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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)
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

By Scott Galindez, Reader Supported News

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.

Reader Supported News is the Publication of Origin for this work. Permission to republish is freely granted with credit and a link back to Reader Supported News.

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+78 # Rick Levy 2011-11-08 19:34
So the Federal Reserve is just one big trough where all the pigs stuff themselves.
 
 
+4 # Texas Aggie 2011-11-09 09:42
Who woulda thunk it?
 
 
+10 # AndreM5 2011-11-09 09:56
Hey, I thought that is why it was set up by the hogs themselves in the first place.
 
 
+93 # Gianni@gianniortiz.com 2011-11-08 20:14
Bernie - why don't you run for president?
 
 
+12 # tswhiskers 2011-11-09 08:01
My dream would be that Bernie is 30 years younger and running in a primary against Obama. Given his age, it is most unlikely that Bernie would or could run for president (do you rember Obama's exhausting run in 2008?). Thank God he is still in the Senate.
 
 
+14 # Lolanne 2011-11-09 09:44
Quoting Gianni@gianniortiz.com:
Bernie - why don't you run for president?


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!
 
 
+41 # Lolanne 2011-11-09 09:51
Wouldn't you love to see a Sanders/Warren ticket??? The stuff that dreams are made of...
 
 
+6 # ER444 2011-11-09 15:17
Now that would be the "Dream Machine" !!!
 
 
+37 # MainStreetMentor 2011-11-08 22:30
I contend the current state of economic affairs (which involve/involve d the Fed) could be eradicated by going to a de-centralized banking system (just as was done under President Andrew Jackson). When the central banking system became too self-indulgent and "pro-business", Jackson enaged in de-centralized banking with every state having it's own bank - and the U.S. drawing from each one. Read up on it ... it most definitely has merit when applied to the economy of today's America.
 
 
+31 # E-Mon 2011-11-09 04:56
Right on the money! (pun intended) Although I certainly agree with Mr. Sanders list and admire his bravery I can see he's missing the point when he says this.... we now have a unique opportunity to make significant changes to one of the most powerful and secretive agencies of the federal government.... Powerful and secretive YES. Agency of the federal government?? It's easy to be deceived with a name like Federal Reserve. That was the intention, but the FED is a privately owned, for profit central bank. What we really need to do is abolish the FED like you mention Andrew Jackson did with the first central bank in America. That was the first attempt by European central bankers to control/monopol ize the US money supply. Their wish came true in 1913 with the passing of the Federal Reserve act. You can read about all this and allot more in "The Creature From Jekyll Island" by G. Edward Griffin. Another good source of info.... Check out "The Money Masters" on Youtube.
 
 
+3 # umkcsteph 2011-11-09 08:30
Actually, the Fed is not a "privately owned, for profit central bank." It's Board of Governors is appointed by the President of the US and must be confirmed by the US Senate. Congress limits its members to serving a single (fourteen year) term. It is permitted to run a very tiny profit, but the VAST majority of the Fed's profits are turned over to the US Treasury. No privately owned firm turns nearly all of its profits over to the Treasury, allows the government to appoint its Board Members or permits Congress to tell it governing members how long they may serve. The Federal Reserve was created by Congress, and Congress can rewrite the rules whenever it wishes.

-Stephanie Kelton
 
 
+8 # panamericans 2011-11-09 12:15
Stephanie, I am afraid your logic is flawed. The Fed Reserve is private. Small profit you say? Think again, that is on EVERY dollar that is released as debt Nationally! In addition, the monetary control they have to use in favor of the Banks is unbridled...In other words,they sit in a position to make profits privately.

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.
 
 
+21 # Rita Walpole Ague 2011-11-09 06:23
Pres. Andy, an ancestor on my Mom's side of the family, caught hell fromthe 1%ers for inviting folks from the 99%, some who wore their muddy boots, to his inaugral party at the White House. His de-centralizati on of banks was a terrific move on his part to help regular folks (wish I could have been there, whispering in his ear to be far more compassionate toward our American Indian brothers and sisters).

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.
 
 
+8 # in deo veritas 2011-11-09 08:46
Sounds like you are referring to Benjamin Harrison, Like Bush he inherited a surpolus and blew it all putting us in the Panic of 1893. Then of course the Repugs blamed it on Cleveland so they could get Wall Street puppet McKinley into the White House and allow the jingoists to get us into the war with Spain. Sounds too familiar in light of what we have experienced in this century so far. We could cure the ignorance of the public with education and a real news media, but continued stupidity will only be cured by our death as a nation-state. Andy Jackson was always the man of the people. What a shame we don't have a president even remotely like him now.
 
 
+3 # JohnCDurham 2011-11-09 10:38
The National Bank was not a Central Bank. Central Banks are the major World problem today. We need a government chartered and controlled National Bank that puts its income back to the people not the "Private Sector", ie Wall Street.
 
