Épisodes

  • We Ask: What Are Unions Doing about Members’ Mental Health?

    We Ask: What Are Unions Doing about Members’ Mental Health?
    Dec 9 2025
    Mental health problems are on the rise, and finding help can be tough. To make matters worse, people often don’t want to talk about it. So, this week on The Heartland Labor Forum we’re going to talk about it and ask what our local unions do to support union leaders’, members’ and their families’ mental health. We’ll talk with two unions – the Plumbers Local 8 and Firefighters Local 42 that both have model programs. Our feature is Labor Song of the Month with Mark Galus.
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    59 min
  • Randi Weingarten: Why Fascists Fear Teachers and Wage Theft: Employers Steal Billions from Workers’ Wages Each Year

    Randi Weingarten: Why Fascists Fear Teachers and Wage Theft: Employers Steal Billions from Workers’ Wages Each Year
    Dec 3 2025
    Authoritarians fear teachers. Why? Because propaganda and fear lose their grip when students become critical thinkers. This week on the Heartland Labor Forum American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten will talk about her book "Why Fascists Fear Teachers: Public Education and the Future of Democracy.” Then, one of the most common and underreported crimes in the US is wage theft. It costs workers some $50 billion a year. We’ll get some true crime stories from attorney Ray Salva. Our feature is Safety First with Mary Erio.
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    1 h
  • Thanks for the Labor and Work Songs

    Thanks for the Labor and Work Songs
    Nov 25 2025
    As we did last Thanksgiving, this week we are giving thanks for labor songs and working music on the Heartland Labor Forum. Work songs would alleviate boredom and synchronize the work, while also providing important social commentary about working conditions and progressive ideals. We'll hear tracks from old favorites Pete Seeger and Anne Feeney, as well as some unexpected working music from Devo and Eddie Rabbit.
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    59 min
  • KU Med Hires Union Buster to Stop Pharmacy Techs from Organizing and Union Leader Series: Joey Flickner of the Painters Union

    KU Med Hires Union Buster to Stop Pharmacy Techs from Organizing and Union Leader Series: Joey Flickner of the Painters Union
    Nov 20 2025
    Pharmacy techs at KU Medical Center want a union. The Med Center has hired a union busting law firm. It’s not the first time. We’ll ask workers why they’re organizing. Then, the International Union of Painters and Allied Trades, or IUPAT, is one of the most progressive in the country. That goes for the KC Painters as well. We’ll talk to Painters District 3 leader Joey Flickner as part of our union leader series. Our feature is Know Your Rights with Michael Amash.
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    1 h
  • Bernie Sanders and AOC at the Eugene Debs Foundation Award Ceremony on Debs’ Vision for Labor and Human Solidarity

    Bernie Sanders and AOC at the Eugene Debs Foundation Award Ceremony on Debs’ Vision for Labor and Human Solidarity
    Nov 11 2025
    “While there is a lower class, I am in it. While there is a criminal element, I am of it. While there is a soul in prison, I am not free.” That’s the credo of the visionary labor leader Eugene Victor Debs. Last month Senator Bernie Sanders was awarded the 2025 Eugene V. Debs Award. AOC introduced him, and this week on the Heartland Labor Forum we’ll learn about Debs from both and why he still inspires workers today. Our feature is Labor Song of the Month.
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    1 h
  • KU Professors Are Long Overdue for their First Contract and Can Labor and Management Really Cooperate?-An Interview with Bob Jacobi

    KU Professors Are Long Overdue for their First Contract and Can Labor and Management Really Cooperate?-An Interview with Bob Jacobi
    Nov 4 2025
    Over a year and a half ago, faculty and academic staff at the University of Kansas overwhelmingly voted in favor of unionization as the United Academics of KU. So why don’t they have a union contract by now? We’ll find out this week on the Heartland Labor Forum. Then, with the inherent adversarial relationship between labor and management, can the two sides ever really cooperate? We'll ask Bob Jacobi, Executive Director of the Labor-Management Council of Greater Kansas City to make the case for it. Our feature is Safety First with Mary Erio.
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    1 h
  • The Future of Social Security and Shutdown and Resistance

    The Future of Social Security and Shutdown and Resistance
    Oct 29 2025
    It’s all about shutdown and resistance. First, Jessica LaPointe is President of the American Federation of Government Employees Social Security Council. We’ll ask her and a local worker about the present and future of Social Security. Then, we’ll ask federal union leaders from HUD, the IRS the Army Corps of Engineers and Social Security how members are surviving with no pay and why they want more unions to show up and protest. Thursday at 6pm, rebroadcast Friday at 5am. Our feature is Voices from Labor History.
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    1 h
  • Kansas City’s Development Incentives and Responsible Bidder Ordinances

    Kansas City’s Development Incentives and Responsible Bidder Ordinances
    Oct 20 2025
    Should your tax dollars that go to build publicly funded construction projects be used to pay for work done by companies that rip off their workers, don’t provide health insurance or pay for workers compensation insurance to cover on-the-job injuries or not pay employment taxes? We’ll talk to two leaders of unions in the building trades about what fair contracting should be and why they support passage of responsible bidder ordinances.
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    1 h