Heartland Labor Forum

Two veteran union organizers: Pete Olney and Rand Wilson discuss the compelling need to organize Amazon and what that effort could learn from the Fight for $15 and a union. Then the Railway Labor Act just turned a 100. It was our first national labor law which set up the National Mediation Board to settle disputes. We'll ask Deirdre Hamilton, former NMB member if it’s showing its age and needs revision.

With the midterms less than a month away, The Heartland Labor Forum is asking candidates what they think about working class issues. This week we’re diving into some hotly contested races: John Patterson vs Keri Ingle in the 8th Senate District. Then it’s Kemp Strickler vs Sean Smith in the 34thHouse District, Kevin Grover vs Jeff Martin in the 30th and Susan Hoisington vs. Bill Allen in the 17th. All have been invited. Tune in to find out who shows up.

You’ve probably heard that coal miners would take a canary into a mine because canaries drop dead before miners do when exposed to poison gasses. Social Security workers will talk on the show about the DOGE and the strain of understaffing, office closures and benefit cuts that are poisoning their work lives and hurting recipients, and we’ll ask if Social Security workers are the canaries warning us of coming Trump Administration cuts to Social Security. Our feature is Safety First with Mary Erio.

The Midterms are barreling toward us with lots of fresh recruits wanting to unseat incumbents. We’ll focus on three Kansas races - the first Congressional District – a weirdly shaped creature with its head in the east and its backside up against Colorado - plus two state House districts – the 3rd around Pittsburg and 6th which includes Lewisburg and Paola where a UAW member is running. All candidates have been invited. So far Lauren Reinhold (D), Steven Jacob (L), Frank Henderson (D) and Isiah Harris (D) have accepted. Our feature is Washington Window on Workers with Mark Gruenberg.

We visit the promised land, or is it? Scandinavian social democracy means universal healthcare, pensions, paid family leave and unions for most. Sounds great, right? We’ll talk pros and cons with Erika Gubrium, an American scholar in Norway. Then, there’s a dark and lurid history of secret societies in Missouri. Devin Thomas wrote a book called The Veiled Prophet: Secret Societies, White Supremacy and the Struggle for Saint Louis. He’ll be on the show. Our feature is Know Your Rights with Michael Amash.

Kansas City area voters should know before the we air on Thursday at 6pm which district and what candidates for Congress they can vote for. Wherever the 4th turns out to be, we’ve invited Democrat Jordan Herrera, Republican incumbent Mark Alford and Libertarian Thomas Holbrook to talk about working class issues. Then, unions in companies bought up by another have had certain protections from being booted out. Not anymore. We’ll talk with Professor Michael Duff from SLU about the demise of the successor bar doctrine. Our feature is Labor Song of the Month.

Tennessee didn’t just produce Dolly Parton. The Highlander Center arose there in spite of Tennessee. It is a school for the movement - first for labor in the 1930s then civil rights in the 50’s and 60’s. We will talk to Elaine Weiss about her book Spell Freedom: The Underground Schools That Built the Civil Rights Movement. It’s an essential story of how to build a movement that can change America. Our feature is Safety First with Mary Erio.

Do early child care facilities work for working families? The answer is no — at least not for union and trades families. This week on the Heartland Labor Forum we’ll hear about problems and solutions with the Labor Beacon’s Julia Williams and Tina Shonk Little, member of Operating Engineers local 101. Then Kansas City Jobs with Justice has a new organizer, Allie White. She’s full of ideas and energy to build solidarity and action among working people. She’ll be on the show. Our feature is Washington Window with Mark Gruenberg.

A hundred years ago in Kansas City Kansas, the KKK ruled. In fact, for three decades, they held substantial control of city government while fomenting hatred of Blacks, immigrants and Catholics. We’ll interview Tim Rives, author of the book about the KKK in KCK. Then, the United Autoworkers Union is generating controversy over democracy vs. top down unity as they approach the existential negotiations in 2028. We’ll talk to renowned labor historian and UAW expert Nelson Lichtenstein. Our feature is Know Your Rights with Michael Amash.

The climate change deniers haven’t stopped our forests and fields from burning this summer. So, this week on the Heartland Labor Forum we’ll ask Kevin A. Young, author of Abolishing Fossil Fuels how do we build the political will to address climate change? Could the answer lie in the past? Then, a panel of our volunteer producers will discuss how you can become a radio star on our show just like us. Our feature is Labor Song of the Month with Mark Galus.

Did you learn any labor history in school? Probably not much. We’ll find out from Adam Sanchez of Rethinking Schools Magazine why it’s important for working class kids to learn their own history. Then, as investor capital flees the private equity sector over AI fears, the Trump administration wants to allow retirement accounts to include venture capital and hedge fund investments. We'll ask Eileen Appelbaum from the Center for Economic Policy and Research if that is a good idea. Our feature is Safety First with Mary Erio.

