If you see a homeless person sleeping in public during the day, assume nothing. Though Kansas City doesn’t keep an exact count, nationally nearly 40% of unhoused individuals living on the street work full- or part-time jobs, and a significant number of those choose to work night jobs. There are many reasons why the unhoused […]
Labor
Posted inLabor
New KCI terminal promises shops, food, excitement and jobs
Sandy Cisneros has a retail job in Liberty, Missouri, where she makes $15 an hour. But the mother of two children was looking for something that would offer more hours, better pay and a more flexible schedule. After showing up at a Jan. 23 hiring fair sponsored by the Vantage Airport Group at Kansas City […]
Posted inLabor
Startups are growing in Kansas City, but is funding equitable?
In 2018, Dr. Shelley Cooper observed that a clinic she was working with was experiencing a high rate of no-shows for appointments. That same year, her father died in his sleep. He had medical issues but wasn’t able to book appointments with doctors as quickly as he needed them. A year later, Cooper channeled grief […]
Posted inEnvironment, Labor
The growing green jobs industry could mean more jobs for Kansas Citians
Before securing a position as a manager at KC Can Compost, a nonprofit dedicated to reshaping Kansas City’s approach to environmental and social causes, Chris Shelar was unhoused off and on for eight years. Now 60, Shelar lived in outdoor spaces and panhandled for change to get by. Eventually, he found steady work as a […]
Posted inEconomics, Labor
Pawsitive impacts: Program aims to break generational cycles of poverty through pet grooming
In 2018, Ashley Stillings was living in Hope House, a homeless shelter in Lee’s Summit, with her three children. Her husband had received a 12-year prison sentence and she found herself her household’s sole provider. Stillings was working as a waitress when she came across a flier stating that pet groomers can earn $20 an […]
Posted inEconomics, Labor
How investments in Black businesses can help close KC’s racial wealth gap
When Denisha Jones launched her business, Sweet Peaches Cobblers, in August 2020, it was just her, her husband, her mom and her sister in a community kitchen — taking orders, making the cobblers and doing deliveries. Now she has a team of individuals helping her sell cobblers in stores and at events and festivals across […]
Posted inLabor, Local Government
KCATA tackled its driver shortage. Now, bus drivers want to see more change
Will Howard knows exactly why bus drivers in Kansas City are stepping away from the steering wheel. “We just had an 18-year veteran say they can’t do it anymore,” said Howard, president of Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1287, the operator union representing bus drivers in Kansas City. “She’s working at the water department now.” Since […]
Posted inLabor
Missouri Allows Some Disabled Workers to Earn Less Than $1 an Hour. The State Says It’s Fine If That Never Changes.
This article was produced with ProPublica as part of its Local Reporting Network initiative. Sign up for Dispatches to get stories like this one as soon as they are published. This story is available in plain language. One weekday morning in July, Kerstie Bramlet was at her workstation inside the Warren County Sheltered Workshop near […]
Posted inLabor
The Sewing Labs apprenticeship program opens pathways for KC residents
Brooklin Dingley knew from the time she was a child that she wanted to work in the fashion industry. She just had to find the path to get there. As the oldest of seven siblings in a family with a limited income, college wasn’t a realistic option. But Dingley, 19, found another route. She recently […]
Posted inEconomics, Labor
Rideshare drivers in Kansas City’s gig market want more protections from companies
April Shabazz began driving for Uber full time this summer. The job wasn’t new for her. Rideshare driving had been her side gig for three years, along with work as a tax preparer. Shabazz, a member of Stand Up KC and the Missouri Workers Center, likes Uber’s flexible schedule. It enables her to work around […]