Heartland Labor Forum

It’s been a year since veteran labor strategists Rand Wilson and Pete Olney discussed the chances of a “labor movement moment” on the Heartland Labor Forum. This week we’ll ask them about the triumphs of this year and the obstacles labor faces in the next. Then, call center and retail workers deal with angry customers, long hours, and intense pressure from management. Some have unions. We’ll visit with Tanya Holmes President of Communications Workers local 6327 and ask what it’s like to represent these workers. Our feature is Remember Our Struggle with Ariana Eakle.

Pension expert Teresa Ghilarducci returns to the Heartland Labor Forum this week to explain how some corporations are selling off workers’ pension plans and putting them at risk. Find out if your employer is selling  your pension. Then, as higher education gets more and more corporatized unions across the country are joining together in HELU - Higher Ed Labor United to fight to bring colleges and universities back to affordability and for more accountability as providers of a democratic education for all. We’ll talk to an organizer. Our feature is Safety First with Mary Erio.

For Halloween, we feature two books about blood-thirsty bosses. First book is called Not All Fun and Games about the super-profitable North American video game industry which squeezes the sweat from its workers. Then we look at how the disaster capitalists and union busters remade public education in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina and murdered a perfectly good union in the process. The book is Building Power, Breaking Power. Tune in for some Halloween horror. Our feature is Labor Song of the Month with Mark Galus.

Do you still read the paper? Is it even made of paper? Is the newspaper industry changing or dying? We’ll see what Jon Schluess, President of the CWA News Guild has to say about that and how the Guild protects its journalist members. Then, kids dream of being firefighters. They watch passing firetrucks in awe. We’ll find out what firefighters and their unions do with Michael Veit, President of IAFF 781 in Independence.

We’ll look at the race for control of the Missouri legislature. The results of the election could mean that for the first time in years the legislature would operate without a super-majority party. We’ve invited all candidates for the House 16th, 17th and 34th districts, and will visit with all who accepted and find -out their plans for Missouri if they win. Our feature is Know Your Rights with Michael Amash.

We’ll look at a couple of Missouri Senate races that are up for grabs. They’re the 11th District in Independence and the 17th in Clay County. Candidates will get the HLF litmus test on labor issues. Then politicians and pundits alike have called Joe Biden the most pro-labor president in American history, but is that fact or fiction? We’ll explore the subject with Les Leopold, author, labor educator, and executive director of The Labor Institute. Our feature is Remember Our Struggle with Ariana Eakle.

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 of Sin Padres, Ni Papeles: Unaccompanied migrant youth coming of age in the United States. Then, it’s the first of three election shows. This week it’s the Kansas 10th Senate district where Andrew Mal is running against Sen. Mike Thompson and the Kansas House 33rd where Eli Woody challenges Rep. Mike Thompson Will they unseat two Mike Thompsons?

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 Heartland Labor Forum we’ll talk to Emily Guendelsberger, author of On the Clock on why workers feel frustrated, anxious and alienated and what we can do about it. Then, we’ll take you up to 10,000 feet. to Leadville, Colorado and explore its fascinating labor history with expert Dr. James Walsh. Our feature is Washington Window on Workers with Mark Gruenberg.

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 overtime to FMLA and breastfeeding at work. Then members of IBEW Local 124 have won paid family leave in their new contract. Will this set a precedent for union workers in the trades? We’ll also have our monthly Know Your Rights with union attorney Michael Amash.

Many candidates call for less government regulation, but nursing homes need more. Workers face unsafe staffing and low wages, with owners prioritizing profits. This week on the Heartland Labor Forum, we'll discuss solutions with David Kingsley and continue our interview with Debby Goldman about call center workers’ rights.

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 Everywhere, and talk with Si and his collaborator/producer George Mann. Our feature is Safety First with Mary Erio.

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 technology, capitalism and corporate governance.  Then what better way to celebrate a century of Disney than to talk to author Jake Friedman about the full-scale worker revolt that almost toppled the magical kingdom in the The Disney Revolt: The Great Labor War of Animation’s Golden Age. Our feature is Labor Song of the Month.

