Yeah, And I don't know if the fighting's ever been more fun than it is right now.
Glad you're here.
Three O three seven one three eight two five five The number text d an five seven seven three nine. So weird to be starting the week on a Tuesday, right, And because Ryan yesterday, I mean pretty much everybody worked this holiday yesterday, right. Did you know anybody who had it off other than government workers and us?
That's it? Yeah, right?
Right?
So what was that all about?
But anyway, we're glad to be back with you now, and Lord knows, there is plenty to talk about and plenty of fun stuff, right because Trump is on a roll, there is no question about that.
And you know how it is.
You know, momentum begets momentum, and success begets success, and you're seeing all of that right now. Not perfect, It's never going to be in any human endeavor. That's not the way it works. You look at all the great figures in American history, all the great figures in world history, other than Jesus Christ himself, literally nobody has ever been perfect. And so that is even pain often and of itself, right, because the left is losing its mind for all the
obvious reasons. But on top of that, because of Trump's success and this feeling of impotence and this feeling of helplessness that the left has right now, so as the constituency on the left, though it's obviously shrinking, the constituency on the left gets more and more hyped up.
You're having more and.
Stupid stuff done by the leaders on the left, including their media arm which makes every day fun for us on this show, because we've got the receipts, we've got the sound, and we'll play some of that today. So
we got that going for us. And locally, meaning here in Colorado, it's so great to see a number of really prominent restaurant owners step up and just send this letter to Mayor Mike Johnston aka Lawless Mike, aka bag Dad Bob or should it be Bagdad Mike, but who goes out and just just says all these things that aren't and just pretends that everything's okay when a lot
of it's falling apart. So so great to see these prominent restaurant owners right to Johnston and say things are falling apart, because it's not like, you know, the Colorado Republican Party writing to Mike Johnston. These are restaurant owners in Denver saying it's falling apart around us and giving very vivid examples.
So it's great to do two things.
One is the more attention you call to the problem, that the better chance it gets fixed.
But also just to fully expose lawless Mike for who he is.
He's a guy who's just out there paddling these deceptions while things literally fall apart around him, So that gives us more hope for a fix in the future. Three or three someone three eight two five five text d An five seven seven three nine. As much as we love keeping it local, got to start on the world stage today, right because this is one of those moments in world history, American history that is going to be
a bit of a pivot point. And we've talked about Ukraine all along, we talked about it before Putin and he's Satan.
Why do we even say putin?
Ryan?
Can we set up maybe an internal fine system where every time somebody says Putin instead of Satan, they get fined because.
What's the difference between the two.
I mean, the guy is Satan on Earth and that's the reality of Putin. I know he wears a nice watch and nice suits, and he can look like the accountant down the street. No offense to the accountants down the street.
Right, But he is satan.
He is a megalomaniac, to put it mildly. And Dan, I want to ask you the question because you lived through this history just like I did. There was tremendous hope in the early nineties when Gorbaschev and the Soviet Union fell and Boris Yeltsen assumed power, and there were talks between him and President Clinton at the time. How do we get from Yeltsin and that Russia to this one under the dictatorship of Vladimir Putin.
Because we went from Reagan to Biden, right, we went from peace through strength to the ultimate weakness. I mean, for all practical purposes, the US did not have a president during the Biden presidency, and maybe even worse than that, because there actually was an individual there who evil in the world, led by Putin could size up, and they sized him up correctly and realized they could have their way with the world. And that's why we got what we got in Afghanistan. That's why we got what we
got in Ukraine. That's we got what we got on the horrors of October seven. And so now that strength is back. Right now that strength is back, that war's going to be ended. But the very sad thing, and it's not Trump's fault, is that Evil is going to win. To a point, Trump is going to cut the losses. This never would have happened if Trump was in office. But right now, Evil Putin is going to be rewarded with some territory and he's going to be viewed as
the winner. And that's sick. But you've got to blame Biden. You got to blame the left and Ryan, this is a point I wanted to start the show with. You gotta blame Europe. I mean, this doesn't happen without Biden's weakness. But Europe absolutely failed Ukraine. Europe had its moment of testing and it decided it was going to surrender to Putin. And that is one of the saddest chapters in modern world history. You know, somebody had the great line. I'm
sure you saw it. Ukraine needed fighters from Europe and it got cheerleaders. It got cheerleaders instead of fighters. Somebody else said that, and that's true. You know, the European leaders and countries. Yeah, Gozolinsky's standing ovation. You know, hey, here's a big, nice Crepe. But they wouldn't give him fighters. And from day one it was clear unless Europe put boots on the ground, Russia was going to win. And Europe decided not to do it, and so Europe failed Ukraine.
