dive right in to discuss with candidates the most pressing issues for working people in Kansas City today. Tune in …

Earlier this year, the Missouri legislature passed a bill aimed at gagging and crippling the unions that represent public employees at the state and local level. This week on the Heartland Labor Forum, we’ll talk to attorney John Boyd on …

All we ever hear from the corporate media since 2000 is negative about the government of Venezuela. This week on the Heartland labor Forum, we’ll get the other side of the story from an American professor who teaches there. Then, …

Your Thanksgiving turkey may have had no rights, but thanks to Missouri voters last August, workers didn’t get served up for dinner. The Thanksgiving edition of Heartland Labor Forum will give thanks for the defeat of Proposition A – so-called …

If there was a blue wave in last week’s elections, it missed Missouri’s Democratic candidates. This week on the Heartland Labor Forum we talk to Rep. DaRon McGee about prospects for working people in the Missouri legislature in 2019. Will …

It’s over a month now that Marriott workers from Boston to Honolulu have been on strike. They say “one job should be enough,” but many have to work more because of low wages. This week on the Heartland Labor Forum, …

Two ballot initiatives in the November 6th election in Missouri affect our democracy and economy. This week on the Heartland Labor Forum, we’ll explore Amendment 1 CLEAN Missouri, which limits campaign and lobbying donations to the state legislature and how …

We’ll ask economist Richard Wolff how the economy is doing. Is it blowing bubbles? Then railway workers belong to a bunch of different unions. Their disunity costs them at the bargaining table. Now there’s a movement of rank and filers …

This week on the Heartland Labor Forum, we’ll do two different takes on the undoing of the American working class. First, Sweat: a play about rustbelt America which opens this week at the Unicorn; then, The Fall of Wisconsin, a book …

This week on the Heartland Labor Forum, we’ll ask: Is work as we know it disappearing as the middle class gets squeezed, and then gigged? We talk to two authors about two books Squeezed: Why Our Families Can’t Afford America …

This week on the Heartland Labor Forum, we’ll hear local Kansas City Missouri Middle School students discuss the history of child labor and what it means for students today. Then, longtime labor guru Bill Fletcher Jr. talks about his new …

The workplace depends on the willingness of the worker to follow the rules and comply with orders. This week on the Heartland Labor Forum we’ll explore the Psychology of Obedience. Then a hundred thirteen years after its founding, the Industrial …

Last month, Missouri labor and its allies shocked the nation with a 2-1 vote on Proposition A, repealing the right to work law passed by the legislature. How did they do it, and what lessons does this victory teach us? …

Have you seen the movie BlacKKKlansman, about a black police officer who infiltrated the Ku Klux Klan forty years ago? This week on the Heartland Labor Forum, we’ll take a look under the hood, talk about the true story and …

Cities around the country are befuddled by what to do with a flood of electronic scooters in the streets. Are they safe? Do they create good jobs? Tune in to the Heartland Labor Forum this week to find out. T …

Think the Supreme Court’s anti-worker Janus decision will kill public sector unions? Think again. This week on the Heartland Labor Forum, we’ll air voices of resistance from the American Federation of Teachers national convention and others. How are unions facing …

We’re celebrating Women’s Equality Week on the Heartland Labor Forum with an interview with National Organization for Women’s president Toni Van Pelt. We’ll ask her about how the ongoing conspiracy to suppress our right to vote particularly impacts women. Then, …

This week on the Heartland Labor Forum, it’s Trump’s Federal Remix: A New Department of Child Labor and a Private Postal Service? We’ll talk to union leaders from the departments of labor and education to learn about their shotgun wedding; …

This week on the Heartland Labor Forum, frequent guest, Professor Chuck Ross joins the show again as the football season nears. Will the anthem policy hold? Will Trump’s fight with black athletes boil over? Then, Kansas City, Missouri is giving …

This week on The Heartland Labor Forum, we’ll preview KKFI’s upcoming conference Kicking the Koch Habit and Expanding Democracy for All. We’ll be joined by Nancy MacLean, author of Democracy in Chains; The Deep History of the Radical Right’s Stealth …

Missourians go to the polls August 7th to vote on two initiatives that are important to working people. Question 1 for Kansas City about rental property inspections and Question A for Missourians, also known as Right to work. We’ll replay …

Many people think that getting young workers to think or care about retirement is impossible. This week on the Heartland Labor Forum, we’ll do a pension primer for young workers. Then, we talk to Communications Workers Local 6450 President Sarah Harreus …

Buster Brown – alias UPS – and the International Brotherhood of Teamsters have a tentative agreement on the biggest contract since the ’97 strike. Will they end two tier? Will they convert more part timers into full time? Will they …

Candidate Trump said NAFTA was the worst trade agreement ever and promised to fix it and bring the jobs back to the USA. This week on the Heartland Labor Forum, we’ll find out from the Citizen’s Trade Campaign just what …

This week on the Heartland Labor Forum, we explore our disappearing right to vote with Kansas ACLU Executive Director Micah Kubic. Then we ask, “Would you knowingly break a law if you thought it was unjust?” We’ll meet three people …

This week on the Heartland Labor Forum, we talk to two authors. First, what are choke points and how can logistics workers use them to build global worker power? We’ll find out from Choke Points co-author Jake Alimahomed-Wilson. Then, hear …

This week on the Heartland Labor Forum, we take a look at Trumpism in Latin America. Has our policy changed much since Obama? How are workers faring? We’ll look at Mexico and Honduras and ask about elections, whether they were …

This week on the Heartland Labor Forum, we’ll take you to Quindaro, which made Kansas City Kansas a gateway to freedom. It was the next to last stop on the underground railroad. Then, meet the Heartland Labor Forum feature writers: …

There’s a hot race for State Senate in the Northland. It’s Lauren Arthur vs Kevin Corlew, and they’ll be with us this week on the Heartland Labor Forum. Also, in Raytown there’s a tiff over TIF – that’s the Wal-Mart …

This week on the Heartland Labor Forum, we’ll look at Missouri lawmakers’ relentless attempts to assassinate our labor rights and our battle to save them. Representative Judy Morgan will detail the assaults in the legislative session. Then, we’ll discuss the …

This week on the Heartland Labor Forum, we look at upcoming changes in how people in Kansas City get around. What’s the latest on naming something after Martin Luther King? What is bus rapid transit? Will streetcar expansion be good …

The Inaugural Workers Revival Fest kicks off May 11 and 12 at the recordBar – two days of music, art and workshops celebrating working people. On this week’s Heartland Labor Forum, we’ll ask the organizers how the fest came to …

We’ve heard that unemployment is really low, but where are the pockets of jobless workers? This week on the Heartland Labor Forum, we’ll talk with Jacqueline Midkiff from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Then, in his latest book, Gerald Horne …

This week on the Heartland Labor Forum, we hear about an amazing labor hero from the past from author Jacqueline Jones, talking about her book Goddess of Anarchy — The Life and Times of Lucy Parsons, American Radical. Then, the …

