Heartland Labor Forum

By KKFI 90.1 FM Kansas City Community Radio

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 ... more

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FAQs about Heartland Labor Forum:

How many episodes does Heartland Labor Forum have?

The podcast currently has 869 episodes available.

Heartland Labor Forum episodes:

August 19, 2026 When the KKK ruled KCK and Nelson Lichtenstein on the upcoming UAW elections
A hundred years ago in Kansas City Kansas, the KKK ruled. In fact, for three decades, they held substantial control of city government while fomenting hatred of Blacks, immigrants and Catholics. We’ll interview Tim Rives, author of the book about the KKK in KCK. Then, the United Autoworkers Union is generating controversy over democracy vs. top down unity as they approach the existential negotiations in 2028. We’ll talk to renowned labor historian and UAW expert Nelson Lichtenstein. Our feature is Know Your Rights with Michael Amash.
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1h 1min
August 10, 2026 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.
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1h
August 07, 2026 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.
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1h
July 28, 2026 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.
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1h
July 22, 2026 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.
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1h
July 14, 2026 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.
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1h 1min
July 07, 2026 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
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58min
June 30, 2026 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.
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1h
June 23, 2026 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.
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1h 1min
June 17, 2026 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.
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1h

FAQs about Heartland Labor Forum:

How many episodes does Heartland Labor Forum have?

The podcast currently has 869 episodes available.