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.
May 15, 2025 Local, News & Public Affairs, Podcast
Alan Reuther: From Flint to Selma: How Roy Reuther Shaped Labor & Civil Rights in America and Bert Nash Mental Health Workers Organize
Walter Reuther, UAW founder, was famous. His brother Roy also made key contributions to labor and civil rights. Roy's son Alan Reuther discusses his book on Roy Reuther's activism. Then, IBEW organizer Payton Smith talks about the union campaign at Bert Nash and efforts to organize social service workers.
ListenMay 8, 2025 Local, News & Public Affairs, Podcast
Social Security Workers Speak Out
Former Commissioner Martin O’Malley says Social Security could collapse soon. SSA workers report bedlam at work, and union leader Kelley says Musk doesn’t wants to eliminate Social Security entirely. Heartland Labor Forum will get the latest on the chaos from three SSA workers. Our feature is Labor Song of the Month
ListenMay 1, 2025 Local, News & Public Affairs, Podcast
HLF-May1-2025-May Day! – Songs, History, and Rants to Celebrate Worker Power
It’s May Day and this week the Heartland Labor Forum is celebrating International Workers Day with songs to raise the spirit, an interview from 1997 with Studs Terkel on the history of May Day, a tribute to black folk and labor singer John Handcox and who knows what else. Maybe we’ll even come up with the reason why labor day in the US isn’t on May first. Our feature is Safety First with Mary Erio.
ListenApril 24, 2025 Local, News & Public Affairs, Podcast
Remembering the British Miners’ Strike after 40 Years with Miner John Dunn
What do you do when the head of state comes after your union with 6,000 cops and a license to kill? We’ll get advice from John Dunne who had his head bashed in by cops during the British Miners’ Strike of 1984. Dunne is a former miner with remarkable insight into the lessons the miners learned. Our Feature is Washington Window with Mark Gruenberg.
ListenApril 17, 2025 Local, News & Public Affairs, Podcast
Labor Leader Series: Dustin Himes from Bricklayers & Allied Craftsworkers Local 15 and Rep Tobias Schlingensiepen: Fighting Fascism from Germany to KS
This week the Heartland Labor Forum, explores the artistry of bricklayers and masons with Dustin Himes from the Bricklayers and Allied Crafts Local 15. Plus, Kansas State Representative Tobias Schlingensiepen discusses his German grandparent’s resistance to Hitler and what we can learn today plus issues from the legislative session.
ListenApril 10, 2025 Local, News & Public Affairs, Podcast
How Do We Overcome Internal Division in Unions? and Beneath REI’s Green Sheen: Union Busting, Debt Bondage, and Partnership with Eco-Criminals
Creating division is key to defeating a union. This week, on the Heartland Labor Forum we ask organizers how they build solidarity. Then, REI, or Recreational Equipment Inc., has been labeled a global union buster and environmental cheat. We'll ask a worker.
ListenApril 3, 2025 Local, News & Public Affairs, Podcast
Layoffs at Haskell Indian Nations University: Treaty Violation? And Property Tax Reform: The Good, The Bad and The Ugly
After taking office, President Trump cut funding for Haskell Indian Nation’s University, crippling its teaching capacity. We’ll speak to student leader Tara Roanhorse. The KS legislature also didn't cap property valuations, affecting property taxes. Rita Jefferson from the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy will discuss solutions. Our feature is Safety First with Mary Erio.
ListenMarch 27, 2025 Local, News & Public Affairs, Podcast
Why Has America’s Greatest Labor Progressive: Frank P. Walsh Been Forgotten? and The School District Bond Issue with Dr. Jennifer Collier
We'll interview labor historian Jeff Stilley about Frank Walsh, Kansas City's overlooked labor champion. Additionally, we'll discuss the Kansas City Public Schools Bond vote with Superintendent Dr. Jennifer Collier, who will explain its benefits and the district's test score progress. Our feature will be Washington Window with Mark Gruenberg.
ListenMarch 20, 2025 Local, News & Public Affairs, Podcast
Will the Missouri Legislature Undo the Will of the Voters? and Former AFL-CIO Organizing Director Stewart Acuff: Love Is Solidarity in Action
The MO Legislature is at it again – trying to subvert the will of the people. This week on the Heartland Labor Forum, we’ll talk to Missouri State Reps. Pattie Mansur and Tiffany Price who oppose reversing the popular will. Then, throughout his career, Stewart Acuff organized union after eventually becoming the organizing director for the AFL-CIO. In retirement he’s written a book of poetry called Love Is Solidarity in Action. He’ll be on the show
ListenMarch 13, 2025 Local, News & Public Affairs, Podcast
Federal Unions Fight Back
With President Trump’s dismantling of the federal bureaucracy in full swing, led by Elon Musk's DOGE, federal workers are under siege. But unionized federal workers are fighting back. We'll talk with leaders from the American Federation of Government Employees and the National Treasury Employees Union about their resistance efforts. Our feature is Labor Song of the Month
Listen