Two weeks ago more than 2,500 grassroots labor activists, “worker center” leaders, union members, union officers, and community activists gathered in Chicago for the semi-annual Labor Notes Conference. This week on the Heartland Labor Forum we’ll bring you some highlights. …

We’ll ask if the new airport is ready for lift off after it’s bumpy start. What are the challenges, obstacles and opportunities that come with such a complicated and expensive project, from finance to construction? Then, Republicans are again trying …

Don’t miss a very special Heartland Labor Forum this week called “Lives on the Line – Stories of Survival, Grit and Determination” as told by low wage workers about their lives. Excerpts of this co-production of Standup KC and the …

When Harley Davidson announced the shutdown of its Kansas City plant, they blamed declining motorcycle sales. Is that it? We’ll ask the two union presidents if there’s more to the story this week on the Heartland Labor Forum. Then, March …

We’ve heard a lot lately about arming teachers to protect our schools. Is this a good idea or a really bad idea? On this week’s Heartland Labor Forum, we’ll ask a panel of teachers from the Kansas City area what …

Some Missouri GOP officials want to gut prevailing wage laws. This week on the Heartland Labor Forum, we’ll ask why they’re important for contractors, workers and the economy. Then, we talk to Brandon Weber about his new book, Class War …

You don’t have to be a rocket scientist to figure out that cutting state university budgets is bad for faculty, staff and students, but this week on the Heartland Labor Forum, a rocket scientist from KU will give his simple …

Is it Charter Smarter or Charter Schmarter? This week on the Heartland Labor Forum, we ask: shouldn’t we give charter schools more scrutiny before we expand them in Missouri? Then, Summit Theatre Group is performing the Triangle Fire Project with …

When you watch TV or go to a play, or the symphony or to Starlight, do you ever wonder what the working conditions are for the people who put on the show? Who has a union and who doesn’t, and …

Today’s analysts and commentators describe Britain as being nearly in a state of civil war over Brexit. Will Britain be able to hold it together in these turbulent times, and what will be the impact on British workers? Find out …

This week on the Heartland Labor Forum, we’ll take a look at Dollar General. Its CEO is betting on increased income inequality to make him billions. During the last year of his life, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. put justice …

This week on the Heartland Labor Forum, we’ll talk to authors of two books: Black Detroit A History of Self-Determination by Herb Boyd, who will discuss the impact the labor movement had on the rise of the black middle class. …

This week on the Heartland Labor Forum, we will explore the term “going postal.” But violence at work is not limited to postal workers. We’ll interview Jeremy Milloy about his new book Blood, Sweat and Fear: Violence in the Auto …

This week on the Heartland Labor Forum, we’ll explore the secret history and moral cost of the iPhone, its global supply chain and why it’s called the one device. Then: after too many instances of sexual attack and harassment, Chicago …

Join us this week on the Heartland Labor Forum for revolutionary poet, musician and citizen journalist Eleanor Goldfield, who will discuss NAFTA, worker’s rights, fighting the man and the power of art to change the world. Then–Missouri, Kansas and other …

Before you click on Amazon.com to find the perfect gifts this holiday season, tune in to the Heartland Labor Forum to find out how poor working conditions, unfair competition and billions in tax incentives have made Amazon the “Wal-Mart of …

This week on the Heartland Labor Forum, we ask: what exactly is a “green job” and how do we move our economies and our workers into an environmentally sustainable world? Find out when we talk to author Peter Poschen about …

This week on the Heartland Labor Forum, we talk to two authors about books on working class women. Emily Twarog’s new book, Politics of the Pantry: Housewives, Food and Consumer Activism in the 20th Century, takes us back to a …

David Roediger teaches American Studies at KU. He’s an expert on the history of the working class in the U.S. and its peculiar race relations. This week on the Heartland Labor Forum, we’ll spend the hour with Roediger and ask …

This week on the Heartland Labor Forum, we’ll talk to Thomas Kochen about his new book, Shaping the Future of Work. We’ll ask him what became of the postwar social contract, and if there is a new one on the …

Most labor experts predict that the U.S. Supreme Court is about to deal a death blow to America’s public sector unions causing them to go bankrupt. The case is Janus versus AFSCME. This week on the Heartland Labor Forum, we …

Uber wants its drivers to pay to work on Halloween. Does this make it harder to get a ride home after a night out? Is it fair to the drivers? Alex Rosenblat joins us on the Heartland Labor Forum to …

This week on the Heartland Labor Forum, we ask about Japanese workers: Do they have unions? What are their rights?” How do they try to make a difference? We’ll find out from a former Teachers Union chairman. Then, why are …

This week on the Heartland Labor Forum, we interview Greg Leroy of Good Jobs First about their new database of corporate tax giveaways and a clever accounting rule that could rein in abuses. We’ll talk about the KC Public Library, …

This week on the Heartland Labor Forum: Remember when we couldn’t bring signs to demonstrations because they could be used as weapons? Since Charlottesville, people are bringing weapons!! What happens to freedom of speech? Hear activists in a roundtable discussion. …

ADAPT took hundreds to DC twice to break the back of Trumpcare. They succeeded. Hear about it this week on the Heartland Labor Forum. Then, isn’t it about time to bring all the railroad craft unions together to work on …

This week on the Heartland Labor Forum, we talk to Lane Windham, whose new book, Knocking on Labor’s Door: Union Organizing in the 1970s and the Roots of the New Economic Divide, overturns widely held myths about labor’s decline, showing …

When Trump cuts the federal budget, he’s cutting pensions for federal workers including postal employees. How bad are they, and what are federal worker unions doing to push back? We’ll find out this week on Heartland Labor Forum. Then, the …

Missouri Labor faces an existential crisis in the passage of a so-called Right to Work bill, but they’re fighting back with teams of determined volunteers, armed with petitions aimed at repeal. This week on the Heartland Labor Forum, we talk …

This week on the Heartland Labor Forum: Carl Icahn is an old foe in Kansas City, but he’s back in national news. As an investigation of his conflict of interest proceeds we’ll talk to former Machinist union leaders Herb Johnson …

This week on the Heartland Labor Forum, our guest is Micah Kubic, executive director of the Kansas chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union. He tells us, “We exist for one reason and one reason only, and that is to …

The post Women’s Equality Week: Why Can’t Women TV Anchors Reach Retirement on the Job? And What Does Roe v. Wade Have To Do with Women’s Equality? appeared first on .

