February 7, 2007
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Political Action Update |
| Vol. 07-04 |
February 7, 2007 |
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Iowa’s Minimum Wage Increased We celebrate this help for low wage workers (How did your legislators vote? See below.) |
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And it’s time we let our elected representatives know we expect fair treatment from them Fair Share has been introduced into the Senate as SSB 1120. Now is the time to contact your State elected officials to let them know what you expect and why this is a critically important issue for all workers in Iowa. SSB 1120 amends Chapters 20 and 731 of the Iowa Code and provides: |
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a The negotiation of fair share agreements will now be an option for unions in both the public and private sectors to bring to the bargaining table. a Fair Share agreements could not impose union membership or obligations to pay union dues on any employees. |
a Fair share DOES require that workers under a Fair Share contract pay a fee to help underwrite the union services they currently receive. a Fair share fees paid by non-members will be used solely for collective bargaining, contract administration, or the pursuit of other matters affecting wages, hours, and other conditions of employment. |
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Fair Share is already a bargaining option in 28 states in the union. |
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Contacting your representative By e-mail: firstname.lastname@legis.state.ia.us By phone: Representatives: 515-281-3221; Senators: 515-281-3371 By USPS: The Honorable __________________State Senator /(or) State Representative, Statehouse, Des Moines, IA 50309 Note: to identify your legislator, go to http://www.legis.state.ia.us/FindLeg/Default.aspx |
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Minimum Wage: Everyone voted “yes” except: |
Car Title loans: Everyone voted “yes” except: |
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House members Voting No: Alons (R), Boal (R), Chambers (R), Clute (R), DeBoef (R), Forristall (R), Grassley (R), Greiner (R), Horbach (R), Rasmussen (R), Rayhons (R), Sands (R), Soderberg (R), Tymeson (R), Van Engelenhoven (R), Van Fossen (R), Watts (R), Windschitl (R), Worthan (R). Absent or not voting: Heaton (R), Zirkelbach (D) Senators Voting No: Behn (R), Boettger (R), Hahn (R), Hartsuch (R), Kettering (R), McKinley (R), Zaun (R), Zieman (R). Absent: Putney (R), Wieck (R). |
House members Voting No: Boal (R), Dolecheck (R), Greiner (R), Horbach (R), Huser (D), Olson, R (D), Rayhons (R), Sands (R), Struyk (R ), Tomenga (R), Wise (D), Worthan (R). Absent or not voting: Arnold (R), (Windschitl (R), Wessel-Kroeschell (D), Zirkelbach (D).
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Representative Zirkelbach is absent because he is serving in Iraq. |
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to Watch |
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HF 50 CAR TITLE LOANS. Requires licensing of car title lenders. IFL opposes. HF 58 CLOSE CLEARANCE WARNING DEVICES. Requires railroads to place warning device anywhere there is close clearance that would affect a person riding on the side of the train in performance of the person’s duties. IFL supports. HF 90 SCHOOL SUPPLY TAX EXEMPTION. Exempts the sale of classroom supplies which are less than $20 and sold on the first Friday and Saturday in August. IFL opposes. HF 92 SEXUAL ORIENTATION DISCRIMINATION. Prohibits discriminatory employment, public accommodation, housing, education and credit practices that are based on a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity. IFL supports. HF 105 EMS AND FIREFIGHTER CREDIT. Creates an individual income tax credit of $250 for a volunteer firefighter who has met the minimum training standards or certified volunteer EMS worker for the entire tax year. IFL opposes. HF 110 FARMLAND EXEMPTION. Exempts any gain realized from the state individual income tax for an owner of farmland who sells the land to the DOT if such gain is deposited into a qualified pension plan for the benefit of the taxpayer. IFL opposes. HF 112 VOLUNTEER FIREFIGHTER CREDIT. Excludes the first $15,000 received by a volunteer firefighter for services rendered as a volunteer firefighter from the individual income tax. IFL opposes. HF 115 REGULATORY EFFICIENCY COMMISSION. Establishes a regulatory efficiency commission to identify unneeded regulations, fines, and fees that hinder business development. IFL opposes. HF 130 Historic tax credits. Increases the amount of historic preservation and cultural and entertainment district tax credits. IFL opposes. HF 132 SALES TAX TIFS. Allows establishment by certain cities of sales tax increment financing districts. IFL opposes. HSB 14 RESIDENT TUITION. Allows foreign students who attended high school in Iowa to pay the resident tuition rate at Iowa universities and community colleges. IFL supports. HSB 34. MAIL ELECTIONS. Allows towns of under 200 to conduct elections by mail. IFL supports. HSB 39. POLICE AND FIREFIGHTER MEDICAL COSTS. Requires that a city shall pay for any medical attention for a member of statewide fire and police retirement system who is injured in the performance of the member’s duties. Prohibits funding the cost through an employee-paid health insurance policy. IFL supports. HSB 42 PUBLIC SECTOR DEATH BENEFITS. Deems the death of an eligible public safety provider for PORS, IPERS or MFPRSI from a heart attack or stroke as compensable as a line of duty death benefit if the provider had engaged in non-routine stressful or strenuous physical activity and the death occurs within 24 hours after the activity. IFL supports. HSB 46 SAME DAY REGISTRATION. Authorizes an eligible elector to register and vote at the polling place on election day. IFL supports. HSB 51 WORKERS’ COMP CHANGES. Provides that workers’ compensation insurance covers employees that are not specifically excluded in the policy; sets penalties for attempts to collect debt from employees during a contested case; defines a day of absence from work, repeals apportionment; defines who is an employer. IFL supports. HSB 60 CAR TITLE LOANS. Caps the finance charge for a care title loan at 21%. IFL supports. HSB 67 WAGE CLAIMS. Allows overdraft charges to be the basis for a wage claim if the employer is liable for the charges due to failure to credit the employees’ account with direct deposit wages by the regular payday. IFL supports.