In 2022 the Heartland Labor Forum interviewed author Natasha Iskander who investigated the massive worker rights violations at the Doha World Cup and asked if you have to be a skilled worker to be treated as a human. This week we’ll revisit that interview and then ask Stage Hands Union leader Jacob Hobbs if this summer’s World Cup has done any better for his members and other workers. Our feature is Voices from Labor History.

It’s not often that union members become politicians, but Kevin King, former labor leader is now mayor of Independence. We’ll get his story. Then KCUR’s Sam Zeff will run down two consequential constitutional amendments on the August 4th. Amendment 4 would make it almost impossible for citizens to pass a constitutional amendment, and 5 would phase out the state income tax and authorize the legislature to replace the lost funds with an increased sales tax.

The August 4th Kansas ballot has a blockbuster constitutional amendment to change the way the state Supreme Court is selected. This week on the Heartland Labor Forum we’ll find out from the Kansas Reflector’s Tim Carpenter what this means for the rights of women to control their bodies and funding for our public schools. Then, Labor Notes has been the voice of union activism since 1979. Their biennial conference was held last month in Chicago, and we'll hear some of the speeches and presentations from the conference that will hopefully inspire you to put the movement back in the labor movement.

Right-wing politicians have declared war on public employees across federal, state, and local levels, despite their hard work ensuring that essential government programs function. The Communications Workers Union represents many of these employees. This week on the Heartland Labor Forum, we’ll speak with Margaret Cook, CWA's VP for Public, Health, and Education. Then, workers at three Half-Priced Bookstores in the KC area have unionized but they’re frustrated with management stalling on their first contract.

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. Tune in Thursday at 6pm, rebroadcast Friday at 5am.

The brutal murder in 1968 of Jock Yablonski and his family by United Mineworker president Tony Boyle sent shockwaves through the labor movement. Its impact inspired a surge in union democracy across labor’s ranks. This week on the Heartland Labor Forum, we’ll talk about it to Mark Bradley, author of Blood Runs Coal. Then, we’ll hear from respiratory therapists who have travelled to places where the pandemic is strongest to care for its victims. Their stories are riveting. Tune in Thursday at 6pm, rebroadcast Friday at 5am.

This week on the Heartland Labor Forum, we talk to historian Michael Goldfield about his new book The Southern Key: Class, Race, and Radicalism in the 1930s and 40s. Goldfield argues the key to understanding American politics for the last 75 years lies in the Southern class struggle in that period. Then, we’ll talk to Jim Kolve, the Missouri AFL-CIO’s dislocated worker coordinator about Missouri Jobs Centers, which he calls the hospitals for a sick economy. Tune in Thursday at 6pm, rebroadcast Friday at 5am.

This week on the Heartland Labor Forum, we’ll talk to Morning Glory Ministries about the plight of the homeless in quarantine. Then, how do you work safely in a pandemic, and what are your rights? We’ll hear from Heartland Labor Forum Safety First’s Mary Erio, an industrial hygienist. Thursday at 6pm, rebroadcast Friday at 5am.

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 of Missouri Jobs with Justice about how Missouri Republican legislators are trying to undo the minimum wage initiative and Clean Amendment that voters passed overwhelmingly last November. Tune in Thursday at 6pm, rebroadcast Friday at 5am.

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 a community and worker fightback against a system rigged against them? It’s called the LA Teachers Strike, and it’s got a lot for us to learn. Find out Thursday at 6pm, rebroadcast Friday at 5am.

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 Power in Open Shop America. It’s great advice for anyone who wants to build worker power where they work. Tune in Thursday at 6pm, rebroadcast Friday at 5am.

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 boss, but what if workers become their own bosses? We'll talk with UMKC economist Erik Olsen about worker cooperatives, and ask if they might be the future for the organized workplace. Tune in Thursday at 6pm, rebroadcast Friday at 5am.

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, how do we build a peace movement to stop an invasion? Then, we continue our interviews with Kansas City Mayoral candidates with Jolie Justus. We ask her about development that’s good for workers and the minimum wage repeal. Tune in Thursday at 6pm, rebroadcast Friday at 5am. [Added March 4, 2019]: A 51:27 (mm:ss) video of Medea's talk with a transcript is available in the Wikiversity article on "Medea Benjamin on Iran and Saudi Arabia". A podcast of that talk with the 32 minute question and answer session is available as a session of "Global Roots Radio" on kkfi.org.

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 prevailing wage? We’ll talk to Missouri Rep. Judy Morgan and Kansas Rep. Tom Burroughs. Thursday at 6pm, rebroadcast Friday at 5am.

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 Labor Forum. Also, Donald Trump is eviscerating policies and legislation that favor working people. We’ll talk to journalist Steven Hill to find out how far labor has been set back by these efforts and if the working class can identify the real "enemy of the people"! Thursday at 6pm, rebroadcast Friday at 5am.

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 in a strike against their employer, a newspaper in a medium-sized American city. Then, we’ll look at a strike that starts this week by United Teachers of Los Angeles and find out what these teachers want. Thursday at 6pm, rebroadcast Friday at 5am.

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 says the new NAFTA doesn’t fix the old NAFTA’s problems. 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 Thursday at 6PM, rebroadcast Friday at 5am.