This week on the Heartland Labor Forum, comedian and social commentator Lee Camp asks not if robots will get your job but who will benefit when they do. Then, with football kicking off this month, we’ll have historian Chuck Ross …

This week on the Heartland Labor Forum, the topic is workers across borders and workers who cross borders. We’ll ask David Wilson, who has just updated The Politics of Immigration, “Do immigrants really take jobs from the rest of us …

This week on the Heartland Labor Forum, we’ll ask, “Is vocational education disappearing or coming back?” Have we made a false choice between college and skills training? Later, we go to the streets and find out about Street Medicine KC, …

Why do we have extreme economic inequality in the richest country in the world? This week on the Heartland Labor Forum, we talk to Les Leopold about his new book, Runaway Inequality: An Activist’s Guide to Economic Justice. He’ll tell …

Taxi Drivers on Strike! Tune to the Heartland Labor Forum for a special broadcast of Waiting for Lefty, a play by Cliff Odets performed by UMKC Theatre students and faculty. And then stay for the second half for an interview …

Amid budget shortfalls, so-called “non-core” programs are under attack from UMKC administrators, but faculty, staff, students and community members are fighting back. Tune in to the Heartland Labor Forum for an interview with Judy Ancel, laid-off director of WELS and former …

This week on the Heartland Labor Forum, we take another look at how the Labour party is reshaping politics across the pond in the UK. What does the rise of Jeremy Corbyn mean for the trade union movement? Then, we …

This week on the Heartland Labor Forum: How can we grow and improve our cities without the threat of gentrification? This week, we talk to Peter Moskowitz about his book How to Kill a City. Peter will tell us what …

This week on the Heartland Labor Forum, we’ll interview Gordon Lafer about his new book which asks what elites are doing with all their new-found power. We’ll review with him The One Percent Solution: How Corporations Are Remaking America One …

This week on the Heartland Labor Forum, we’ll ask about Detroit: Are the Engines Restarting? We start with a history tour of Detroit labor from its heyday in auto and the bloody struggle to organize, and in music with the …

Who is protecting our pensions and what’s fiduciary responsibility, anyway? We’ll find out on this week’s Heartland Labor Forum when we talk to the Employee Benefits Security Administration. Then, the Disabilities Community will not let 40 years of progress be …

Should college be affordable for All? Join us this week on The Heartland Labor Forum for an in-depth analysis of two high-profile state and federal initiatives to make college tuition-free. Then, Andy Fisher’s new book on the Hunger Industrial Complex …

On May Day 2017, workers filled the streets all over the world for international workers day. In the US, many immigrants protested and struck. Here in Missouri, no one was surprised by the protests of workers and immigrants in Kansas …

This week on the Heartland Labor Forum, our show is called “Hate Has No Home Here.” We’ll cover reaction to the Olathe shooting at the Solidarity In Community meeting there against anti-immigrant terrorism and to honor the Indian engineer who …

Does your zip code determine how long you’ll live? Find out this week on the Heartland Labor Forum about a new health report on Wyandotte County. Then, some local history: Before it was KCK, there was a diverse community of …

Why Is Donald Trump President? What did union members have to do with him winning the electoral college? This week on the Heartland Labor Forum three labor educators from Michigan, Iowa and Pennsylvania analyze the union vote.

Why Boycott Driscolls & An Economy Without Immigrants. It’s strawberry season, but before you bake that pie, look for the Driscoll label and don’t. There’s a boycott by workers in Mexico who are paid $6-12 a day. Find out more on …

Ben Tulchin, Bernie Sanders’ pollster, and head of Tulchin Research, will join us on this week’s Heartland Labor Forum to discuss whether millennials who voted progressive in 2016 will continue to do so as they get older. Then, it’s the …

In India, 40% of construction workers are women. Last January, a delegation of American tradeswomen traveled to India to build bridges and fight for the rights of women in the construction workforce both there and here. Find out more on …

Last month, a diverse group of workers at Challenge Manufacturing near the airport showed Kansas City that even in the era of Trump, you can win a strike. Find out about it this week on the Heartland Labor Forum. Then, …

This week on the Heartland Labor Forum: In her new book Chow Chop Suey, food historian Anne Mendelson traces the history of the Chinese in America through food in Chinese restaurants. It’s a story of how xenophobia stunted the enrichment …

Unless Missouri unions develop a way to block it, Missouri will become the 28th right to work state on August 28th. How can our unions – and workers – survive it? Or is there a strategy to reverse it? Tune …

Republicans in Jefferson City are gunning for unions. Now that right-to-work has passed, they’re going after the standard of living of construction workers and the rights to representation of public employees. Tune in to this week’s Heartland Labor Forum for …

This week on the Heartland Labor Forum, we talk to AFT union leader Scott Ciafullo about how a group of school bus drivers organized and about some of the challenges facing teachers and their unions in Missouri. Then, President Trump …

“And then this magical amazing policy came around that we started talking about. We started talking about the ACA, where they decided that, ‘hey, maybe being born is not something you should be punished for.’” That’s one of the witnesses …

This week on the Heartland Labor Forum, we bring you the hidden history of women workers in the 1800s. In Gunpowder Girls of the Civil War, poor immigrant girls and widows – made bullets and literally went up in smoke …

This week on the Heartland Labor Forum—“Women Rising Up To Put Hatred and Oppression Down”. We’ll hear from women at the Washington, DC march Jan. 21st and find out how many people turned out in KC and why they came. …

President Trump was elected largely on the promise to bring good jobs back to the US, but do his nominees for the Departments of Labor, Commerce, and Education reflect that goal, or are they just the typical anti-worker Capitalists every …

Kansas City workers: do you have a boss at your job making your daily life a living hell? Never fear. This week on the Heartland Labor Forum, tune in for “Bad Bosses and How to Deal with Them.” This special …

Did you know that almost 45 percent of charges received by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission are for retaliation for filing a complaint? This week on the Heartland Labor Forum, we’ll talk with Attorney Andrea G. Baran about it. Then …

Missouri Republicans are poised to deliver a body blow to the state’s private sector unions. It’s called right to work although it has little to do with either rights or jobs. This week on the Heartland Labor Forum, we’ll host …

The Heartland Labor Forum, in its first show of 2017, asks, how stacked is U.S. labor law against workers? We’ll talk to author and attorney Julius Getman about his new book: The Supreme Court on Unions. Then are you skeptical …

This week on the Heartland Labor Forum, we’ll have a condensed version of the musical Pray for the Dead: A Musical Tale of Morgues, Moguls, and Mutiny, in which workers in a funeral home and morgue take on the greedy …

Campus workers from dining halls to grad students are organizing. On this week’s Heartland Labor Forum, we’ll look into how they’re Serving Up Justice On Campus.