There should never be an American boot on the ground in Ukraine. But Europe failed Ukraine. And I didn't want World War three and Ukraine. Who would? But the only way to stop Putin is to prove that Europe would fight, and Europe made it cleared from day one it would not fight.
And I think Dan too, where people have to pump the brakes on this, and I think you've done that effectively. Here is Trump has to unblank what Biden blanked up, and in particular on this front with the war in Ukraine. Like you said, like I agree, like Donald Trump says it would never have happened on his watch, but it wasn't on his watch, and it happened, and it happened
on Biden's watch. So there's a degree of kind of clean up on Aisle nine that has to happen here where yeah, Putin's going to get some stuff, and he shouldn't have gotten it. But if we want to end this war and bring it to a resolution, then yeah, he's going to have to talk to both sides. Trump, his administration, Secretary of State Rubio, He's got an entire
envoy in team there. And I think there's a real momentum here toward peace dand that we did not have and there was no hope of it when Joe Biden was president.
Well, I think.
There's more than momentum, Ryan, I think it is certain at this point this war is going to end. And then whether it can be fairly labeled peace or not, only time will tell. But Trump will will do the job the world needs done that only he can do right now, which is to end the war. And I love what Mike Waltz, the National Security Advisor said that, wait a second. Until Trump was elected, you know, there was no talk of ending this war. You know, no real talk of ending this war, and any talk was
about how the war might end. Now that Trump's been elected, all the talk has shifted, total paradigm shift to win. The war will end, and that's all because of Trump. So he's doing his job. Let's go, Ryan, with cut four, where Rubio I think lays it out clearly for Europe and the world got four.
The Ukraine and the.
European passages that they feel very sidelined without how the process has laid out so far, How you intentionally address their concerns and equiality incorporated and be treating and multiplay.
Well.
The comment I would have on that is that for three and a half years while this conflict is raged, or three years while it is raged, no one else has been able to bring something together like what we saw today because Donald Trump is the only leader in the world that can.
So no one is being sidelined here.
But President Trump is in a position that he campaigned on to initiate a process that could bring about an end of this conflict, and from that could emerge some very positive things for the United States, for Europe, for Ukraine, for the world. But first it begins by the end of this conflict.
Yeah, that's right.
Europe had three and a half or three years and couldn't accomplish anything because the European leaders didn't have any credibility because Putin could see it was all talk. They and some money, but money's money, you know. Until you're willing to put boots on the ground. Evil is going to win, and Putin could see that good was surrendering to evil and he took advantage of it. Now there's a new sheriff in town. Now there's strength, and Prutin's
going to have to come to the table. Unfortunately, evil will win because of Joe Biden, because of the Left, because of European weakness. But Trump will have accomplished the best that could be done. Right now eight fi' five four zero five eight two five five text d A N five seven seven three nine. And then at four thirty six, Kim Cordova from the Union will join us to talk about the end of the King super Strike
and who was it? Did Jimmy Sangenberger or maybe a listener challenged me to ask her some tougher questions, And I'm going to take that challenge up. That that was an excellent suggestion, looking forward to that interview. You're on the Dan Kapla show.
This is gonna yet again raised.
A concern about FAA staffing air traffic control staffing. Now, this is a Canadian air traffic control tower and this is under Canadian authority.
Once across the border.
And yet, as you know, there has been this talk about maybe staff cuts at the FAA as a part of President Trump's effort to trim down the federal workforce. And yet, as you also know, the FAA has been complaining for years that they are understaffed and critical job positions, especially.
Air traffic control.
I was having a conversation with somebody today about whether air traffic control in America is being affected by the staff cuts so far, not to their knowledge, and yet other positions related to maintaining critical equipment appaired to have been cuts. So this is going to feed into all of these recent incidents, and the safety of the total air traffic system is going to be very much a part of the conversation as we go forward, at least on this side of the country of the border.
