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Kansas City cannabis dispensary workers win union to gain leverage in a growing industry
Takeaways:1. Workers at the Homestate Dispensary have voted to establish the first cannabis union in the area in the Kansas City market. 2. Homestate employees have complained about not receiving paid holidays and a lack of security in the workplace. They want better pay, job security, better health insurance and protections from wrongful termination. 3. This unionization…
What is solutions journalism and why do we do it? A look at past coverage
At The Beacon, it is our mission to produce stories that shine a light on wrongdoings and abuse by government, businesses and other powerful institutions through in-depth, solutions-driven journalism. With a solutions focus ingrained into the fabric of our publication, we’re looking to do something different and fill in gaps where they might exist in…
Food and retail employers at the new KCI terminal hiring for hundreds of positions
If hiring goes according to plan, food and retail businesses in the new terminal of Kansas City International Airport will employ 1,000 workers over the next 15 years. But so far, five months after the terminal opened in February, employers at MCI are hundreds of workers shy of that goal. There are 600 employees at…
‘We can’t keep putting our lives on the line’: Kansas City bus drivers detail the safety risks they face
Sherrita Jackson was a bus driver for 21 years before she got fed up with abuse from passengers and switched careers in 2021. At the time, a year into the COVID-19 pandemic, passengers were required to wear masks. A passenger not wearing a mask boarded Jackson’s bus and refused to comply with the mandate. “He…
KC group wants to give Black children the skills to succeed in tech
In more than two decades of working in the tech industry, Tammy Buckner rarely saw co-workers who look like her. “I didn’t see women represented in technology and specifically Black women represented in technology,” said Buckner, who has held jobs such as software developer, project manager and business analyst. In 2018, she asked a friend…
This Kansas City organization has a prescription for more Black doctors
Correction: An earlier version of this story misstated Jamila Weaver’s work status. She is a former facilitator for DEI training at St. Luke’s Health system. Dr. Michael Weaver in 1977 was the first Black student to fully complete the University of Missouri-Kansas City’s School of Medicine program that enables students to earn bachelor’s and medical…
New KCI terminal launches careers in construction for women, minorities
Since 2021, Rita Johnson has been working to build the new KCI terminal as a laborer on the airport construction site, doing demolition work and picking up after other trades. Before her time at the terminal, Johnson had never worked construction a day in her life. In fact, she was in health care administration for…
These potential future teachers are already in KC schools
Amid concerns about a teacher shortage, some programs — like Pathways for Paras — have found innovative ways to make teacher certification more accessible.
Jobs are coming to KC, but child care, housing and transportation needs may stand in workers’ way
For the past couple of years, industrial growth in the form of new distribution and fulfillment centers has brought billions in investments and the promise of hundreds of jobs and workforce development to the Kansas City region. If Missouri Gov. Mike Parson has his way, 2023 will be another year that Missouri prioritizes new industry…
Shelter resources are limited for unhoused who work nights
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…
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…
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…
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…
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