Last September, inmates in prisons across the nation went on strike against exploitative work, saying it’s a lot like slavery. This week on the Heartland Labor Forum, we’ll find out what’s next. Also, we’ll talk to labor historian Priscilla Murollo …

This week on the Heartland Labor Forum, our show is “Oil vs Water: The Dakota Access Pipeline Debate”. Is this another Blue-Green standoff of jobs versus the environment? We’ll look at the issue from both sides as well as how …

Women are now the majority of the workforce. This week on the Heartland Labor Forum, we ask how money, work, marriage and divorce mix these days. Then, you’ve probably seen the shiny new BRIDJ vans around town. They’ve got union …

Are you exempt from overtime pay on your job? New rules going into effect December 1st may entitle you to extra pay if you work more than forty hours in a week. This week’s Heartland Labor Forum explains the new …

Are you looking at a lifetime of debt slavery to pay off your college education? Tune in this week to the Heartland Labor Forum as economist Hossein Bahmaie and researcher Allyson Fredericksen explore the explosion of student debt and its …

Our schools are under attack. Recently the Kansas City Call asked whether the KCMO School District, with its low test scores, should even have partial accreditation. This week on the Heartland Labor Forum, KCMO Public School Teachers push back. Hear …

College teachers are organizing unions in St. Louis. In an age where over half of college teachers are part-timers, they’re organizing and winning representation elections. They’ve won recognition with SEIU at four St. Louis area colleges and universities and now …

Join us for this week’s Heartland Labor Forum as we focus on some of the earliest victims of the US War on Terror – Italian-Americans. We will talk with a leading authority on the contributions of Italians to the Industrial …

On August 16th 2012, thirty-four platinum mineworkers were gunned down by the police under the auspices of South Africa’s African National Congress. The ensuing outrage became a turning point in South African history. This week on the Heartland Labor Forum, …

Four Generations: Life On The East Side, Family, Work and The Police Host David Bell talks with four Generations of the same family that have lived on the east Side of KCMO. This week’s broadcast will be with the two …

There’s a real estate bubble in Kansas City and it’s swelling rents to supersize, especially for the working poor. This week on the Heartland Labor Forum, we’ll find out why and what are the prospects for more affordable housing. Then, …

Are we developing a global working class? This week on the Heartland Labor Forum, we talk to Immanuel Ness about his new book, Southern Insurgency. Then, Chiluba Musonda came to Kansas City from Zambia as a student. He will tell …

This week on the Heartland Labor Forum: as ridesharing companies like Uber and Lyft encroach on services provided by public transit systems, the KC Area Transportation Authority has contracted with Bridj, an on demand rideshare company that provides transportation to …

In his new book,The Making of Donald Trump, David Cay Johnston would wager that Trump actually has less money than the volunteers on the Heartland Labor Forum. While that may not quite be the case, Johnston will have you liking …

Across the country there’s a full-scale attack on voting rights. This week on the Heartland Labor Forum, we’ll talk to Rev. Rodney Williams about why the issue of voting rights is a moral issue that needs to be revived. Then, …

This week on the Heartland Labor Forum, we discuss Matthew Desmond’s Evicted: Without a Home Everything Else Falls Apart. Then, why did Mexican police fire on unarmed teachers and community members in June, killing 9 people? Leaders of the Mexican …

Kamala Lopez has just released the film Equal Means Equal which will be shown Friday as part of Women’s Equality Week. On this week’s Heartland Labor Forum, we interview her and find out why we still need the Equal Rights …

All the attention to police violence lately has prompted questions about the role of police unions and benevolent associations in a code of silence that blocks accountability. This week on the Heartland Labor Forum, we’ll ask Kristian Williams, author of …

This week on the Heartland Labor Forum, we have North American Teachers fighting back. This summer there’s been growing unrest in public education. We will hear about the struggle of teachers against corporatization of the schools in Oaxaca, Mexico where …

How would you survive on $2 a day? Find out this week on the Heartland Labor Forum how some people do survive – just barely. We’ll talk to Luke Shafer, author of $2 a Day; Living on Almost Nothing. Then, …

Rosie does a lot more than riveting these days. Join us on the Heartland Labor Forum for “We Can Do It! Women in the Trades”. We’ll talk with a local Ironworker apprentice, then hear from tradeswomen from all over the …

Last month, Kansas City based union Operating Engineers Local 101 opened its own healthcare facility, the Union Health and Wellness Center for union members and their families. The union says it’s a groundbreaking concept. The Heartland Labor Forum will visit …

Harley-Davidson used to be famous for its cooperative labor relations. This week on the Heartland Labor Forum, we’ll ask union leaders if Harley’s dreams of personal freedoms still extend to its workers. Thursday at 6pm, rebroadcast Friday at 5am.

The UAW now has 30,000 members who work at universities. They don’t think like autoworkers. This week on The Heartland Labor Forum we’ll ask if the UAW is headed for an identity crisis. Then, Green Party presidential Candidate Jill Stein …

This week on the Heartland Labor Forum: Five reasons you should go to the People’s March for public education and social justice in Washington DC July 8-10. Then, what’s management expertise good for? Author Matthew Stewart, who wrote The Management …

After the Civil War until World War II, one of the few good jobs open to African American men and a few women as Pullman Porter or Maid. To be sure, they weren’t treated as equals and had to hustle …

KC area native Thomas Frank has written about why Kansans vote against their self-interest and about how the right wing took over America. Now he looks at the Democrats in his new book Listen Liberal: Whatever Happened to the Party …

This week on the Heartland Labor Forum, it’s two authors with two books. We’ll talk to Gerald Horne about his book on the great singer and activist Paul Robeson. The book is called The Artist as Revolutionary. Then it’s noted …

This week on the Heartland Labor Forum, hear about the new partnership between UMKC’s Department of Architecture, Urban Planning and Design and the community to address the challenges facing neighborhoods in Kansas City, MO. The new Center for Neighborhoods serves …

Will Verizon never settle?. . . with its unions? This week on the Heartland Labor Forum, we’ll talk about the strike and the stakes for workers in the communications industry. Then, what’s happening to jobs in the coal industry? We’ll …

Standardized testing. Why are students and teachers around the country so critical of it? This week on the Heartland Labor Forum, two teachers will discuss how testing strips important protections from teachers and vital experiences from students. Find out why …

Thursday on the Heartland Labor Forum: Did Senators go hungry today alongside the workers who feed them? We’ll hear about the strike in the Senate Cafeteria. It’s part of the fight for $15. And then, is the practice of tipping …

This week on the Heartland Labor Forum: Hear about the remarkable march last week of Longfellow Elementary students with banners declaring “One Race -Human Race. Kids are learning to build a better community. Then, why are Teamster retirees up in …

This week on the Heartland Labor Forum: The Electoral College – that obstacle to direct election of the President put into the Constitution by the framers. Did they have a point? We’ll talk to UMKC Professor Max Skidmore about it. …

On April 14th Teamsters will be in Washington protesting pension cuts. On April 17th and 18th labor, civil rights, environmental and student organizations will surround the Capitol with a Democracy Awakening protesting the attack on voting rights and money in …

Will jobs on the new KC streetcars be good jobs? We’ll find out from the union that represents the Area Transportation Authority bus drivers, ATU Local 1287 this week on the Heartland Labor Forum. It’s called “A Streetcar Named Non-Union”. …

The exit of manufacturing jobs from Michigan in recent decades turned it into a rust belt, and now the rust is more than a metaphor. It’s in the poisoned water and the dilapidated schools. Even representative government is corroding. Find …

Add one more black eye for The University of Missouri-Columbia: Refusal to bargain or recognize a union. This week on the Heartland Labor Forum, we talk with graduate teaching assistants from MU who have organized and want to know why …