I should say, yeah, you see, Trump has completely broken the media arm of the Democratic Party, and I'd say that's exhibit A. But we already have a through Z. We're going to have to create some new letters for the alphabet. That's Tom Costello from NBC News and I remember Tom well, we were contemporaries. I think at the time he was at Channel nine. Liked Tom he was a good reporter, and so it's too bad right that he's now part of the propaganda arm of NBC News.
But he's doing Trump an enormous favor, right, because that's so goofy on its face, it's just going to cause people to distrust the media even more. But I don't know that that's physically possible, Ryan, because at this point, I don't know that there's any significant level of trust in the national media at all anywhere.
No, so their popularity, Dan and Ryan, are you hearing me?
Okay?
Oh?
I certainly am, Yes, I am. Can you hear me?
Oh?
Yeah, I just got you back? Sorry there.
You see, this is what happens, right when Ryan goes out and he gets a new Ferrari or Bugatti, then everybody expects him to go zero to one hundred and two blocks. But you know, you got to let the engine warm up and everything else. We've got new remote broadcasting equipment. Today I'm hold away doing trial prep and so we're using some new fancy broadcasting equipment that literally costs more than the house I grew up in. And I grew up in the most wonderful home you could
ever imagine. But of course, the better the equipment, the worse it works. So sorry for that little glitch there, but I think people got my point right that all this leftist craziness, media craziness only helps Trump, only undermines the media credibility further. But the question I had on the table, Ryan, I don't think there's any meaningful credibility left with the national media, at least with the people in the middle. I don't think people trust them as
kind of neutral arbitrators anymore, or neutral reporters anymore. I think that's all gone now.
Their approval ratings are somewhere around Mitch McConnell's and those members of Congress that are well despised by both sides. I think the media, like you said, it, has burned through all of its political capital by jumping at every single Trump narrative and taking the opposite position side, even when that was not prudent for their coverage, for their ratings, for their viewers or listeners. And what we just heard there from Tom Costello, I mean, that's the stuff of parody.
Dan.
This is absolute his hysteriousness. Because this plane landed in Toronto. The FAA had nothing to do with this plane. Descending landing, et cetera. And to try to tie this to Trump just makes them all the more ridiculous.
They can't pick their battles.
It really does. But listen, Tom's a smart guy. I knew him from his days here and NBC. Those are smart people, right. I mean, they have a lot of wrong leftist ideas things like that, but they're smart people intellectually. I think what's going on, Ryan, and I'm not privy
to their daily ratings breakdown and all of that. I think what's going on is they're under tremendous pressure from their their viewership, you know which which is losing hope, right, under tremendous pressure from their viewership implicitly to go on the attack, to give them some reason to hope, to give them some reason to hope that Trump's going to fail, or those viewers are going to stop watching, right because if all they're ever going to see is the success
of Donald Trump, which is ninety nine percent of the true news, they're going to stop watching. So that's what I think is going on. It's no less dishonest, it's and it's no less helpful to Trump. But I think that's what's behind this lunacy three oh three SEVENE three A two five five the number text d A N five seven seven three nine.
Kim Cordova, president.
Of the union that's been behind the King super strike, will join us at four thirty six. We'll get into the reasons to strike ended. And thank goodness it did. I saw there's a text today celebrating the fact that I can go back to King Soupers and get back to my regular peanut butter.
So thank you to that texter.
I know that seems small to most people, which kind of baffles me, because everybody has a favorite food, right and if you can't access that favorite food because of a strike, that's a little frustrating.
What's your favorite food?
Well, it's not peanut butter, and certainly not right before I go on the air, Dan, you really tempt fade every single day, and I admire your dedication to the peanut butter cause.
Bro, it's a challenge.
We all need that extra I mean, listen, when you've been on air almost thirty years, and maybe it's more than thirty years someday, can you figure that out for me?
Sure? Okay, but you need.
New challenges because you know the stuff you're bad at, you're not going to get better at. True, the stuff you're good at, you're probably as good as you're going to get. So you need some new challenges. So maybe like duct tape over the mouth, eating peanut butter?
Are you going? I want to welcome Kelly back.
Kelly's back from just one of the toughest things anybody ever has to do, which is burying her beloved father.
But so glad to have Kelly back with us.
Thank you, Dan, It's good to be back.
Yeah.