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 find out how our schools are integrating immigrant children through the Kansas City Public Schools innovative International Welcome Center which provides comprehensive support to the immigrant, migrant, refugee and non-native English-speaking families in our community to provide a seamless transition to life and school in Kansas City. The Feature is Washington Window on Workers with Mark Gruenberg.

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 that’s a bad idea from pension expert Dr. Teresa Ghilarducci. Then, we’ll talk to Ben Bush who leads IBEW Local 53. His members climb the poles and keep the lines working so that you have power to listen to us. Our feature is Know Your Rights with Michael Amash.

Lean Production was adopted by management starting in the 80s. It put work and life constantly stressed. Kim Moody and Labor Notes invented the term "management by stress." We'll talk to him. Then, earlier this year, Kansas City passed a local ordinance to implement the federal Pregnant Workers Fairness Act. Find out how to get help. To report cases of discrimination call 816-513-1836.

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? Find out how ranked choice voting works. Also, author Ethan Marcotte thinks tech workers need unions and with unions they will build a better tech industry. Our feature is Safety First with Mary Erio.

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 with the postal service? Then we’ll hear from unionized workers at the University of Missouri and its Healthcare System in Columbia. They’re fed up with benefit cuts, parking hikes and wage stagnation and wonder what it will take to get Mizzou to bargain in good faith. Our feature is Washington Window on Workers.

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 of Why Asset Managers Own the World. Then, should workers block shipments of weapons to dictators? In 1980 the International Longshore and Warehouse Union stopped weapons bound for El Salvador. We’ll talk to Peter Cole who edited the late Herb Mill’s memoir, Presente! Our feature is Know Your Rights with Michael Amash.

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 Professor Matthew T. Bodie about those cases, and efforts by Elon Musk and others to find the NLRB unconstitutional. Then, we’ll commemorate the 10th anniversary of Minnesota’s East Side Freedom Library.  It’s much more than a repository of books.  It also advocates for justice and has become an inspiration and guiding light for communities large and small in the Minneapolis area.  Our feature is Remember Our Struggle with Ariana Eakle.

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 worker from St. Louis about how EWOC trains them to organize. Then the Historical Society of Missouri’s Doug Genens has embarked on an oral history project with union and social justice activists across the state. Our feature is Safety First, which is all about the implications for worker health and safety  in the Supreme Court’s decision to repeal the Chevron Doctrine.

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: How Trade Policy & Industrial Decline Transformed America. Then, will we feel safer by militarizing the police, giving them deadlier weapons and more funding? Protesters against Cop City in Atlanta think not. We’ll talk to Renee Johnston from Black Power Media about her research on plans to build 47 more Cop Cities and what that means for working people.

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 urgent problems like inequality, war and racism. Then, we’ll replay our interview from December, 2022 with Jenny Agee, a pioneer in non-traditional jobs for women. She was Kansas City’s first woman Trucker and later became a Teamster Organizer. Our feature is Know Your Rights with Michael Amash.

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, Business Manager of Operating Engineers local 101 in our labor leader series.  Then, Fishing for Freedom day brings several hundred veterans together to fish in peace. It’s sponsored by unions and we’ll hear about it from Steve Gercone and Greg Davison who said, ““It’s not about catching fish, it’s about being out there, and nobody’s shooting at us.” Our feature is Remember Our Struggle with Ariana.

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 talk to organizers about the issues staff are facing and their efforts to negotiate a first contract. Then, we all know the song "There is Power in a Union." But have you ever heard the song performed by a German hillbilly band? We'll play that, as well as alternate versions of other famous labor songs.

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 taxes and, of course, Medicaid Expansion, so the Governor is sending them to summer school. What about union and worker issues? For the most part they weren’t in the lesson plan. We’ll hear from Missouri Representatives Jamie Johnson and Eric Woods and Kansas Loud Light Communications Director Paris Raite about it. Our feature is Labor Song of the Month.