The passing of Father John Wandless late last year left his What U Can Do program to politically empower minority youth in limbo. This week on the Heartland Labor Forum, we’ll look at The Legacy of Father Lefty and his …

In the past few years the Chicago Teachers Union has won a reputation as one of the most innovative and participative unions in the U.S. This week on the Heartland Labor Forum, we’ll find out What’s New from the Chicago …

This week on the Heartland Labor Forum, we look at two successful grassroots citizen campaigns in Kansas City. First in the wake of BNIM’s withdrawal from the Crossroads project, we will take a look at the pros and cons of …

Curious about Presidential candidate positions on labor issues? This week on the Heartland Labor Forum, we feature spokespeople and info about Bernie Sanders, Hillary Clinton, Ted Cruz and the Donald and we ask who’s a friend of labor? Special guests …

This week on the Heartland Labor Forum: In the 1950’s St. Louis labor leaders Harold Gibbons and Ernest Calloway championed a new kind of labor movement embracing workers as “total persons” fighting for justice as workers and citizens. The alliance …

It was a take-no-prisoners kind of a fight. That’s the battle between US Attorney General Bobby Kennedy and Teamster President Jimmy Hoffa which filled the headlines and the courtrooms in the 1960s. This week on the Heartland Labor Forum, we’ll …

This week on the Heartland Labor Forum, we’ll talk about the Junior Rat-race in our schools known as testing. According to our guest, it’s over-testing and the harm it does to kids, teachers and education. Then, we’ll find out about …

New Year’s Eve is one of the biggest cab hailing nights of the year, so on this week’s Heartland Labor Forum, it’s a good time to revisit one of the biggest labor stories of the year, the rise of the …

On Christmas Eve, on the Heartland Labor Forum, two union maids will bring you our annual Peace on Earth show. It’s not your typical peace on earth show though. It’s called A Holiday Wish For You: No War but the …

Suddenly TIF is back in the news with the hotel and Crossroads projects. This week on the Heartland Labor Forum, we’ll find out why citizens are once again mad about TIF. Then we ask economist Richard Wolff who thinks worker …

This week on the Heartland Labor Forum, we interview David Cay Johnston, tax expert and investigative journalist. We’ll ask him about offshore tax loopholes, record breaking inequality, out of control white collar crime, and lots more fun stuff that the …

This week on the Heartland Labor Forum, we explore the conditions for child care workers and for Kansas teachers. Tune in to “Rock-a-bye Baby The Wages Is Crazy”; and then we ask, why are Kansas teachers fleeing? We’ll talk to …

A community health worker is a bridge between traditionally underserved populations and needed health information, support and care, as well as important basic and social services. It’s a new job here in Kansas City, but a much-needed one. Find out …

This week on the Heartland Labor Forum: Sheet Metal Workers and Sierra Club Team Up to Demand Missouri Move toward Energy Efficiency – “Missourians are paying too much on our monthly energy bills. We’re putting additional air pollution in the …

This week on the Heartland Labor Forum, we interview Steven Hill about his new book Raw Deal: How the “Uber Economy” and Runaway Capitalism Are Screwing American Workers.Then, Adia Wingfield tells us how employers screen out minorities by names and …

This week on the Heartland Labor Forum we talk to labor radio producer Rick Smith about his new book Daddy, What’s the Middle Class? It’s about a cross country trip with kids to find out who built America. Then we …

Ai-Jen Poo, leader of the National Domestic Workers Alliance, has a new book: The Age of Dignity: Preparing for the Elder Boom in a Changing America. We’ll talk to her this week on the Heartland Labor Forum. Then we go …

Some want to kick them out; others want to welcome them in: what are the candidates’ positions on immigration? And on Pioneer Women, we interview Cindy Longaker, woman of steel and organizer. The Heartland Labor Forum: Thursdays at 6pm, rebroadcast Fridays at 5am.

Some unions have already endorsed in the 2016 presidential race. This week on the Heartland Labor Forum, we’ll ask why unions are endorsing now? Should the members be polled? And which candidate represents workers’ interests? Tune in Thursday at 6pm, …

Our Walmart is relaunching for the holiday season. Find out how this union buster could be affected this week on the Heartland Labor Forum. Then, some union members are asking: Should police unions be in the House of Labor? Thursday …

In the 1970s, there was a huge effort to pass an Equal Rights Amendment to the Constitution. It narrowly failed, and Equality Now’s Jessica Neuwirth says it’s time to bring back the ERA. Find out why this week on the …

Like the Democrats in the U.S., the British Labour Party has been moving to the right. Now British unions are backing an outspoken socialist for leader of the Labour Party. This week, the Heartland Labor Forum goes to England to …

It’s Women’s Equality Week on the Heartland Labor Forum. We’ll interview two Pioneer Working Women. First, Janet Smith organized and became President of the Faculty Union at University of Illinois Chicago. When the administration split the non-tenured and tenured faculty …

Reverend William Barber has inspired thousands in the Moral Mondays Movement in North Carolina and across the nation. This week on the Heartland Labor Forum we’ll hear why he says: America Lacks Heart. Then, teachers are fighting back against the …

Bullies. They’re on the playground, in our homes, in the workplace and government. Is bullying on the rise or are we just more willing to name it and stand up against it? This week’s Heartland Labor Forum looks at workplace …

With a Socialist running for President as a Democrat, the Heartland Labor Forum decided to look at socialists from the past who ran. Join us for trip back to the first part of the 20th century and the campaigns of …

Every week since late May, thousands of Hondurans take to the streets in torch marches to protest the theft of millions of dollars of their health care funds by government officials, including the President. The U.S. media barely mentions it. …

This week on the Heartland Labor Forum, we get some good news from Bangladesh about compensation for the Rana Plaza building collapse in 2013, then talk to Erik Loomis, whose book, Out of Sight, follows the thread that runs from …

Where does the idea behind Right to Work come from? This week on the Heartland Labor Forum we interview Cedric deLeon whose new book, The Origins of Right to Work, traces it back to Chicago in the 1880s and claims …

As Kansas City debates raising the minimum wage, this week’s Heartland Labor Forum asks the question: by how much? Should it go to $15 by 2020? We’ll get the views from UMKC economist Peter Eaton, Jobs with Justice’s Justin Stein, …

The European migrant crisis is all over the news. This week on the Heartland Labor Forum, we’ll look into the crises behind the crisis including: war, imperialism, and poverty. Why are so many from Africa and the Middle East trying …

Last Fall Congress passed and President Obama signed a so-called Pension Reform Act allowing employers to reduce or suspend pension payments to retirees if a pension plan is “deeply troubled.” Teamster retirees face cuts. This week on the Heartland Labor Forum we explore …

Labor History in two minutes a day? This week on the Heartland Labor Forum, we talk to Stephanie Sewell of the Illinois Labor History society about the new radio show Labor History in Two. Then, the government of Venezuela regularly …