This week on the Heartland Labor Forum, it's our second show on alt labor. That's alternative approaches to organizing and running unions. We'll spend the hour with Jane McAlevey, whose book, Raising Expectations and Raising Hell, was controversial and a great memoir of her decade as an organizer and union leader for SEIU. We'll ask her what went wrong in Florida in 2000 where she worked for the AFL-CIO, how she helped keep Tenet Healthcare out of Kansas City, and how unions need to change. Thursday at 6:00 PM, rebroadcast Friday at 5 AM

What is the status of the Green New Deal and the Inflation Reduction Act now that Trump is President? This week on the Heartland Labor Forum we’ll talk jobs, unions and the green transition with the University of Massachusetts Robert Pollin. Then, Daniel Kotzin teaches history at William Jewell College. In April he gave a talk on the racist history of US immigration law as part of the first Constructing Resistance teach-in called First, They Came for the Immigrants. Our feature is Labor Song of the Month

Labor educator and activist Les Leopold has given up on the Democratic Party and written a book called The Billionaires Have Two Parties; We Need a Party of Our Own. He’s calling on unions and the working class to build a labor party starting in the spaces where the Democrats have little to no support, don’t run candidates or lose by double digits. He’ll be on the Heartland Labor Forum this week.

We explore two books. First, New York Times reporter Noam Scheiber’s Mutiny: The Rise and Revolt of the College Educated Working Class who face underemployment, low pay and crippling debt after graduation. Then, Joe Uehlein whose memoir Three Roads takes him from 60’s antiwar protests to the Battle of Seattle, to civil disobedience at the White House against the Keystone pipeline, all the while working for the AFL-CIO and leading a rock band. Our feature is Washington Window with Mark Gruenberg.

The National Labor Relations Board will soon have a Republican majority, meaning that the rollback of Biden-era union protections is imminent. We’ll talk with journalist Robert Iafolla (Eye-uh-foal uh) of Bloomberg Law about what’s next for the NLRB. Then, we’ll talk to DSA’s Elias Garcia about their campaign to get local businesses to sign the Monarch Pledge and say “No” to ICE.

It’s KKFI’s Summer Fund Drive! PLEASE DONATE DURING THE SHOW OR ANYTIME. YOU CAN CALL 888-931-0901 OR GO TO KKFI.ORG. Thursday, on the Heartland Labor Forum: This year’s Missouri legislative session, perhaps more aptly known as the Legislative Session of Misery ended on May 15. Rep, Emily Weber will give us the scoop on what passed and how you’ll be affected. Then, we’ll check in with Representative Adrian Plank about the impact of the new labor legislator caucus and ask him What needs to be done next year to strengthen the working-class voice in Jefferson City.

We discuss the proposed Kansas City Royals stadium to be built at Crown Center in partnership with Hallmark. The plan seems to be creating more questions than answers, and as part of our recurring coverage of the stadium, we’ll look at the economics of public subsidies for sports venues, as well as whether the city’s sales tax revenue projections on the stadium are a home run or a swing-and-a-miss. Our feature is Safety First with Mary Erio.

Planning a summer road trip? How about visiting the places where ordinary people made extraordinary change? We’ll talk to Chris Garlock of the Labor Heritage Foundation about their new Labor Landmark Map! Then we’ll visit a nearby landmark – Quindaro, the town founded by Wyandot Indians, abolitionists and free blacks as a free port on the Missouri River. We’ll talk to a descendant of Robert Monroe who escaped to freedom across the winter ice. Our feature is Washington Window with Mark Gruenberg.

Who doesn’t love a library? Unfortunately, library workers at Mid-Continent Libraries don’t feel much love from their bosses, and they’ve organized a union. We’ll have them and results of their vote on it on tonight’s show. Then, one might think that being head of the Texas AFL-CIO would be a thankless job in such an anti-union state, but Rick Levy made the state’s labor movement broader, bolder, and more inclusive. We’ll find out how. Our feature is Know Your Rights with Michael Amash.

Ever heard of the League of Revolutionary Black Workers based in Detroit in the 1970s? There’s a new book called Motown and the Making of Working-Class Revolutionaries. This week on the Heartland Labor Forum, we’ll talk to the authors. Then, the Missouri legislature will short-change schools next year making grants from the Kansas City Public School Foundation more necessary than ever. Find out about their vital role. Our feature is Labor Song of the Month with Mark Galus.

Pharmacists at the University of Kansas Medical Center in KCK have petitioned for a union election. It’s next week. They wonder why there’s so little room for advancement in their jobs and why the rules leave them without justice on the job. Our feature is Safety First with Mary Erio.

What impact are ICE raids having on immigrant workers and communities in rural Missouri? This week on the Heartland Labor Forum, we’ll talk to University of Michigan Prof. William D. Lopez about his book "Raiding the Heartland.” Then the new Labor Caucus of Missouri legislators is fighting for legislation to support workers and unions. We’ll talk to Rep Adrian Plank. Our feature is Voices from Labor History.

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.