Galindez writes: "Tonight the Iowa House of Representatives and Iowa Senate will concurrently consider House File 291 (HF291) and Senate File 213 (SF213), the fast-tracked attack on Iowa's working families. Both chambers will burn the midnight oil to pass legislation to gut collective bargaining rights of Iowa's public employees."
People gather in the Iowa Capitol for a public hearing on proposed changes to the state's collective bargaining law on Monday, Feb. 13, 2017, in Des Moines, Iowa. (photo: Kelsey Kremer/The Des Moines Register/AP)
Iowa Republicans Fast Track Assault on Public Employees
14 February 17
onight the Iowa House of Representatives and Iowa Senate will concurrently consider House File 291 (HF291) and Senate File 213 (SF213), the fast-tracked attack on Iowa�s working families.
Both chambers will burn the midnight oil to pass legislation to gut collective bargaining rights of Iowa�s public employees.
In response, Danny Homan, President of AFSCME Iowa Council 61, Tammy Wawro, President of the Iowa State Education Association, Ken Sagar, President of the Iowa Federation of Labor AFL-CIO, and Jesse Case, Secretary/Treasurer of Teamsters Local 238, issued the following joint statement:
Barely twenty-four hours after thousands of Iowans spoke against attacks on collective bargaining, Republicans in the Iowa House and Senate continue their assault on working people. Holding the debates concurrently, so citizens are unable to attend both sessions, is the height of cowardice.
Republican legislators heard over and over in public testimony from the working men and women this legislation affects that when public sector wages go down, private sector wages go down, rural schools will face teacher shortages, nursing jobs will continue to be hard to fill, and public safety jobs will be less attractive to fill.
As the legislative process moves forward we hope Republicans at the Statehouse listen to their constituents Iowa taxpayers, and voters and change their ill-advised course and vote against this legislation.
According to the Des Moines Register, the legislation would make the following changes:
Negotiations: For non-public safety employees, contract negotiations would be limited only to wages. That�s a significant change from current law, which requires benefits such as health insurance, vacation time and seniority perks, as well as work conditions such as hours, overtime pay and evaluation procedures, to be negotiated collectively. Additionally, many of those items that currently must be bargained for would be explicitly banned from future negotiations, including insurance and seniority benefits and evaluation procedures.
Re-certifications: Public workers would be required to re-certify the unions that bargain on their behalf with each new contract � that is, once every two to three years. To re-certify, a majority of workers in a bargaining unit would have to vote in favor of the union. That�s a change from current law, which requires only a majority of those who show up to vote. If the union failed to win that election, it would be decertified and the workers would be left without representation. Additionally, the union would be on the hook for costs associated with the re-certification process.
Payroll deductions: All public-employee unions would be barred from automatically deducting union dues and political contributions from members� payroll checks.
Arbitrations: An independent arbitrator can help resolve contract negotiations when union members and management cannot reach an agreement on wages. Currently, the union and management would make its best offer and an arbitrator was required to choose the most reasonable of the two. The bill would require an arbitrator to consider the employer's ability to finance any wage increase. It also puts a cap on how much an arbitrator could raise wages. The wage increase could not exceed whichever is lower: 3 percent, or a percent equal to the cost of living increase outlined in the consumer price index.
Terminations: The bill strikes language from current law requiring that public employees must be suspended or terminated with proper cause. It makes employees, with the exception of teachers, "at-will" employees who could be fired for any reason.
Public safety: Public safety workers � including state troopers, police officers, firefighters and park rangers � are exempted from the bill�s furthest-reaching changes. Those groups would be subject to provisions eliminating the automatic deduction of union dues and political contributions from members' payroll checks.
Scott Galindez attended Syracuse University, where he first became politically active. The writings of El Salvador's slain archbishop Oscar Romero and the on-campus South Africa divestment movement converted him from a Reagan supporter to an activist for Peace and Justice. Over the years he has been influenced by the likes of Philip Berrigan, William Thomas, Mitch Snyder, Don White, Lisa Fithian, and Paul Wellstone. Scott met Marc Ash while organizing counterinaugural events after George W. Bush's first stolen election. Scott moved to Des Moines in 2015 to cover the Iowa Caucus.
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I second that, Bernie! I know you've said you have no interest in running for president, but you are pretty much the only sane voice I hear out of DC -- Please reconsider!
-Stephanie Kelton
Why should they make ANY private profits? Eliminating this 'middleman's percentage take' would reduce the cost of borrowing for for ALL levels of government expenditure, as well as for the private sector.
I suggest you check your telephone listings. The Fed is NOT listed under government agencies. It is in the White Pages with all the other private business such as pizza joints, plumbers, dress shops, and banks etc. In other words, it is a wolf in sheep's' clothing...unle ss we undress it and show it for what it is.
But, family history has it, that not many years passed before my great grandfather grieved and remained silent for three days after a puppet whore for the greedy 1% was nineteenth century scammed into the presidency. Great grandpa, with plenty of political moxie, saw what was coming.
Then came the 1890's recession, and, following WWI - oh so profitable for 1%ers like a family named Bush - the Great Depression. That one, like the one we're all, worldwide, grieving through now, was the result of greedy manipulation by the 1%ers.
Lesson to be learned? Greed and power addiction (a.k.a. evil) ain't nothin' new, and it ain't goin' away.
Time to reward and honor the caring for all givers/servers (i.e. Bernie Sanders -RUN, BERNIE, RUN!!!) and penalize and punish the greedy bastards, starting with the Fed. and big, non-tax paying banks, m/i/c and oil spoilers, and Kochsucking minions of the evil 1%ers.
In addition, these questions NEED some answers AND accountability from those so eager to 'feather their own nests' at the expense of everyone else... Madoff needs some company down there in N. Carolina!
It is and always has been a Den of Thieves. Masterminds of selfishness, disguised as a public entity.
OK, OWS, the next place to set up camp is the Fed!!!!
So Far Bernie is a voice in the wilderness, not because he is not on TV, he gets decent and deferential press coverage but because democrats refuse to get on board, to enact real change for real people.
That kind of money would have made a huge dent in the country's debt. I love Bernie Sanders too.
Thanks so much, Congress just dismantled everything we worked on for 40 years and this man believe we should allow more Pollution. sorry Paul should take his doctorate and go under a rock
People voted yesterday and I believe we got some spirit back. Let's start showing the Committees, SubCommittees, and Agencies we are going to Audit and start asking all of them for a list of what they do, what they have done to help USA, perhaps with the answers we will know what the next step is.
Candidates are needed for Democratic Party or a New Party. Clean Up America
With Holidays coming we are asking to Buy American, think about not using your credit cards. Let's buy with cash this Holiday Season, check Labels, we can keep the momentum going for OWS with simple gestures.
They are incompetent, inaccurate, hard to deal with and deliberately obtuse to the benefit of all large private lending institutions in a kind of revolving door structure excluding most of us. Just try to get an error amended!
Of course there are other huge problems but nobody seems to be looking at this (are they sacred cows or untouchables?).
If the Credit Unions gain more clout through transfers from the big banks, they could perhaps link with regional or state banks to form their own lending criteria in a kind of pool agency and take past "no-fault" misfortune into account instead of just slamming doors!
That's my proposal and I intend to write to my Oregon Senators, Governor and Mr Sanders to get this much-neglected component of the depression out.
I'd love to see Bernie Sanders run for President too but I think that he's realistic about the concrete wall of the status-quo and is more effective as a strident, forthright and truthful voice as an independent and proud Socialist!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0AB_9m0eNso
http://www.youtube.com/watch?NR=1&v=GYNVNhB-m0o