Yeah, returning one more time a week from Friday to do the celebration of life reception. And but it was, yes, probably the worst week of my life.
Oh yeah, yeah, everybody's right, everybody's when they lose a parent and then God forbid a child.
I mean just yeah, the worst thing in the world.
But so glad you're back with us. And it really is interesting, isn't it, Kelly? And I think it's great how things have changed and now often there's more time to plan that big celebration of life.
It used to be that.
Like clockwork, right, I mean, those weeks were going to happen in the first few days. The funeral had to happen within four or five days. But I think it's great now that there's more time.
Well, he definitely. Both my parents made it very easy on all of us because they had pre planned this in twenty fourteen, so we didn't have to do a whole heck of a lot.
Except for the.
Picking out the burial clothes and you know, helping my mom with I thing. She's eighty one, so she's also, you know, not a sprite person to get around, and so it was good that Adam and I and the kids were there to help her go to the market and help her, you know, get herself.
Boy, that is so true. Yeah, that is so true. And so YEAHM so so glad you're back.
And Andy, after this break in Cordova, head of the union, will give you her tape on why the strike ended and whether there's another one coming down the pike. And then want to talk about these brave prominent restaurant owners in Denver who are saying to Mayor Johnston, this place is falling apart. Here on the Dan Kaplra show, get down close to zero, We'll keep you warm here at three oh three sevenon one three eight two five five
text Dan five seven seven three nine. Hey, President of UFCW seven, Kim Cordova joins us talk about the end of the King super strike. We're hoping for quite a while. Kim, welcome back to the show.
Hi damn, thank you for having me on.
Well, sure thing, I think the big question people have is what ended the strike and is this just buying time or can we expect to be able to go to King soupers now for a long time to.
Well, what happened was, in my opinion that what got us back together was we were successful in the restraining order case where the company attempted to well, they filed a complaint to seek a restraining order to limit the you know, how many people can strike or the strikers in general, and we were successful. So we went to court on Thursday last week. We got a decision late Friday evening and by Saturday, King sent a letter asking to go back to the table, which had not happened prior.
But we negotiated over what that would look like, and so we didn't accept our offer, and we've set in terms of things that needed to be done in order for us to come back to the table. And so now we have an agreement to try to you know, hopefully work through you know, our proposals, and I'm hoping that the company negotiates with us.
So, so, kid, is this a pause where we may see strikers back on the line in another week or two if the union doesn't feel the companies negotiating in good faith?
Or is this a strike that has really ended?
A strike is not? It's not totally ended for this particularly those particular ulps. That strike is over, but the we're you know, we're far from reaching the deal. We're so far apart. So right now, the parties have agreed that for at least one hundred dates they could not lock out the workers. So you know, they had the option to lock out, which we understand they were threatening
to do. We can't strike for one hundred days and they cannot implement an offer for one hundred days, So you know, we have some time to try to work through it. And if not, I mean, you know, this might I'm hoping that we can reach an agreement, but if not, you know, we might have you know, we might continue the fight. I mean, the fight might happen outside of these stores.
Again, Well, Kim, let me ask you, Kim, Cordova, UFCW seven President Kim. A lot of people are still confused as to what the reason is for the strike. So what exactly are you going to be negotiating right now?
So right now we're trying to negotiate successor agreements. We're negotiating for all the unionized stores for Kingsupers are on the front range of Colorado, southern Colorado and the western slopes of city markets. We have sixteen collective bargaining agreements that we're negotiating over. We have, you know, city market king Soopers. So there's about twenty i'm sorry, around twelve thousand workers that these contracts cover, and so we are trying to reach successor agreements now.
But we may interrupt and I'm so sorry, just our time constraints.
What are the big issues though, because after we talked last a lot of listeners had the good question, Wait a second, it sounds like it's not over money. So it's not over pay raises. It might be over having more staffing. But but but what is the primary point of contention right now?