This week on the Heartland Labor Forum, we interview journalist Matt Kennard, author of The Racket: A Rogue Reporter vs. the Masters of the Universe. Then, UC Berkeley’s Ian Perry explains what wage corporations should pay so taxpayers can quit subsidizing low wages. Thursday …

Does the World Bank Work for Working People? Not according to a new study about how poor people are chased off their land to make way for shiny new projects and on Pioneer Women, Susan interviews a woman welder. All …

A hundred years ago, Kansas and Missouri were a hotbed of socialism. Rabble rousers like Mother Jones and Kate Richards O’Hare drew large crowds. There’s a new history of the Socialist Party. This week on the Heartland Labor Forum, we’ll …

Why do so-called education reforms keep proposing the same failed strategies for education: blaming teachers, attacking tenure, proposing testing or charters or outright privatization? What are the strategies based on best-practices by teachers that are actually working, and why are …

Last week AT&T reported massive profits, but 17,000 workers in the Midwest who helped make them rich are working without a contract and facing demands for slashed healthcare, pensions, and job security protections. Find out about how they’re mobilizing this …

It’s a hundred years since IWW organizer and songwriter Joe Hill was executed by the State of Utah. Hear his story and his music this week on the Heartland Labor Forum.

This week on the Heartland Labor Forum: Meet Vicky Hale – the new President at UAW Local 31. As their first ever woman Prez, she’s a Pioneer Woman. Last week, adjunct professors raised hell along with fast food and other …

The attack on public education has become an onslaught starting from the heights of the American Legislative Exchange Council and subverting institutions from Kindergarten through higher education with the myth that public is bad and a failure. Hear about the …

Some big union contracts are up this year. Will they begin a turnaround in labor’s fortunes? There was a near strike on the West Coast docks by the International Longshore and Warehouse Union; The Oil Workers had an unprecedented strike …

This week on the Heartland Labor Forum, we’ll talk to Kansas teachers about teaching in Brownbackistan. Then, we ask why are Chicago Ford workers having to sue to get their company and union to do something about rampant sexual harassment …

This week on the Heartland Labor Forum, we interview Dorothy Sue Cobble, one of the authors of Feminism Unfinished: A Short, Surprising History of American Women’s Movements. It’s about the little told and continuous movement of working class women for …

Last week, the Missouri Trade Justice Coalition hosted a forum called The Transpacific Partnership: Another Corporate Power Grab. Environmentalists, farmers, unions, and human rights organizations all participated. This week on the Heartland Labor Forum, we’ll rebroadcast highlights from the event. …

Wal-Mart workers just got a raise. How did that happen? Could it be that Wal-Mart workers have finally got Bentonville scared they’ll unionize? This week on the Heartland Labor Forum, we’ll talk to a representative from Our Wal-Mart. Then we …

From Madison, Wisconsin to Jefferson City, Missouri, the union busters are hijacking our labor rights. In Missouri, so-called Right to Work and Paycheck Protection bills have become partners in crimes against working people. Hear about it this week on the …

Americans pride themselves on our freedoms guaranteed in the Constitution, but few realize that when they enter the workplace, their civil liberties are left outside. This week on the Heartland Labor Forum, we’ll ask why the boss gets all the …

Governors and State legislators are still messing with public education. This week on the Heartland Labor Forum we’ll look at how Kansas and Missouri teachers are fighting back. In Kansas they’re putting on their walking shoes and will march to …

In the next 30 days the Obama Administration will begin its campaign to pass the biggest NAFTA-style trade deal ever: the Trans-Pacific Partnership. Ever heard of it? Probably not.

The lobbyist cash is flowing just like Koch with a K. From Topeka to Jeff City, they’re serving up a toxic feast of union busting, anti-work bills. This week on the Heartland Labor Forum, we’ll peruse the menu and learn …

This week on the Heartland Labor Forum, it’s all about money and power. We interview finance expert Nomi Prins on her book All the Presidents’ Bankers then to circle back to a neglected part of the story, we’ll talk to …

What’s Obama’s Executive Action for immigrants all about? Can the anti-immigrant politicians block them? This week on the Heartland Labor Forum, we’ll explore these questions and ask how unions and workers can benefit as millions of undocumented immigrants gain permission …

This week on the Heartland Labor Forum, we’ll ask: Is Kansas City like Ferguson? We talk to police critics from One Struggle KC and we talk to the police about an alternative: community policing. Thursday at 6pm, rebroadcast Friday at …

Longtime radical labor lawyer Tom Geoghegen wants to chuck the model of unions we’ve had since World War II and transform the labor laws and the Democratic party. His new book is called Only One Thing Can Save Us – …

This week on the Heartland Labor Forum, in the spirit of the season we talk to an economist and theologian and ask him: would Jesus be a capitalist? Then hear from another Jesus–Chuy Negrete— sing corridos — ballads of mexican …

Is democracy in the workplace possible? In the spirit of peace for Christmas, the Heartland Labor Forum is going to replay Mondragon: Humanity at Work. Mondragon in Spain is the world’s largest industrial democracy, where workers elect the CEO and …

There’s no shortage of outside experts and billionaires who want to “fix” public education in Missouri, usually by blaming teachers. This week on the Heartland Labor Forum, teachers talk about how they defeated Amendment 3, what’s wrong with too much …

When hospitals failed to protect workers who were treating ebola patients, it was National Nurses United who blew the whistle and demanded better standards of protection . This week on the Heartland Labor Forum we’ll talk with NNU’s Julie Perry …

Jobs??? There are great jobs in Kansas City with training so you earn while you learn. This week on the Heartland Labor Forum, we go to the Building Trades Job Fair to find out about union apprentice programs. Then, did …

Black Friday has merged into Thursday as retail workers fight for time to eat their turkey. On this week’s Heartland Labor Forum we have a special on the all time loss leader in labor rights: Wal-Mart. We’ll follow up with …

As Governor Nixon places Missouri National Guard on Emergency Alert, organizers in many cities are prepared to respond to the Grand Jury decision for the shooting death of Mike Brown by a police officer. This week on the Heartland Labor …

On August 16, thousands of Palestinian solidarity activists convened at the Port of Oakland and blocked workers from the Longshore union – ILWU from unloading an Israeli cargo ship. The movement to “Block the boat for Gaza” is growing. Find …

“A wave of change rolled through Latin America at the turn of the 21st-century bringing calls for broad participation and democratically drafted constitutions.” That’s the beginning of a book called Until the Rulers Obey; Voices from Latin American Social Movements. …

Young auto workers today make far less than their older coworkers. This week on the Heartland Labor Forum, we’ll have a conversation with 21st-century Ford workers about their hopes, their jobs, and their compensation. Then our pioneer woman of the …

There are lots of hot election races in Kansas this year and a few even in Missouri. This week on the Heartland Labor Forum, we’ll talk to some insiders: Courtney Cole for Missouri and Mary O’Halloran for Kansas. Tune in …

As state and local governments outsource important public functions to for-profit companies, what happens to workers and their communities? This week on the Heartland Labor Forum we’ll find out from In The Public Interest about how outsourcing public services rewards …

