March 1, 2007

Current law gives employers too much power Iowa law (Section 85.27 of the Code) forces workers to see company doctors for treatment of their work-related injuries, rather than a doctor of their own choosing.  Why is this wrong?

The doctor-patient relationship is highly personal, and successful treatment depends on the patient’s trust in their doctor.  When employers choose the health care provider, a barrier is artificially placed between doctor and patient.  Naturally mistrust is generated, but in some instances, worker well-being is compromised by employer-chosen health care providers.

Horror stories.  Injured workers across Iowa report instances of inadequate or ineffective treatment, improper employer attempts to influence medical decisions, unnecessary delays in care, work restrictions that put workers at greater risk of further injury, unfairly low impairment ratings, and even cases of employer-doctor collusion in discharge decisions. 

We insist on  the right of workers to choose their own health care provider, someone they know and trust.  We support House and Senate Study Bills which give Iowa workers this fundamental right.

Talking Points

· The right of individuals to choose their medical providers is a basic tenet of adequate health care.

· Eliminate employer abuse.  Giving workers the right to choose their own health care providers will eliminate employer abuses such as those listed above, especially those involving employers influencing medical diagnoses and treatment.

· Patient-doctor trust is essential for effective medical treatment.  Injured workers should be treated by doctors they know and trust, rather than by doctors on the company payroll.

· A qualified doctor, selected by an injured worker, shares the worker’s interests in a prompt return to work (as medically indicated), and the fullest possible restoration of the worker’s health and physical capacity.

· Other states lead.  Thirty two (32) states give injured workers the right to choose their health care providers.

· Higher premiums?  No!  Giving workers the right to choose their own health providers doesn’t result in higher insurance premiums. Six out of the ten states with the lowest workers’ compensation premiums give injured workers the right to choose their own health care providers. Five of the ten states with the highest worker’s compensation premiums give employers the right to choose the health care provider.(1)

1.  Oregon Workers’ Compensation Premium Rate Ranking, Oregon Department of Consumer and Business Services, January, 2007, and U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs, August 15, 2006. 

Our top priority—
Fair Share

Update:

Bills have been introduced into both houses (HF 324 in the House and SSB 1120 in the Senate).

Have you?  Thousands of union members have contacted their state representatives with postcards, phone calls, e-mails.  Here’s how:

By email: firstname.lastname@legis.state.ia.us.

By phone:   Representatives: 515-281-3221;  Senators: 515-281-3371

By USPS:  The Honorable (insert name)                    State Senator (or) State Representative

Statehouse, Des Moines, IA 50309
  You can identify your legislators (and send them an e-mail with a click) by going to:

http://www.legis.state.ia.us/FindLeg/Default.aspx

Bills

to

Watch

HF 420  Health Care Initiatives.  Authorizes small business wellness and disease management initiatives.  IFL supports.

HF 424  Assignment of Benefits.  Prohibits a health insurance plan for public employees from stopping the employee from assigning benefits to a health care provider and prohibits refusing to directly reimburse a health care provider who has a valid assignment of benefits.  IFL opposes.

HF 447  Legislative whistleblowers.  Prohibits adverse personnel actions against a state employee who gives information to a legislator or legislative employee.  IFL supports.

HF 448  Inheritance tax exemption.  Exempts all individuals within the third degree of consanguinity by blood or marriage from paying inheritance taxes.  IFL opposes.

HF 495  Discrimination in insurance.  Prohibits discrimination in insurance based on gender.  IFL supports.

HF 496  Comparable worth.  Prohibits discrimination in providing compensation for work of comparable worth between jobs predominantly held by men and women.  IFL supports.

HSB 204  Same day registration.  Authorizes an eligible elector to register and vote at the polling place on election day.  IFL supports.

SF 216  Firefighter tests.  Requires firefighter candidates to pay for and to complete a physical ability test.  IFL supports.

SF 224  Sexual orientation discrimination.  Prohibits discrimination in housing, employment, public accommodations, education and credit because of a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity.  IFL supports.

SF 232  Payroll dues deductions.  Authorizes payroll deductions for union dues for employees receiving payment from the state, and specifically includes providers of services under a home and community-based services waiver and child care providers.  IFL supports.

SF 233  Elevator licensing.  Establishes a licensing process for elevator contractors and mechanics.  IFL supports.

SF 267  Iowa Opportunities Workforce Act.  Allows an additional classification of students for determining tuition and fees.  IFL supports.

SF 273  Contractor registration.  Increases contractor registration fees to $75 every two years for in-state contractors and $150 every two years for out-of-state contractors.  IFL supports.

SSB 1254  Close clearance warning devices.  Requires railroads to place warning devices 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.