Well, there's several one. Staffing it's the number one you know, it's the number one issue. We are trying to address. So there's chronic staffing issues like I explained last time we spoke. But also there are proposals on the table that the company has regarding healthcare, you know, pension and
our retiree benefit. We have a down alone retire refund in the company's proposing to take eight million dollars and divert the money that would go into that fund into another fund, and that would hurt a very vulnerable group of we're you know, people that live on limited income, and that's we're not going to allow that. There's also we are actuary show that we're going to be about forty one million dollars short on healthcare if we were to agree to the company's proposal. We're not going to
agree to that. Our members just want to be able to have you know, these stores fully staffed. They want investment in staffing. Safety is a big deal. Like I told you a lot of that. They have the shop listing our members in the middle of all of the crime that goes on and in these stores. But also they want the ability to afford to buy the groceries
that they sell. And so even though King Soopers is all over the airways and that they're offering a four dollars and fifty cent wage increase that's over four years and only to selected votes, so when we haven't got to economics on our side yet. But their wage increases are zero to twenty five percent for thousands of workers. And so I mean, obviously that's the point of contention.
But healthcare, you know, we'll be bargaining over healthcare. We submitted a proposal of the company will not agree to as well as they're not offering any new money to our pension plans, and so you know, that's the economic piece of it. But the big piece is really that we have been trying to get the company to recognize
that there are chronic staffing issues in those stores. The customers see that when they're waiting in long lines, they see empty shelves, they see departments closing early, and we've seen an eighteen percent reduction since COVID. So even though these stores are doing quite well, they are not replacing bodies in the store, and there's not hours allocated to actually perform the work.
Thank ye, let me ask you this if I may.
Our friend Jimmy Sangenberger, who's on this station, sometimes wrote a column for the Denver Gazette with the headline strike serves outside agenda, not local workers, and in part talked about West Coast unions that it talked about, how, you know, if they want to see local unions here, et cetera, help them on the West coast transform the grocery indus street.
So is this a case where this strike was motivated more by people outside of Colorado wanting to increase the overall strength of the union rather than local issues.
No, not at all. We may have we're the UFCW and other unions represent workers with Kroger and Saeguay and Alberson's, and there's systemic problems within the industry, but our strike and our negotiations they're over our Colorado workers. They actually take the vote, they walked out, you know. And so this is these are local issues. I mean, we we have other local unions around the country that have the same type of you know, problems with Kroger and all that.
But when you talk about local or outside issue, Safeway is I mean Kroger King Soopers is bargaining and coordinating with Safeway, a whole different company, a different employer and their competitor, and they brought in out side workers from staffing agencies from the South to cross the picket line and help move the company's agenda. So I didn't see that piece about it. But this doesn't have anything to do with West Coast and moving a West Coast agenda.
It's that we have common employers. We are one union where the UFCW have the same international union, and our interests we've you know, we had a coalition that to block the merger. We were against the merger and our interests were the same. I mean, we knew it all.
It's so sorry interrupt.
Let me ask you one more question before the end of this segment, and that is I'm sure a lot of people listening have the same attitude I do, which is why it looks like to strike largely succeeded. We like King Soopers, we like the store, we like the company, we like the people who work there. We want to
support the workers. At the same time, everybody listened, money's tight, So I'm sure a question on folks minds is, okay, is this now, this success by the union going to mean that groceries become more expensive for the people listening to this show.
No, not at all. We haven't even gotcha economics. The company is, you know, they have self checkout. You've seen that the workers are not to blame for these high prices. Everybody on your show, folks shouldn't give the path path to Kroger when they just gave their shareholders seven point five billion dollars in stop buybacks. And again, this is a company that's very successful. The workers only want a piece of the wealth that they create. They haven't received
a wage increase. Well, so when grocery prices are going up, you're going through self checkout and you're having to do a lot of this work at the register, and your prices haven't went down. So while workers are doing more work, they are not being able to give the level of service for the price of the goods that are being sold at that store. Our members are investors, their stakeholders. They have to be able to even afford to buy the groceries in their own stores, you know. And that's
the thing. And by the way, most of our members are part time. And so when they're talking about a four dollars fifty cent rate, the general public thinks that things workers are getting that off the bat. Only selected workers, thousands of workers under the company's proposal with see zero to twenty five cents on part time hours.
And Kim, I have to get out right now for a heartbreak, but thank you for being with us. And I think the reason the strike succeeded is I think people's experience over the years and decades with the King Soopers.
Employees they come in contact with has been.
Universally positive and so yeah, and everybody wants that to continue.
Kim, thanks for your time today.
Thanks Dan, Happy, thank you you.
Take care of that is Kim Cordova from the union. When we come back Denver restaurant owners telling Mayor Johnston the city is falling apart around them.