HSB 70 WORKERS’ COMP
EMPLOYERS. Deems a worker from a temporary employment agency as an
employee of the agency and not the business where the worker is
assigned for the workers’ compensation laws. SF 45 VOLUNTEER FIREFIGHTER TAX CREDIT. Provides an individual tax credit for volunteer firefighters and emergency services personnel. IFL opposes. SSB 1074 COMBINED CORPORATE FILING. Requires that the net income of affiliated groups of corporations engaged in a unitary business be computed on a combined return basis for corporate tax purposes. IFL supports. SSB 1082 HISTORIC PRESERVATION CREDITS. Eliminates the discounting of the value of a historic preservation tax credit and allows the entire tax credit to be refunded or carried over until depleted. IFL opposes. SSB 1088 SEXUAL ORIENTATION DISCRIMINATION. Prohibits discriminatory employment, public accommodation, housing, education and credit practices that are based on a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity. IFL supports. SSB 1104 ELECTRONIC VOTING MACHINES. Requires that electronic voting machines be capable of producing a paper record. IFL supports.
HF 182 Health Care Whistleblowers.
Provides protection
for health care workers against retaliation or reprisals resulting
from the disclosure of certain information. HF 183 Tuition Tax Deductions. Allows for an individual income tax deduction for contributions made to a qualified tuition program established by a state other than Iowa. IFL opposes. HF 212 Whistleblower protection. Provides protection for government employees and health care workers against retaliation or reprisals resulting from the disclosure of certain information. IFL supports. HSB 92 Utility Assistance. Creates an energy utility assessment and resolution program to help prevent utility disconnections. IFL supports. HSB 97 Construction Contractor Registration. Increases construction contractor registration fees to $75 every two years for in-state contractors and to $150 for out-of-state contractors. IFL supports. HSB 98 Earning capacity factors. States that a factor which could have been considered in the reduction in the employee’s earning capacity and that existed or was known about by the parties at the time of a prior award or agreement for settlement does not bar a proceeding to reopen such award or agreement unless the factor was considered and properly reflected in the amount of compensation paid. IFL supports. HSB 99 Successor employers. Considers a successor employer as the same employer if an employee becomes part of the successor employer’s workforce through a merger, purchase or other transaction without a substantial change in the nature of the employee’s employment. IFL supports. HSB 100 Worker injuries. Requires a scheduled injury resulting in permanent partial disability that results in a reduction in earning capacity greater than the weeks compensated in the schedule for that injury shall be compensated in the same way as an unscheduled injury that results in permanent partial disability. IFL supports. HSB 105 Clean elections. Creates the Iowa voter-owned clean money election fund. IFL supports. HSB 108 Repealing official English. Repeals the Iowa English Language Reaffirmation Act (See SSB 1043). IFL supports. HSB 115 Preschool. Establishes a preschool program for four-year-olds. IFL supports. HSB 127 Statute of Repose. Eliminates the fifteen-year statute of repose in a products liability case based upon the death or injuries to a person or property brought against the manufacturer or similar person of a product based upon a defect in the design, inspection, testing, manufacturing, formulation, marketing, packaging, warning, labeling of the product or any other alleged defect or failure. IFL supports. HSB 146 Historic Tax Credits. Increases the amount of historic preservation and cultural and entertainment district tax credits from $2.4 million to $20 million and allows any unused tax credits to be carried over into subsequent years until depleted. IFL opposes. HSB 150 Historic Tax Credits II. (See HSB 146) IFL opposes. HSB 151. Provider Appeals Process. Provides that the contested case would be presided over by a panel made up of three members. IFL supports. HSB 153 Voter Registration. Allows voter registrations submitted by mail to be processed and assigned a unique identification number pending registration. IFL supports. SF 84 Voter ID. Requires all voters show