Local • News & Public Affairs • Podcast
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. We are a member of the Labor Radio Podcast Network #laborradiopod
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The Team
Heartland Labor Forum Programmers
The Heartland Labor Forum is produced by a group of volunteers who are labor and community activists who believe in workplace democracy, workers rights, and economic justice. We're the only show in Kansas City that focuses on working people: who is fighting on their side and who is not, what they need to know about the economy. We seek to educate and inspire.
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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. HLF is produced by a diverse group of working people. We have been agitating for the rights of working people on the KKFI airwaves since 1989.
Find out about labor struggles and strikes, organizing in Kansas City, global sweatshops, and how the economy is working from the point of view of working people. Listen to our monthly features: Know Your Rights, Safety First, Remember Our Struggle, and Washington Window on Workers. Heartland Labor Forum has won the International Labor Communications Association first prize for radio several times. We are members of the Labor Radio Podcast Network #laborradiopod. Other media have plenty of business news of, by, and for the 1%; HLF is for the rest of us.
Find our schedule of upcoming shows and our archive at www.heartlandlaborforum.org.
Feature Editors
- Michael Amash does Know Your Rights once a month. He is with the Blake & Uhlig labor law firm.
- Mark Gruenberg is on once a month with Washington Window on Workers. He is a full-time labor journalist with PAI-Press Associates Inc. which provides news to unions and labor publications.
- Mark Galus does Labor Song of the Month when there is a fifth Thursday.
- Ariana Eakle does Remember Our Struggle about labor history.
September 28, 2023 Local, News & Public Affairs, Podcast
When Will Farmworkers Get Labor Justice? and JwJ’s Erika Smiley: The Future We Need; Organizing for a Better Democracy in the 21st Century
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 Heartland Labor Forum we’ll talk to Farmworker Justice and Missouri Legal Aid about conditions and remedies. Then, Erika Smiley, executive director of national Jobs with Justice has a new book called The Future We Need. She’ll be here to talk about what bargaining and organizing could look like for organized labor in coming years and how unions could change. Also, Washington Window with Mark Gruenberg.
ListenSeptember 21, 2023 Local, News & Public Affairs, Podcast
What’s the Matter with Kansas Workers Comp? and The New McCarthyism
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 Mark about his years-long efforts to overhaul an unfair and broken work comp system. Then, hear about the case of Henry Liang, a Chinese American hotel worker in Boston, member of UNITE HERE Local 26 who has been indicted by the US government as a foreign agent for advocating peace between China and Taiwan. We’ll talk to his union vice-president. Plus Know Your Rights with Michael Amash.
ListenSeptember 14, 2023 Local, News & Public Affairs, Podcast
The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act and How to Blow the Whistle on Unsafe Conditions at Work and Not Get Fired
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 new rights new and expecting mothers in the workforce will have. Then how do you blow the whistle on safety hazards at work and not get fired? We’ll talk to representatives from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration or OSHA about whistle blower protections. Our feature is Remember Our Struggle with Ariana.
ListenSeptember 7, 2023 Local, News & Public Affairs, Podcast
The Perils of Working Non-Union and Immigrant and Heartland Women in Trades Need for Childcare
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 or night on the job? This week on the Heartland Labor Forum, we’ll talk to three union organizers about it. Then, KC is in a construction boom and needs more workers. But the lack and expense of childcare keeps workers with kids off the job. We’ll talk to Tradeswomen about their campaign for child care. Our feature is Safety First with Mary Erio.
ListenAugust 31, 2023 Local, News & Public Affairs, Podcast
Worker Philosophy – Philosophy of Work and Robert Cherny: Harry Bridges; Labor Radical, Labor Legend
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 Bridges was a labor legend all along the West Coast docks. For decades the native Australian defied J. Edgar Hoover’s deportation attempts and led the International Longshore and Warehouse Union to turn killer jobs into sustainable ones. We’ll talk to author Robert Cherny about his new book Harry Bridges: Labor Radical, Labor Legend. Our feature is Washington Window with Mark Gruenberg.
ListenAugust 24, 2023 Local, News & Public Affairs, Podcast
Shawn Fein, Bernie Sandeers and UAW 31 President Dontay Wilson on the Auto Negotiations
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 member demands to end forced overtime and the divisive tier system. The contract with GM, Ford and Stelantis/Chrysler expires September 14. We’ll talk about it with Dontay Wilson, President of UAW Local 31 at the GM Fairfax plant and also hear from Shawn Fain, Bernie Sanders and workers. Our feature is Labor Song of the Month with Mark Galus. The song is UAW-CIO.
ListenAugust 17, 2023 Local, News & Public Affairs, Podcast
The Life of a Dispatcher and Machinists Leader Scott Brown
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 dispatcher. It’s not dull. Then, Machinist Local 778 represents people who make parts for nuclear bombs and people who fix your car. We’ll talk to their new Director, Scott Brown, in our continuing union leader series. Our feature is Know Your Rights with Michael Amash.
ListenAugust 10, 2023 Local, News & Public Affairs, Podcast
Summer Reading: Bill Fletcher, Jr. The Man Who Changed Colors and Working Class Giant: The Life of William Z. Foster
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 death. Was it an accident? Cape and Islands Gazette Journalist David Gomes risks everything to find out. Then veteran union organizer Chris Townsend talks about the lessons for today’s labor activists in the just republished Working Class Giant the Life of William Z. Foster. Foster was the leader of the 1919 steel strike.
ListenAugust 3, 2023 Local, News & Public Affairs, Podcast
Should the AFL-CIO Endorse the Right to Abortion? and UPS: What Do the Workers Think?
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 campaign for labor to endorse women’s reproductive rights. Then, the tentative agreement between UPS and the Teamsters has been hailed as a great deal for the workers by the news media, Wall Street, and government officials. But what about the workers? They’re the ones who will vote to ratify or not. What do they think? Our Feature is Safety First with Mary Erio.
ListenJuly 27, 2023 Local, News & Public Affairs, Podcast
Essential Workers for Union Democracy: a Growing Movement and The Ghost Workers Behind AI
There’s a growing chorus of essential workers demanding more democracy in their unions. We talk to leaders of a rank & file reform group, Essential Workers 4 Democracy (EW4D). Then who is teaching artificial intelligence to replace us? We’ll explore the working conditions of the workers who toil for rich AI labs but paid less than minimum wage, the future of work for these ghost workers and how to empower them. Our Feature is Washington Window on Workers.
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