Denied unemployment? Help is on the way. UMKC has a clinic to help people appeal the denial of claims. That’s this week on the Heartland Labor Forum. Also, the movement of fast food workers in Kansas City and across the …

A few decades ago, Kansas City had teachers and firefighters strikes, but it’s been years. This week on the Heartland Labor Forum we interview Joe Burns, who thinks we should bring back the public sector strike. Then, the Obama administration …

This week on the Heartland Labor Forum, St. Louis money bags Rex Sinquefield is behind Amendment 3 on the Missouri November ballot, another state constitutional amendment. It would pay teachers on the basis of student test scores. Teachers, administrators, and …

Workers on the Burlington Northern Santa Fe are voting on a proposal to eliminate conductor jobs and run trains with only an engineer. It’s stirring up lots of opposition from workers, their families, environmentalists and community members who remember the …

This week on the Heartland Labor Forum our show is called Ferguson Missouri: Mirror of Deindustrialization. We ask why all-too-common police violence erupted into mass protest in Ferguson? Has the 40 year attack on working families and its resultant poverty …

Did you know that the restaurant industry is the single largest source of sexual harassment charges? Roc United – The Restaurant Opportunity Center, has a campaign to end the tipped minimum wage. Find out about the connection between tips and …

The Jazz Union: Whatever Happened to Local 627?

Ever imagine what it’s like to be on the other side of the sign? This week’s Heartland Labor Forum is called Shakerboarders: Will Dance for Food. Although the Statue of Liberty refused to talk, you’ll hear what it’s like from …

What would your job be like if your company were a democracy? This week on the Heartland Labor Forum, we’ll take a look at the world’s largest industrial democracy, Mondragon, where workers elect the CEO and profits are distributed to …

A lot of people haven’t decided how to vote in the August 5th election, which asks voters in Kansas City and Missouri to approve new taxes for streetcars and roads. This week on the Heartland Labor Forum, we’ll get you …

Colleen Simon was fired by the Kansas City Archdiocese for being married–can they do that? We’ll talk to Colleen, her wife Donna, and her attorneys this week on the Heartland Labor Forum. Then, in eastern Missouri, the State Department of …

At UPS Telematics is Big Brother, an on-board monitoring system worthy of the NSA. Hear about it this week on The Heartland Labor Forum where we’ll also discuss the latest taxi gimmick: Uber and Lyft. Is it a gypsy cab …

The recession ended officially six years ago. So how’s the recovery been for you? This week on the Heartland Labor Forum, we’ll talk to Pulitzer prize winning investigative reporter David Cay Johnson for the hour about the recovery that wasn’t …

Is $15 an hour minimum wage a pipe dream? Hear how Seattle got it. Could it happen here? And, there’s a new PAC to take our democracy back from the Kochs and Rex and the rest of the top tier; …

Did you know that traveling musicians pack a union along with their guitars and banjos to protect them on the road? This week on the Heartland Labor Forum, we’ll find out about Pete Seeger’s union–Musicians Local 1000– which represents traveling …

This week on the Heartland Labor Forum, we’ll talk to Alexandra Bradbury of Labor Notes about her new book, How To Jump-Start Your Union, on the Chicago teachers strike. It’s a play-by-play account of one of the most successful strikes …

On this week’s Heartland Labor Forum we ask, “how are good jobs being turned bad?” with two examples: if prison isn’t slave labor, it’s close. We’ll have a survey of jobs that have gone to federal and state prisons and …

This week on the Heartland Labor Forum, we talk to Kevin Corley who wrote a novel called Sixteen Tons about coal miners, their families, and the struggle to organize. It’s based on interviews done with miners who lived it. Then, …

Will Paul Davis become Brownback’s downfall? In an exclusive interview with Heartland Labor Forum, the candidate for Kansas Governor talks about his background and what’s the matter with Kansas. Then, Andy Kroll of Mother Jones Magazine takes us into the …

Local food production is all the rage these days, but amidst its many the virtues environmentally, in health, animal welfare, and saving small farms, few pay attention to the lives and working conditions of the farmworkers who produce this food. …

This week on the Heartland Labor Forum: a cauldron of troublemakers. We’ll feature excerpts from The Labor Notes Convention with speeches by new APWU President Mark Dimondstein, Chicago Teachers Union President Karen Lewis, and other rank and file troublemakers. Tune …

Are we getting all the facts about the streetcar? Is it for transportation, or do profits come first? And then, North Carolina’s Moral Mondays movement for economic fairness and equal justice has mobilized tens of thousands. Now it’s expanding to …

This week on the Heartland Labor Forum, get the latest on what’s happening in the Missouri State House with a legislative update from House Minority Leader Jake Hummel. Also, economics professor Michael Kelsay will tell us the true story of …

Simon Head, author of Mindless: Why Smarter Machines Are Making Dumber Humans, says working at Wal-Mart or Amazon is like being on a digital chain gang. This week on the Heartland Labor Forum, we interview Head to find out more. …

This week on the Heartland Labor Forum: 25 years of labor radio–the Heartland Labor Forum‘s birthday! Our first show was April Fool’s Day, 1989, and we’ll have an open house inviting former volunteers and guests to help us celebrate on-air. …

Who’s behind the obscene manipulation of elections by super-rich donors? Are the 1%’s top 1% buying our elections? This week on the Heartland Labor Forum, we’ll give you some answers and ask Ben Cohen about his more than a “half-baked” …

In Ohio in 2011, Gov. John Kasich, facing a budget crisis caused by Wall Street bankers, blames it on public employees and pushes through a bill gutting their collective bargaining rights. Firefighters, professors and teachers, nurses and cops along with …

The union election at Volkswagen has caused political and legal disputes and reaction around the world. Thursday on the Heartland Labor Forum, we’ll interview In These Times reporter Mike Elk about the Bugs in the Volkswagen Election. Then, will early …

Many people know that NAFTA has been a disaster for Mexican workers, with lost jobs, increasing poverty and pressure to migrate, but few here have heard of the resistance by Mexican workers to privatization of vast sectors of the economy …

This week on the Heartland Labor Forum, we travel with National Nurses United to the Phillipines to hear about their RNRN program. That’s Registered Nurses Response Network. They have sent several teams of nurses to give care and build international …

KC is all excited about new streetcars, but City Manager Troy Schulte wants them on the cheap. This week on the Heartland Labor Forum, we talk to Amalgamated Transit Union President JP Walker about the city’s plans to run street …

This week on the Heartland Labor Forum, we return to the Bangladesh factory collapse with the International Labor Rights Forum and ask “‘Were The Workers Left In The Rubble?” Then, we’ll visit Jefferson City and ask Rep. Michael Frame and …

This week on the Heartland Labor Forum, we’re changing our schedule to memorialize Pete Seeger–banjo player, balladeer, singalong leader, union member, and blacklisted by McCarthyites. Pete died last week, and people who knew him will share stories about him, some …

