organized labor

As he runs for re-election this November, Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley’s about-face on right to work is seen by some as a welcome shift toward pro-labor policy and by others as election year pandering.

The workers who inspect and repair rides at the Kansas City amusement park have been negotiating for eight months, and voted to authorize a strike earlier this month. Their new contract includes guaranteed annual raises, increased paid leave and more rest time.

As he runs for re-election this November, Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley’s about-face on right to work is seen by some as a welcome shift toward pro-labor policy and by others as election year pandering.

Kansas City pharmacists walked off the job last September to protest working conditions and brought widespread attention to the troubled retail pharmacy business. The industry is battling economic pressures, changed buying habits and labor shortages.

Missouri AFL-CIO President Jake Hummel, who heads the state's umbrella organization for most unions, said organized labor wants to see candidates who protect workers. The group endorsed Crystal Quade in the governor race and Lucas Kunce for U.S. Senate.

KCUR is the latest of several NPR affiliates to unionize. Employees at St. Louis Public Radio voted to form a union in June 2023 and are still working to finalize a contract with the University of Missouri.

More than 15 years after the original documentary examined the country’s food industry, “Food, Inc. 2” examines the impact corporations have on our food — including the treatment of workers. Local fast food worker and organizer Fran Marion is featured in the documentary and hopes it brings change.

If successful, KCUR would become the second unionized public radio station in Missouri. The station's general manager promised a continued focus on "trusted journalism and entertainment that is freely accessible to all.”

About 1,000 nurses at Research Medical Center in Kansas City and Menorah Medical Center in Overland Park want more support and higher staffing levels. They started negotiations for a new contract this week with the hospitals’ owner, HCA Healthcare, a for-profit hospital giant with profits topping $5 billion.

Troy is the first Toyota plant nationally where workers have gone public with a union drive — and the latest in a string of non-union plants seeking to join the UAW after it won record contracts late last year for the Big Three.

The Royals are pushing forward with a new stadium, but labor groups are still waiting for a contract for affordable housing and livable wages. The Crossroads, where more than a dozen businesses would get demolished, wants promises of its own. If the team doesn't reach a deal soon, it may see serious opposition to a critical vote in April.

According to the latest Bureau of Labor Statistics data, Iowa and Nebraska saw gains in union membership while Kansas and Missouri unions saw slight declines.