The Labor Exchange on KGNU

We talk with Adam Fox from the Colorado Consumer Health Initiative about what Trump's budget bill will mean for health in Colorado including cuts to Medicaid and the effects on access to healthcare in rural areas and across Colorado. 

KGNU Labor Exchange - Artificial intelligence, vetoes and workers' rights on this 2025 legislative session wrap up episode with Kjersten Forseth, Colorado AFL-CIO lobbyist and worker advocate. 

KGNU Labor Exchange - we get a brief update on Gov. Polis' veto of the Worker Protection Act and we listen back to our interview with Ryan Dineen on the organizing happening in Colorado and Utah's ski communities. Ryan is the President of the Breckenridge Professional Ski Patrol Union which is part of United Mountain Workers and CWA Local 7781.

 KGNU Labor Exchange - The danger of Medicaid cuts with Todd Kaanta, SEIU 105 member and Colorado Coalition for the Homeless case manager and Tim Faust, author, healthcare organizer and OPEIU local 9 member. Our host this week is Ben Ullrich, a member of the Denver Newspaper Guild and SEIU 105 organizer.

KGNU Labor Exchange - We talk to TWU 555 President Abilio Villaverde about his new children’s book about union solidarity, We Are Family. We also delve into what it takes to work in extreme conditions as ramp crew at some of the world’s busiest airports. [Book Link]

KGNU Labor Exchange - Colorado’s Union Radio - We talk with Dr. Alli Whitaker and Dr. Joshua Beggs, residents with the Housestaff Association of the University of Colorado Hospitals (HSA). They are pushing for collective bargaining rights and a greater voice in the workplace. Residents are doctoral-level healthcare providers—physicians, psychiatrists, and others—who work at the University of Color...

The Labor Exchange teams up with Lynn Fields of the Resolved Labor Podcast to hear about Howard Wallace an activist from Denver that dared to marry LGBTQ rights and labor rights. 

KGNU Labor Exchange - Carl Smith SMART-TD talks about a bill to fund more safety inspectors in Colorado and we hear from the hearing on SB5 the Worker Protection Act - including Reps. Jennifer Bacon and Javier Mabry and Casa Bonita worker Michelle Mendenhall. 

KGNU Labor Exchange - Guest Host Ben Ullrich talks about the joy of organizing with Karli McClure & Nate Paer, SEIU 105 Mental Health Workers. Karli and Nate helped build the union at Mental Health Partners (now Clinica Family Health) and are negotiating a first contract. We hear the challenges and successes including how Colorado’s outdated labor laws slow down unionizing efforts.

The KGNU Labor Exchange talks with with union organizer Ryan Dineen on the organizing happening in Colorado and Utah's ski communities. Ryan is the President of the Breckenridge Professional Ski Patrol Union which is part of United Mountain Workers and CWA Local 7781. 

KGNU Labor Exchange - Colorado’s Union Radio - We talk to Ben Ullrich, a former craft distiller and current SEIU Local 105 organizer. We discuss Colorado's outdated labor laws and why more workers are choosing to organize. Tune In Tonight (2/3) at 6 PM on KGNU 88.5FM/1390AM! 📻and on your favorite podcast app

This weeks Labor Exchange is a special Martin Luther King Jr. Day episode. We hear from the AFL-CIO’s 2025 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Civil and Human Rights Conference held this week in Austin TX and a recent announcement of Climate Jobs Colorado, a new union-led coalition that will address the growing climate crisis through a pro-worker agenda that prioritizes good union jobs.

On this week’s Labor Exchange we finish our conversation with author and educator Leigh Campbell-Hale about her book “Remembering Ludlow but forgetting the Columbine The 1927 - 1928 Colorado Coal Strike.” about the I.W.W. led strike in Serene, Colorado outside of Erie. In this episode we pick up the discussion about I.W.W. organizer Powers Hapgood, his wife Mary Donovan and the role protests aroun...

Listen to the full and uncut conversation with author and educator Leigh Campbell-Hale about her book “Remembering Ludlow but forgetting the Columbine The 1927 - 1928 Colorado Coal Strike.” about the I.W.W. led strike in Serene, Colorado outside of Erie.  

On this week’s Labor Exchange we continue our conversation with author and educator Leigh Campbell-Hale about her book “Remembering Ludlow but forgetting the Columbine The 1927 - 1928 Colorado Coal Strike.” about the I.W.W. led strike in Serene, Colorado outside of Erie.

On this week’s Labor Exchange we talk to author and educator Leigh Campbell-Hale about her book “Remembering Ludlow but forgetting the Columbine The 1927 - 1928 Colorado Coal Strike.” about the I.W.W. led strike in Serene, Colorado outside of Erie.  Join us for part two of our conversation in two weeks.

On this week’s Labor Exchange we hear from Labor voices across the world through the Labor Radio Podcast Network. First,   LabourStart brings us an interview with Tamar Ansiani, one of the striking gaming workers at Evolution Gaming, Georgia; On the Mining & Energy Union Podcast a discussion of Same Job, Same Pay laws; Campo and Sparrow talk about a recent death at a wind farm on the Golden Pl...

On this episode of the Labor Exchange we talk with political strategist and community leader Alvina Vasquez about the 2024 election results.

On today’s episode of the Labor Exchange we talk with AFT Colorado Executive Director Kallie Leyba about the documentary Columbine 2024: 25 Years of TRAUMA by Jeff Vespa which features Kallie and her husband, Columbine teacher Kiki Leyba about their experiences. We also talk about issues facing teachers and students in the 2024 election.

On today’s episode of the Labor Exchange we talk with AFT Colorado Executive Director Kallie Leyba about the documentary Columbine 2024: 25 Years of TRAUMA by Jeff Vespa which features Kallie and her husband, Columbine teacher Kiki Leyba about their experiences. We also talk about issues facing teachers and students in the 2024 election.

On this weeks Labor Exchange we talk to Dr. James Walsh, a professor at the University of Colorado Denver who specializes in labor, working class and immigration history and politics. He also founded the Romero Theater troupe an all volunteer theater project that explores working class themes. He recently led the effort to build the Leadville Irish Miners’ Memorial at Evergreen Cemetery in Leadvil...

On this episode of the Labor Exchange we talk about the community effort to raise the minimum wage in Boulder with Boulder Area Labor Council President Alejandra Beatty as well as talking about the 88th Annual Louisville Labor Day Parade.

On today's Labor Exchange we hear from Joel Buchanan, retired member of the United Steelworkers in Pueblo about his career and the history of steel in Pueblo.

On this episode of the Labor Exchange we talk to Sophie Mariam, a labor policy analyst for the Colorado Fiscal Institute, a non-profit that provides independent analysis of fiscal and economic issues facing Colorado. We’re discussing, among other things, a study published last month by the Economic Policy Institute titled The Rise of the Union Curious: Support for unionization among America’s fron...

On this episode of the labor exchange we hear from Teamsters Vice President John Palmer discussing Teamster President Sean O Brien’s recent decision to speak at the republican national convention, and from others on topics ranging from solar power to labor challenges in the trades. The Labor Exchange is a member of the Labor Radio Podcast Network, a group dedicated to promoting the wide variety of...