The Trans-Pacific Partnership or TPP: it’s the new NAFTA-style trade agreement the President is pushing. This week on the Heartland Labor Forum, our show is called “The TPP: On A Roll; Still Flushable”. As Congress takes up a fast track …

Do privatizers have the Kansas City School District in their sites? Are we looking at the end of public educational we know it in KCMO? This week on the Heartland Labor Forum we’ll ask union, parent and community activists about …

Not so long ago, Kansas City was a segregated town and so were many of our unions. This week on the Heartland Labor Forum, we’ll talk to Kansas City veterans of the civil rights movement who marched for freedom and …

Ever wonder why Washington is so obsessed with deficits? Meet Pete Peterson, the billionaire who spent almost half a billion to get politicians to focus on the deficit rather than jobs and economic growth. He’s aiming at Social Security and …

This week on the Heartland Labor Forum, hear Bob McChesney chat with us about his book Dollarocracy: How the Money and Media Election Complex is Destroying America. Then, cheer up with our new feature Labor: The Next Generation. We talk …

AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka has said, “And let me be frank: I am deeply troubled by the way the Affordable Care Act has been administered. Too many calls seem to have been made in the interests of insurance companies and …

Did you know that 11 percent of Mexico’s population lives north of the border? Did you know that the decision to migrate is rarely voluntary? This week on the Heartland Labor Forum, we’ll talk to David Bacon, author of The …

On a special Thanksgiving edition of Heartland Labor Forum, we’ll be trotting with the turkeys as we hold a celebratory Thanksgiving Music Special, featuring music with a message for our modern day. Thursday at 6PM, rebroadcast Friday at 5AM.

They’re diverse, they’re tech-savvy, and they’re exploited. They’re young workers, and unions want them. On this week’s Heartland Labor Forum, we start a new series called Labor: The Next Generation with interviews with young activists and organizers. And then, she’s …

Many workers are facing pension cuts. Are they justified? Why should retirees pay for something they didn’t cause? Are there alternatives? Tune in to Who’s Pilfering Your Pension on this week’s Heartland Labor Forum. Later, it’s not just pensions gone …

Many employers these days tell workers they’re contractors and need to pay their own taxes and work comp insurance. Can they do that? Suddenly your boss cuts your breaks from three to one and shortens that one so you barely …

This week’s Heartland Labor Forum has two scary stories: What’s it like to go to a strange school where you don’t know the language or how to act, and have to face bullies? We’ll talk about the play, New Kid, …

This week on the Heartland Labor Forum, meet Tim Sheard, author of six mystery novels about Lenny Moss, amateur detective and hospital union shop steward. Then, why is Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker arresting singers? Meet the Solidarity Singers who, with …

Is there a shortage of high tech workers? Do we need to raise the quota for high tech guest workers? Do they undercut the wages of Americans? We’ll find out on this week’s Heartland Labor Forum, where we’ll also revisit …

This week’s Heartland Labor Forum is about organizing, politics, and money. Here’s the lineup: Eric Mann has a new book out called Playbook for Progressives: 16 Qualities of the Successful Organizer. This book is an organizing manifesto for the twenty-first …

On October 11th-13th, longtime labor activists from all over the U.S. and Canada will hold a conference at the University of Missouri-St. Louis to memorialize labor strategist Jerry Tucker, sum up his legacy and vision and discuss the future of …

On this week’s edition of Heartland Labor Forum, we’ll talk to lawyer Fred Wickham about the problems teachers face when falsely accused of abusing students; then, we’ll find out about how the Chicago Public Schools bulldozed a library set up …

This week on the Heartland Labor Forum we’ll deal with two issues. The first is a recap on last week’s Missouri veto session with Rep. Judy Morgan. Then, we take a look at the increasing attacks on bus drivers and …

Is it a new AFL-CIO? We’ll be almost live, from the convention. The AFL-CIO in its buildup to its convention this week said it would take bold, decisive action to answer the challenges of working people and unions today. On this week’s …

This week on the Heartland Labor Forum, we asked people at the Labor Day Parade “What’s a good job?” You’ll hear their answers. And speaking of good jobs, we’ll talk to Vickie Tarpley, parade and picnic organizer, and ask who …

“With unionized labor, a level of decency and fairness can be achieved in establishing wages and working conditions.” ~~Ed Asner, actor, union leader and all-around agitator Hear Judy Ancel chat with legendary actor and Kansas City treasure Ed Asner on …

This week on the Heartland Labor Forum, we look at what’s happening to our right to privacy: Edward Snowden was not the first. Before him came NSA whistleblowers William Binney, Thomas Andrews Drake, Mark Klein, Thomas Tamm, and Russ Tice. …

Congress is on its August recess and activists for and against immigration reform are cranking up the volume. On this week’s Heartland Labor Forum, we’ll ask whether immigration reform is stalled out in the House. Will they pass a real …

“No family should have to choose between paying the rent and buying food. No family can live on $7.25 an hour.” —That was the Reverend Susan McCann, speaking in front of McDonald’s last week where workers were on strike. On …

In Missouri, you can kill someone, do your time, and qualify for food stamps, but not if your crime was drugs. On this week’s Heartland Labor Forum, we talk to Lora MacDonald of More Squared about how state SNAP–the food …

Warren Buffett and Bill Gates get lots of publicity for being generous, but recent psychology experiments in fact show that rich people are greedier and cheat more than the rest of us. Find out about it this week on the …

Last week, over a hundred Kansans stood up against the Koch Brothers’ front group Americans for Prosperity, dubbing them Americans for Austerity. This week on the Heartland Labor Forum, we’ll find out why. Then we’ll talk to Jonathan Sperber about …

Peabody Coal dumped union miners and retirees into subsidiary Patriot Coal which is now in bankruptcy and reneging on union contracts, pensions and healthcare for retired miners. Tune into this week’s Heartland Labor Forum to hear The Peabody/Patriot Shuffle. Then …

This week on Heartland Labor Forum, we’ll go in-depth on Bill Fletcher’s talk at the Kansas City Public Library about his new book “They’re Bankrupting Us!” & 20 Other Myths About Unions. Later on, we’ll feature a commentary on the …

There are less than 100 days until the October 1st kickoff of Obamacare, when uninsured people can begin applying for health insurance and premium subsidies through the Affordable Care Act’s new state and federal marketplaces. On this week’s Heartland Labor …

“No words can describe the horror of the criminal action of the manufacturers, brands, employer groups, and regulatory authorities for their greed for profit, at the cost of precious human lives, injuries, and misery to thousands,” so says Roy Ramesh …

This week on Heartland Labor Forum, our correspondents Cris Mann and Ann Pritchett explore our obsession with testing mania. Later, HLF reporters Sayra Gordillo and Jen Zaman talk to a St. Louis fast food worker about going on strike. Thursdays …

The 2013 Missouri and Kansas Legislative sessions have twisted away into oblivion. Like recent storms, they’ve left a path of destruction through workers’ rights and welfare. On this week’s Heartland Labor Forum, we’ll assess the damage. To help us sift …