Aug. 22 was supposed to be just another regular day for the employees of the Starbucks on Kansas City’s Country Club Plaza, one of the most popular in the region. As baristas were making drinks and taking orders, corporate managers came in around 3 p.m. and started ushering out customers and turning off mobile orders. […]
Mili Mansaray
Mili Mansaray is The Beacon’s former housing and labor reporter and began covering the beat in 2022. She’s documented the concentration of housing ownership by corporate interests and explored challenges to Kansas City’s homeless shelter capacity. She received training through the Solutions Journalism Network’s labor cohort. She has a bachelor’s degree in digital journalism and Africana studies from New York University. She also studied abroad in Argentina. She was a business reporting intern for the Dow Jones News Fund. She was an audio intern for The Urban Scene with Don Frierson on WGCV 105.1 in Columbia, South Carolina. She has lived in Kansas City since 2022.
Posted inEconomics, Housing, Local Government
According to a housing ordinance, the median income for a four-person household is nearly six figures
Just 19 months after passing a new housing ordinance aimed at requiring developers to offer “extremely affordable” housing, the Kansas City Council has decided it hasn’t worked. On Aug. 18, the council voted 9-4 to change the ordinance, with council members Heather Hall, Brandon Ellington, Eric Bunch and Andrea Bough voting no. Now there is […]
Posted inEconomics, Housing
Some Missourians impacted by COVID-19 can get thousands in housing assistance
If you’re a Missouri homeowner who has been financially set back due to COVID-19, you may qualify for up to $50,000 to help pay for your mortgage. And if you’re a renter who has also been impacted by the pandemic, you may qualify for thousands to offset rent and utility payments — including back payments […]
Posted inEconomics, Labor
At the first Kansas Starbucks to unionize, workers still fighting for ‘bare minimum’
On Aug. 1, wage increases and an improved benefits package went into effect for Starbucks stores across the nation — but not for any of the stores that have unionized. The next day, workers at the 75th Street and Interstate 35 location in Overland Park went on strike, protesting this exclusion and unfair labor practices. […]
Posted inEconomics, Labor
Despite free bus fare, many workers using RideKC confront obstacles along their commutes
In 2020, Kansas City became the first major U.S. city to offer free bus fare through a three-year program called ZeroFare KC.
Posted inElections, Local Government, State Government
Live coverage: 2022 primary elections in Kansas City
On Tuesday, Aug. 2, Missouri and Kansas voters will vote in the 2022 primary election.
Posted inEducation
How a Missouri council is looking to combat the school-to-prison pipeline for students with disabilities
Studies show that students of color and students with disabilities are suspended and referred to police more often than their peers in schools across Missouri. This disproportionate rate of discipline can disrupt their education and push these students into the criminal justice system. A new Missouri grant aims to help change the process. The Missouri […]
Posted inEconomics, Labor
KC Goes Tech provides training — and earning potential — to the people
In Kansas City and across the country, there aren’t enough workers to fill middle-skills jobs, which require at least a high school diploma but not a four-year degree. According to the latest data available from the National Skills Coalition, in 2018, 52% of U.S. jobs require skills training beyond high school. But only 43% of […]
Posted inEconomics
Several Starbucks in Kansas and Missouri have unionized. How can other workers do the same?
At the south end of Mill Creek Park on a recent Sunday afternoon, near the iconic fountain by Kansas City’s Country Club Plaza, workers, allies and politicians gathered in a semicircle. Representing Starbucks Workers United, many were clad in black shirts and holding signs such as “Unions brew better coffee” and “Reinstate fired workers.” It […]
Posted inCivic Engagement
25 Ways to celebrate Juneteenth in Kansas City, and to keep supporting Black communities
Editor’s note: Click here for a 2023 guide to celebrating Juneteenth in Kansas City. Juneteenth is a holiday commemorating the official ending of slavery in the United States. Although enslaved people were emancipated throughout the Confederacy by Abraham Lincoln on Jan. 1, 1863, it wasn’t until June 19, 1865, that federal troops arrived at Galveston, […]