Heartland Labor Forum

Hosted by KKFI 90.1 FM Kansas City Community Radio

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Episodes

601

Latest episode

Aug 2026

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EN-US

About the show

This podcast tracks the audio archives for the “Heartland Labor Forum” radio show. 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. ]]>

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60 recent

August 10, 202659 min

What Will It Take to Abolish Fossil Fuels? and You too can be a radio star!

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.

August 7, 202659 min

Teaching Labor History in K-12 with Rethinking Schools Magazine and Is Trump Planning to Invest Your Retirement in Crypto?

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.

July 28, 202659 min

World Cup Workers: Qatar in 2022 and Now

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.

July 22, 202659 min

The August 4th Missouri Ballot Amendments #4: and #5 and Union Leader Series: Kevin King from Union Leader to Mayor of Independence

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.

July 14, 20261 hr 0 min

The August 4th Kansas Judicial Election Amendment and Putting the Movement Back in the Labor Movement at Labor Notes

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.

July 7, 202657 min

The Emerging Green Economy and Daniel Kotzin: the Racist History of US Immigration Law

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

June 30, 202659 min

The Billionaires Have Two Parties; We Need One of Our Own!

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.

June 23, 20261 hr 0 min

Noam Scheiber’s Mutiny: the Rise and Revolt of the College Educated Working Class and Joe Uehlein, Three Roads: Labor, Music, Ecology

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.

June 17, 202659 min

NLRB Update – the New Republican Majority and Working Families Friend Turns 23

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.

June 9, 202659 min

The 2026 State of Misery Legislative Sum-up and the Labor Caucus and --- IT'S KKFI SUMMER FUND DRIVE!

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.

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