Heartland Labor Forum

There’s been a lot of news lately about the Port Authority and how the Kansas City building trades unions finally got them to agree to require developers that it subsidizes to pay workers decently, but there’s little talk about the cost of economic growth to our schools and libraries who sacrifice tax income to fund development. We’ll talk to teachers about it and ask, should the Plaza be saved at the expense of our kids’ futures? Then, the Missouri legislature is trying to kill the state income tax. We’ll find out from the Missouri Budget Project’s Amy Blouin how much that will cost the working class. Our feature is Washington Window with Mark Gruenberg.

A member of the new KC Bus Riders Union says, “We want to show that the buses can serve everyone, not just people who rely on them as a lifeline to get to work.” This week on the Heartland Labor Forum we’ll find out more. Then The International Association of Theatrical and Stage Employees Local 31 members do the set up and take down, scenery, and support work for trade shows, plays and concerts. We’ll find out how they’re staffing up for the World Cup. Our feature is Know Your Rights with Michael Amash.

Sick of junk fees, phone scams and wasted time with customer service?  We’ll talk with Chad Maisel of the Groundwork Collaborative about the so-called Annoyance Economy that costs us hundreds of billions of dollars annually. Then, two restaurant workers share how they’re organizing for change with the Missouri Workers Center—from fast food to full service. Hear their stories and what’s next for worker power in Missouri. Our feature is Labor Song of the Month.

It’s baseball season, and it’s the 50th anniversary of free agency. This week on the Heartland Labor Forum, we’ll look at one of the most successful unions in American labor history – the Major League Baseball Players Association. We’ll talk with Michael Haupert, economics professor and expert on the business of baseball, about the union and the union’s biggest win – free agency for players. Our feature is Safety First with Mary Erio.

The KC Indivisible Social Justice Chorus will raise their voices in song in a preview of their appearance at the Mill Creek NO Kings rally next Saturday. Then, six of every ten food workers in Great Britain make wages that are insufficient to meet their basic needs for food and energy. Now British unions are exposing the causes of declining wages and making hunger a union issue in their campaign: Uniting Against Hunger. Our feature is Washington Window with Mark Gruenberg.

This year’s legislative session may leave working people in a state of Misery, their rights assaulted, with fewer public services and less funding for public schools, and their pockets fleeced as the legislature substitutes high sales taxes for the state income tax.   This week on the Heartland Labor we’ll get the latest on what the legislature is doing from Missouri House Representatives Mark Sharp and Kemp Strickler and from Senate Minority Leader Doug Beck. Our feature is Know Your Rights with Michael Amash.

The Kansas legislature has a month to go and there’s good news and bad for working families. We’ll find out more this week on the Heartland Labor Forum from Jake Lowen, the new Executive Secretary of the Kansas AFL-CIO. Then many Kansas Citians rely on city buses for work. shopping, and doctor visits, while city bus drivers face threatened layoffs and assaults on the job. Our feature is Labor Song of the Month.

On March 10, the Leavenworth City Commission is about to give permission for the Core Civic private prison there to reopen as an ICE jail, giving the government over 1000 beds to fill. This week on the Heartland Labor Forum we’ll talk about Core Civic’s shameful record of both prisoner and guard abuse when the prison operated before 2022. We’ll talk to former guards and a former detainee or two and with Advocates for Immigrant Rights and Reconciliation. Our features is Safety First with Mary Erio.  It’s still PLEDGE DRIVE and we sure could use your support please call or text “winter 26” to 50155 or go to kkfi.org  and DONATE.

PLEDGE DRIVE! – PLEDGE DRIVE! – PLEDGE DRIVE! Organizer and historian Dave Kamper gives an overview of the recent labor upsurge in his new book Whose Got the Power?  Then Missouri legislators are shaping the future of education and thus our communities. If we’re not informed, we won’t be able to protect and strengthen our public schools. We’ll talk with local advocacy group Parents for KC Kids about Missouri's schools and get an update on recent legislation. 