You're on the Dan Kapla show.
Well, he was standing in a country where free speech was weaponized to kentuct a genocide, and he met with the head of a political party that has far right views and some historic ties to extreme groups. The context of that was changing the tone of it, and you know that that the censorship.
I disagree with you specifically about the right now I have to disagree with you.
It has to be one of the top five stupidest things ever said on television anywhere.
In the world.
And you know me, I don't use that word stupid as a pejorative. I only use it when there's no other word that will capture it. That's Margaret Brennan. She is an intelligent person. Now she's a Lefty, so she has a lot of bad ideas, but she's an intelligent person. So she's sitting there on National TV in America saying that the horrors of the Holocaust were caused by free speech.
I mean, an infant.
Would know that's laughable. So what's really going on. That's my point. My point isn't oh, look at Margaret Brennan, she's stupid. No, My point is that what the left has realized right now and what it realized a long time ago, is if there is free speech, the left loses. It's that simple. If there is free speech, the left loses because the left's ideas are bad that the facts disproved the left, logic disproves the left, basic morality disproves the left. So if people are allowed free speech, the
left loses. That's what those comments were all about. So now Margaret Brennan, at the level of top level of CBS and faced the nation has to take the position that it's free speech that caused the Holocaust. That's how dangerous free speech is. So that's what's really going on, and that's another reason this last election was so critical. His free speech was on the line, and it's just like Polish. He came out the day after he was elected governor and said, now people have to keep their
faith out of the public square. And that's another version of this right because he knows if people practice their faith, if they vote their faith, the left loses.
Same point.
If people are free, free to practice their religion freely and openly, free to live their religion, including in the way they vote. And that doesn't mean Catholics voting for Catholics. Hey, some of the worst you know people out there when it comes to undermining church teaching when they're elected office, are Catholics. No, this is about vote being the principles of your face. So police knows the left nose. If if people have free speech, freedom of religion, the left loses.
That's why Margaret Brennan was driven to say something that stupid and crazy. They are desperate on the left, and that's good because they're exposing themselves now for who they really are. Let's go to Dean and Arvada to kick off our callers. You're on the Dan Kaplis show. Welcome Dan, He Dan.
How you doing?
I am living the dream? How about you?
Yun about that?
Hey?
It was calling. The last Hilary had was the lady from King Supers, the head of the year. The question I have is the question I have is why she's so concerned about staffing. She's not one Looking at propt and Lost Stavens. People only get eight hours of workout of them. It's not like they're doing the job of three people.
Oh but forgive me, my friend.
Have you been in an understaffed situation and your experience sat King Supers, because you're gonna have yours.
I own, I own two companies.
Okay, great, So do you shop at King Soupers?
Yeah?
Okay, so you can size it up for yourself. My experience is that people who work at King Supers are great, and that there is understaffing, and that understaffing affects the consumer experience. But I've got to believe it makes it harder on each worker.
I understand.
I honestly, I haven't seen problems with my customer service. Do you self checkout four different ones.
Yeah, okay, I hate it, and listen, I do a lot of tough stuff.
I do a lot of hard work. I hate self checkout.
If I'm about to pay one hundred and two hundred bucks for groceries, I at least want to wheel my card and have a nice conversation with the cashier. I don't want to go and be scanning my barcodes. I know it sounds small. I just hate it, so more and more often I have to self check out. That affects my customer experience. You may enjoy self checkout for other people. I could see it being arresting.
Yeah, I actually do like it. Okay, Look, I mean that's the only issue is the stuff checkout. It seems like you know, she's worried about I mean she's not why on the bottom line of these stores?
Well?
But but how is the bottom line at King Sooper's Right now? It looks pretty good to me? I mean, what what?
What was?
And this is not a fair question to you. You're a hard working man, you're running your businesses. You don't have time to look at this stuff. But what would you guess that the profit net bottom line profit, not gross revenue net profit of Kroger was last year.
Well, I heard it was billions. I don't know if it's sure enough.
Seven and a half? What billion?
Yeah, no, I think it was more like three and a half. But they're not going broken. And hey, my friend, you're you're a great caller. I'm a business owner like you are. I'm sensitive to all the same issues you are. If you want to hang on, we'd love to have you. You're on the Dankapla Show.