 
+42 # rhodge4477 2011-11-08 23:14
We LOVE you Bernie! While this is not shocking news to anyone paying attention, its nice to see it portrayed so succinctly. How do I 'forward' the article to some 'people' that should (but may not) read this? (Hey, We gotta give it a chance, right?)
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!
 
 
+41 # dorianb@fuse.net 2011-11-08 23:34
BERNIE SAUNDERS FOR PRESIDENT! THE 99% WILL SUPPORT YOU!!! WE NEED A GREAT MAN LIKE BERNIE SAUNDERS TO RUN IN 2012 B/C OUR COUNTRY IS IN A MORAL AS WELL AS AN ECCONOMIC CRISIS.
 
 
+38 # tonenotvolume 2011-11-08 23:45
This revelation makes me ill. Having read about this recently, I was shocked, outraged, scandalized,dis gusted, and stunned by Mr. Sander's explanation. Rhetorically speaking, I wonder why this isn't XXL print headline news in every newspaper around the world. I know, I know, the crooks won't squeal on each other. The "Thin Green Line" must be broken!
 
 
+19 # Vivelevin 2011-11-09 00:17
 
 
+16 # James Marcus 2011-11-09 00:35
Seems to be a lot of misunderstandin g (much of it quite deliberate) about the Fed. Talk of how 'we might reform it' 'what its responsibilitie s to consumers are'.... The Fed is a private Corporation. Private Corporation. There is nothing 'Federal' about it, except the deliberately misleading name.
It is and always has been a Den of Thieves. Masterminds of selfishness, disguised as a public entity.
 
 
+24 # jwb110 2011-11-09 00:37
I want to know why Ben Bernanke was not held in Contempt of Congress for not answering the question asked of him? I also want to know why the SOB isn't in jail?

OK, OWS, the next place to set up camp is the Fed!!!!
 
 
+14 # panamericans 2011-11-09 01:43
Why should ANY of the Shareholders of the Federal Reserve be private banks? Why isn't the Federal Reserve an entity owned entirely by the US Government? Why is it necessary for private 'shareholders' to profit from Federal Reserve lending?
 
 
+4 # Charles3000 2011-11-09 02:58
The power of banks comes from their right to engage in fractional reserve banking. The reserve rules are not simple but result in banks being allowed to issue about 92 cents out of every new dollar entering the US economy, the other 8 cents being used essentially to reduce US national debt. This practice should be ended. It can be ended by returning to banks the gold held by the Fed for them, the only basis for the present practice. Then let banks print their own money and fail if they print too much. US dollars printed by the government should be either spent or loaned at interest. Banks should be free to use their gold as backing for their "bills" or use US dollars, their choice. This would result in two types of money in the US economy; US dollars as now used and the bills printed by the free banks, each bank designing their own "bills" in gold denominations or "dollar backed", the choice of free banks again. Under this free bank system banks would still be free to issue new dollar backed notes or gold backed notes but they would also be free to fail if they operate at a risky reserve level. The present Fed technical staff should be retained to advise the US Treasure on how much money to print, spend and loan to businesses and to individuals. The link between the Fed and banks should be severed. The present Fed would then serve the US Treasure and the American people.
 
 
+28 # overanddone 2011-11-09 04:28
Instead of falling in behind Senator Sanders, the so called progressives in Congress and in the Senate, choose to stay mute and hope he goes away and their access to wall street money continues. The recent report showing how many millionaires are in Congress is all we need to know about who the winners and losers will be in America.
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.
 
 
+13 # RLF 2011-11-09 06:30
Another fact for Bernie...When we, the 99%, are subjected to austerity by our national and local governments so that big banks that have irresponsibly loaned too much to these entities don't lose money...we are once again bailing out the banks. The huge Republican deficits we have seen since Reagan which have been accompanied by huge tax cuts for bankers...not to speak of all of the unpaid for wars, leave us no choice but to default on this stupid debt which never should have been run up to start with. Default and start over...like Brazil...say 'go to hell bankers' and get control of our government back. It will be a hard ten years but better after that.
 
 
+16 # mwd870 2011-11-09 07:17
I hope the Advisory Committee grows lots of sharp teeth and maybe some long claws to rip apart every liar and thief that offered or accepted money they don't deserve and doesn't belong to them, then consipired to keep it secret from the American public. Not that I support violence.

That kind of money would have made a huge dent in the country's debt. I love Bernie Sanders too.
 
 
+1 # futhark 2011-11-09 08:16
No mention here of the guy who started the whole "audit the Fed" movement, Rep. Dr. Ron Paul of Texas, inconveniently a Republican.
 
 
+2 # mwd870 2011-11-09 10:10
I don't disagree with everything Ron Paul says/does, just most of it.
 
 
+2 # grindermonkey 2011-11-09 08:39
The phrase "Ponzi scheme" should be replaced by the phrase "Bernanke deception."
 