We’re going to introduce our listeners to a couple of shows from the Labor Radio Podcast Network. The Green and Red podcast did a show about the Greensboro Sit-Ins sixty-four years ago and the power of direct action linking lessons to the resistance to ICE in Minneapolis. Then, we’ll here a few minutes from the podcast The Power at Work asking three labor observers about recent news. Our feature is Know Your Rights with Michael Amash.

Whether AI will be a glorious revolution for humanity or a dystopian nightmare remains to be seen, but one thing is certain:  Big Tech is all in.  We'll ask the American Prospect’s David Dayen if we’re in an AI bubble that could wreck the economy.  Then, since 1976, El Centro has helped the Latino community thrive. We’ll talk with social worker Maryely Cadena-Zarate about how her work is changed under Trump as families fear being disappeared by ICE. Our feature is Labor Song of the Month.

Dockworkers have long been on the progressive forefront supporting racial equality and fighting fascism. This week on the Heartland Labor Forum we’ll talk with Professor Peter Cole about the history of longshore workers and how they’re dealing with creeping fascism in today’s America. Then, Congress has disappeared the Affordable Care Act tax credits. We’ll ask economist John Miller about the millions of Americans losing their health coverage and what’s the impact on the rest of us?  Our feature is Safety First with Mary Erio.

Last fall workers at two Half Priced Books stores organized a union. Now workers at the Westport store have won a first contract. We’ll celebrate with them this week on the Heartland Labor Forum . Then, one of the longest strikes in recent history ended with a judge’s order and a big win for the union. Then management fired everyone and shutdown operations. Yes it’s the Pittsburg Post Gazette, and we’ll talk to the President of the News Guild CWA’s John Schleuss. Thursday at 6pm, rebroadcast Friday at 5am. Our feature is Voices from Labor History with Christina Dismang.

Do you know the union members Bill of Rights? If you are a union member these affect you just in case your union fails to be democratic. Tonight we’ll talk to Josh Soffler from the Association for Union Democracy. Then, is burying a nuclear reactor almost half a mile underground a good idea? This Trumpian project designated for Parsons, Kansas says it will bury its own waste just as deep. We’ll ask nuclear expert Ann Suellentrop about it. Our feature is Washington Window with Mark Gruenberg.

UE, The United Electrical Workers, was the first US union to denounce Trump’s attacks on Venezuela. Other unions have now joined them demanding “no more blood for oil.” This week on the Heartland Labor Forum we talk to UE President Scott Slawson about why and how union leaders talk to members about controversial political issues. Then, we’ll interview author Joe Embersberger about how the media has failed to report the real and complex story of how the US has undermined Venezuelan democracy for years. Thursday at 6pm, rebroadcast Friday at 5am. Our feature is Know Your Rights with Michael Amash.

A year ago on the Heartland Labor Forum we predicted what was in store for working people in 2025. This week we’ll look in our 2026 crystal ball and ask How will workers and unions do this year? Will organizing surge despite a paralyzed NLRB? Will Missourians reject gerrymandered maps? Will unions join the No Kings coalition? Will the Chiefs get a deal in Kansas?

It’s our Best of 2025 part 2 show. We'll hear interesting interviews, features, and songs from the last year, including the labor system that built the Panama Canal, how an independent labor union is succeeding in the current anti-labor environment, and a catchy tune about Jimmy Hoffa.

It’s our Best of 2025 part 1 show. We'll rediscover a long-lost labor leader, hear from the most successful NLRB general counsel in years, and listen to a famous labor song written by a lawyer plus much more. Catch up on what’s happened to the working class this year.

What do you get when you cross two of the most popular concepts in modern-era: mindfulness and resistance? You guessed it: a teach-in by Hollywood film actor and  Zen Buddhist priest Peter Coyote. He’ll be radicalizing us this week on the Heartland Labor Forum and telling us about the Theatre of Protest. Our feature is Know Your Rights with Michael Amash.

Mental health problems are on the rise, and finding help can be tough. To make matters worse, people often don’t want to talk about it. So, this week on The Heartland Labor Forum we’re going to talk about it and ask what our local unions do to support union leaders’, members’ and their families’ mental health. We’ll talk with two unions – the Plumbers Local 8 and Firefighters Local 42 that both have model programs. Our feature is Labor Song of the Month with Mark Galus.