valid and current photo identification before being allowed to vote. IFL opposes. SF 92 Health Savings Account Loans. Allows a beneficiary of a health savings account to apply to the Department of Revenue for a loan in an amount equal to the difference between the annual deductible under the high deductible health plan and the balance in the health savings account. IFL opposes. SF 96 Private Prison Housing. Prohibits the Department of Corrections from entering into an agreement with a private sector for-profit entity for the purpose of housing inmates. IFL supports. SSB 1120 FAIR SHARE AGREEMENTS. Allows fair share agreements to be negotiated and included in union contracts with employers. IFL supports. SSB 1145 Medical Statute of Limitations. Eliminates the statute of limitations period in a medical malpractice action for injury or wrongful death (See HSB 122). IFL supports. SSB 1156 Construction Contractor Registration. Increases construction contractor registration fees to $75 every two years for in-state contractors and to $150 for out-of-state contractors. IFL supports. SSB 1157 Out of State Workers’ Compensation. Allows workers’ compensation to be made in this state for injuries suffered by an employee while working outside of the state under certain circumstances. IFL supports. SSB 1158 Employer Choice of Doctor. Allows an injured worker to choose the provider of medical services at the employer’s expense. IFL supports. |
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Iowa Federation of Labor, AFL-CIO Lobbyist Meeting 10:00 Monday Mornings During the Legislative Session 2000 Walker Street Des Moines, Iowa Union members welcome! |
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December 9, 2006, 12:30
p.m.
North Central Federation of Labor, AFL-CIO
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Marvin Gardens
809 Central Avenue Fort Dodge
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December 9, 2006, 5:00 p.m.
North Iowa Nine Labor Council, AFL-CIO |
Hanford Inn
3041 - 4th St. SW
Mason City |
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December 13, 2006, 5:30
p.m.
Black Hawk Union Council, AFL-CIO |
Brown Bottle
209 West 5th
Waterloo |
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December 15, 2006, 5:30
p.m.
Hawkeye Labor Council,
AFL-CIO
Iowa City Federation of Labor, AFL-CIO |
RWDSU #110 Hall
526 F Ave. NW
Cedar Rapids |
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December 16, 2006, 9:00
a.m.
Dubuque Federation of Labor, AFL-CIO |
Labor Temple
1610 Garfield, Dubuque |
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December 16, 2006, 12:30
p.m.
Clinton Labor Congress,
AFL-CIO
Quad City Federation of Labor, AFL-CIO |
Rusty Nail
2606 W. Locust
Davenport |
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December 16, 2006, 12:30
p.m.
Southwest Iowa Labor Council, AFL-CIO |
Tish’s
1115 S. 35th St. Council Bluffs |
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December 16, 2006, 5:00
p.m.
Des Moines - Henry County Labor Council,
AFL-CIO
Lee County Labor Council,
AFL-CIO |
Parthenon Steakhouse
715 - 8th St.
Ft. Madison |
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December 16, 2006, 5:00
p.m.
Northwest Iowa Labor Council, AFL-CIO |
UFCW #222
3038 S. Lakeport,
Sioux City
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December 17, 2006, 12:30
p.m.
Southern Iowa Labor Council, AFL-CIO |
UFCW #230 Hall
1305 E. Mary Ottumwa |
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December 18, 2006, 5:30
p.m.
Iowa Federation of Labor,
AFL-CIO |
Machinists Hall
2000 Walker St.
Des Moines |
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Iowa Federation of Labor, AFL-CIO Legislative Hospitality Monday Evenings 5:00 - 7:00 Machinists Hall 2000 Walker Street
You're Invited |
In cooperation with the Iowa Federation of Labor, AFL-CIO presents a conference for union members. The Family and Medical Leave Act A one day program for union leaders covering key issues facing union representatives attempting to secure members’ FMLA rights. Topics include:
Friday, March 16, 2007
Course will be held
in Iowa City. For more information, or to register,
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Annual Legislative Conference February 26—28 Adventureland Inn Altoona, Iowa
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R E M E M B E R |
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