 
+2 # Dale 2011-11-09 09:21
 
 
+3 # Texas Aggie 2011-11-09 09:38
People like Rep. Paul keep blathering about the Fed because of some supposed unconstitutiona lity about it or similar quibbles. The problem that Bernie just outlined for us is far and away a lot more important and has a much greater influence on our country and our personal lives than the various quibbles of the libertarians. These are the problems with the Fed that need to be addressed.
 
 
+2 # KittatinyHawk 2011-11-09 18:22
Ron Paul put his moeny where his mouth is and worked with someone like Bernie Sanders than there would be a more plausible reason to believe him. No sooner do you look at some of his statements as being clear and he goes and says the most stupid ones...believe today we are looking at his okaying dirty air.
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
 
 
-10 # fhunter 2011-11-09 09:44
All these horrors developed under of our CLUELESS President. Fire them! Bernanke, Geithner, Obama.
 
 
+11 # Buddha 2011-11-09 10:07
And people say that the OccupyWS protests are misguided. Anybody who looks at this, and sees the truth how Wall St controls the levers of political and economic power in our nation, and yet isn't going to their local Occupy protest as often as they can get there to lend their voice and presence to the movement, is a part of the problem themselves. Silence Gives Consent - Plato
 
 
+4 # Craig Jones 2011-11-09 12:14
All you needed for a bank bailout was to be registered as a bank and fax a simple one page request form to the Feds and the money was there. Far less scrutiny than federal loans to Solyndra or any other alternate energy start up. Vote the Bums Out.
 
 
+7 # wrodwell 2011-11-09 13:56
While we can always count on Independent Bernie Sanders to speak up as champion of the 99%, it's the deafening sound of silence on the part of Democrats that's so troubling. While the Trickster Trio of Bohner, Cantor and McConnell are heard and seen spinning their lies and deceptions on a daily basis, we rarely if ever see their Democrat counterparts saying much of anything. This tells me they either have nothing of import to say or they're in a state of acquiescence. Bernie Sanders has emerged as THE lone voice of the people in the entire United States Congress, so now's the time to think about a ticket comprised of Bernie Sanders for President and Elizabeth Warren as VP. Clearly, Obama and the entire Democratic party have been a disappointment and should be replaced. And with the Republicans running the absolute worst field of wanna-be right wing nut jobs ever, now's the best opportunity to achieve the real change the country so desperately needs, not the mere "chump change" that Obama and the Dems have produced so far. If we don't make a meaningful change within this narrow window of time and the spineless Dems are defeated by a drugged-up Rick Perry and his Republican thugs, the Taliban Texan would take America back to medieval times with his belief in Creationism and his reputation for pay-to-play corruption. Bernie Sanders for President - before it's too late.
 
 
+5 # angelfish 2011-11-09 14:14
I don't see why, if the Fed could finance SIXTEEN TRILLION DOLLARS to the Financial Institutions in America, WHY can't they give Low/No Interest loans to EVERY Tax Paying American in this Country! If they were to give the PEOPLE that kind of money, their Mortgages would be paid off, their cars, Student Loans, Medical bills, in essence, EVERYTHING they owed could be taken care of! The economy would BLOOM, jobs would become available and the Country might, once again, flourish! Giving the Foxes the money has done EVERYTHING for the Foxes (as evidenced by their continued greed in giving themselves special benefits and Bonuses while sitting on piles of money, refusing to lend it to those in need) and NOTHING for the People! Keep up the good work, Bernie! Hold their feet to the fire and keep the faith! Next year at this time you will have Elizabeth Warren in Washington to strengthen your hand! The only other face that deserves a place on Mount Rushmore is YOURS! God Bless you and keep you safe!
 
 
+4 # KittatinyHawk 2011-11-09 18:29
I hope he gets answers, People ask and they laugh at us. This list should be put in every paper until it is answered.

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.
 
 
+3 # reiverpacific 2011-11-09 19:17
It's not just the Federal reserve which is waffling around and being obtuse. How the hell can we take the so-called Credit Bureaus seriously? They have the power to "Yea" or "Nay" any business or individual's credit-worthine ss but are also private and are financed by the banks. Just THREE agencies for the whole country!
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!
 
 
+6 # Paul Scott 2011-11-09 22:29
There is a simply explaination why this has not been on the Evening News. The Evening News is the 1%.
 
 
+3 # lin96 2011-11-10 03:04
Watch Alan Grayson go after Ben Bernanke.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0AB_9m0eNso
 
 
+3 # lin96 2011-11-10 03:11
Alan Grayson with the Inspector General of the Fed regarding missing money.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?NR=1&v=GYNVNhB-m0o
 
 
+1 # karlseidel 2011-11-10 13:35
RICO
 
 
+1 # pappyg 2011-11-11 06:51
When a current U.S. Senator makes a public confession on the floor of the U.S. Senate and says "We stole $2.6 trillion" - we better listen: http://bit.ly/qIElNQ The only way forward is to take the money from Wall/K street, and bring it back home to main street: http://bit.ly/qbq62z
 

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