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 examples from Ken and ask him how to use art strategically in struggles for justice. Then Ken will talk with local musicians Bob and Diana Suckiel and playwright/musician Bill Clause for some local examples. Our Feature is Washington Window with Mark Gruenberg.

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 militant auto union capable of organizing the South. Is the UAW returning to its militant roots? Where did it go wrong? This week on the Heartland Labor Forum we’ll hear historians Nelson Lichtenstein, Toni Gilpin and rank and file members discuss the legacy of UAW founder Walther Reuther and ask whether the political machine he built led the union’s near-destruction.

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 Reiman will be on the Heartland Labor Forum. Then, it’s an election year, and corporate dollars are raining on candidates. In 2010, the Supreme Court gave business the constitutional right to free speech, and elections have never been the same. We’ll talk to Move to Amend, an organization working to change that.

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 communities. She’ll be on the Heartland Labor Forum this week. Then, a new study by UMKC economist Michael Kelsay says increasing numbers of construction employers who commit wage theft and misclassify workers as independent contractors are tax cheats costing Kansas and Missouri millions.  They swindle workers out of wages, worker compensation coverage and their legal rights.

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 week we'll compare labor laws of the U.S. and other countries. Then bankers brought the global economic system to its knees in 2007 and almost again in 2020. Both times, the US government bailed them out and left them in control. Find out how to fix this broken system with Gerald Epstein who wrote Busting the Bankers' Club.  Our Feature is Know Your Rights with Michael Amash.

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 we’ll look at a scary example of this, a Bitcoin fantasy colony on the island of Roatan in Honduras. Then, Robert Bruno, a labor educator, asked union members to complete the sentence, “Work is. . .” He’s written a book What Work Is: How Workers See Work, based on their answers and how work could be redesigned. Our feature is Remember Our Struggle with Ariana.

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 for president Eugene Debs once said, "it's better to vote for what you want, and don't get it rather than vote for what you don't want--and get it". We’ll talk to Oliver Hall, founder of the Center for Competitive Democracy and guests representing 3 alternative parties in Missouri and Kansas. Our feature is Safety First with Mary Erio.

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 to communities like ours. Then author Brian Merchant says there’s Blood in the Machine as he retells the story of how two hundred years ago in rural England, starving workers known as the Luddites rose up against factory owners who automated their jobs. Are there implications for workers today facing AI? Out feature is Know Your Rights with Mark Gruenberg.

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 Crossroads and to improve Arrowhead Stadium. This week on the Heartland Labor Forum we’ll hear from two sides: Ralph Oropeza of the Kansas City Building Trades who is supporting the tax and from KC Tenants who are opposing. Hear the pros and cons and make up your mind how to vote.  Our feature is Know Your Rights with Michael Amash.

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 books and art books among others. The ACLU with Missouri librarians filed suit. When will the courts weigh in? Find out this week on the Heartland Labor Forum. Then, candidates who want support from unions often go to the luncheons at the 40 Club. We’ll explore the history of the 40 Club and its importance in our local political process. Our feature is Remember Our Struggle with Ariana.

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 from their male-dominated union to form IFFA, the Independent Union of Flight Attendants and about their 1986 strike. Our Feature is Safety First with Mary Erio. We’ll also be pitching for funds for KKFI. Please make a donation to Heartland Labor Forum and KKFI by calling 888-931-0901 or at kkfi.org.

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 of workers, their families, and communities. We’ll talk to Les this week on the Heartland Labor Forum about solutions. Then, we’ve got another show about what legislators are cookin’ up for us – this time in Topeka. We’ll talk to John Nave of the Kansas AFL-CIO and Rabbi Moti Rieber of Kansas Interfaith.  Our Feature is: Labor Song of the Month.

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 Missouri Representatives Ashley Aune and Aaron Crossley about this toxic stew. Then, they say the whole world is literally going to pot. This makes the cannabis industry ripe for organizing.  Jerry Wood of Teamsters Local 955 will inform us on what they are doing to help dispensary budtenders become Teamsters. Our feature is Washington Window on Workers with Mark Gruenberg.