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. Hear the voices and inspiration of troublemakers in the workplace and in the global economy. Listen to our monthly features: Know Your Rights, Safety First, Economics Unmasked, and Common Good. Find out who won this month’s Boss Hog award. Heartland Labor Forum has won the International Labor Communications Award several times. This year we won two awards.
For more information on upcoming shows, our weekly calendar, or to listen to an archived show, go to http://www.heartlandlaborforum.org
November 20, 2020 Local, News & Public Affairs
Election Results & How Did the Working Class Vote?
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.
Read MoreNovember 13, 2020 Local, News & Public Affairs
Revisiting Harvest of Empire & The Hard Road of Hope
Almost a decade ago, Democracy Now!’s Juan Gonzalez published his path breaking book, Harvest of Empire. This week, 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.
Read MoreNovember 6, 2020 Local, News & Public Affairs
Options for New Employment & Are We Ready for A Shorter Work Week?
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.
Read MoreOctober 30, 2020 Local, News & Public Affairs
School’s Back, or Is It? & The Historical Role of Labor Parties
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.
Read MoreOctober 23, 2020 Local, News & Public Affairs
Election 2020 – More Interviews & Dirty Missouri
It’s all politics this week on the Heartland Labor Forum. 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. Then- why are Missouri voters being asked to overturn an initiative they passed overwhelmingly two years ago. Find out what Amendment 3 is really all about.
Read MoreOctober 16, 2020 Local, News & Public Affairs
Imagining A Post-COVID Future: Roundtable
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.
Read MoreOctober 9, 2020 Local, News & Public Affairs
Election 2020: Interviews with Candidates
We’ll 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.
Read MoreOctober 2, 2020 Local, News & Public Affairs
David Roediger: The Sinking Middle Class & Rose Feurer: Mother Jones-Her Monuments & Museums
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.
Read MoreSeptember 25, 2020 Local, News & Public Affairs
Outrageous! Non-Profit Union Busters & MO Cuts for Kids
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. Tune in Thursday at 6pm, rebroadcast Friday at 5am.
Read MoreSeptember 18, 2020 Local, News & Public Affairs
John Boyd: Labor Defender & KC Tenants ROCK!
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.
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