SSB 1255  Primary registration.  Changes the registration deadline for a primary to 11 days before the primary.  IFL opposes.

SSB 1273  Railroad worker walkways.  Provides that the Department of Transportation shall adopt rules providing for safe walkways for railroad workers in areas where work is regularly performed.  IFL supports.

December 9, 2006, 12:30 p.m.

North Central Federation of Labor, AFL-CIO

Marvin Gardens

809 Central Avenue Fort Dodge

December 9, 2006, 5:00 p.m.

North Iowa Nine Labor Council, AFL-CIO

Hanford Inn

3041 - 4th St. SW

Mason City

December 13, 2006, 5:30 p.m.

Black Hawk Union Council, AFL-CIO

Brown Bottle

209 West 5th

Waterloo

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

December 16, 2006, 9:00 a.m.

Dubuque Federation of Labor, AFL-CIO

Labor Temple

1610 Garfield, Dubuque

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

December 16, 2006, 12:30 p.m.

Southwest Iowa Labor Council, AFL-CIO

Tish’s

1115 S. 35th St. Council Bluffs

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

December 16, 2006, 5:00 p.m.

Northwest Iowa Labor Council, AFL-CIO

UFCW #222

3038 S. Lakeport,

Sioux City

December 17, 2006, 12:30 p.m.

Southern Iowa Labor Council, AFL-CIO

UFCW #230 Hall

1305 E. Mary Ottumwa

December 18, 2006, 5:30 p.m.

Iowa Federation of Labor,

AFL-CIO

Machinists Hall

2000 Walker St.

Des Moines

Happy (belated) Valentines Day!

A message to labor from the House of Representatives’ Committee on Education and Labor: On Feb. 14, HR 800, the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA), was ordered favorably reported out of committee to the House by a vote of 26 to 19.  Only one Iowan is on this committee:

Voting Yes:  David Loebsack  (member of AFT Local 716)

The bill currently has 234 co-sponsors, more than enough to insure passage in the House, says committee chair Democrat George Miller.

EFCA could transform America.   How?  It would without a doubt signal the long-awaited opening of the most massive union organizing effort since 1947. 

EFCA would provide for:

è Stronger penalties for employers who fire or discipline workers trying to organize

è Majority sign-up to form a union (card check authorization)

è First contract mediation and arbitration

Iowa Federation of Labor, AFL-CIO

Lobbyist Meeting

10:30 Monday Mornings

During the Legislative Session

2000 Walker Street

Des Moines, Iowa

You’re invited!

Minimum Wage Done —
On To Prevailing Wage

“A rising tide lifts all boats.”
      Those words best explain why union members—who, thanks to their collective bargaining contracts, do not have to work for minimum wage—always stand in support of a raise in the minimum wage.  A rising lowest wage has a ripple effect upward. 

A prevailing wage in the construction industry would lift the boats much more dramatically than the new minimum wage bill.  The Iowa State Building and Construction Trades Council is recommending a bill that would require contractors on public projects to pay their employees at least the wage that prevails in the locality.

Under prevailing wage, construction workers would receive the existing market-level wages and fringe benefits in the area in which the construction takes place.  Prevailing wage laws, which date back to the late 19^th Century, were enacted to establish standards for the construction industry and prevent low-wage contractors from outside an area coming in and undermining work standards. 

A prevailing wage law would be one more crucial step towards reclaiming workers’ rights in Iowa.

The Davis-Bacon Act of 1931, passed during the Hoover Administration, requires prevailing wages to be paid on federal sector construction projects.  With the Davis-Bacon Act,
Congress declared that the government should not be part of any attempts to undermine construction industry standards in any part of the country.  Construction firms would compete for government contracts based on quality, efficiency and productivity—not on low-wage and low-benefit bidding.

Some facts on prevailing wage laws:

¨ 32 states and the District of Columbia currently have them.

¨ All states surrounding Iowa, except South Dakota, have them.

¨ Iowa is one of only 8 states that have never had a prevailing wage law.

Some benefits of prevailing wage:

¨ Creates good-paying jobs, a must for good economic development policy.

¨ Puts construction contractors on a level playing field with one another.

¨ Puts the brakes on a “race to the bottom” in the construction industry.

¨ Has a positive impact on local and state tax revenues.

¨ Helps workers in all sectors of the labor market: public, service, manufacturing. 

Surprise or no surprise!? 
Union contracts cut heart attacks in workers.

Below is a direct quote from a medical journal—we couldn’t make this up!
“Justice at Work and Reduced Risk of Coronary Heart Disease Among Employees

The Whitehall II Study

Mika Kivimäki, PhD; Jane E. Ferrie, PhD et al. 

“Background: Justice is a fundamental value in human societies, but its effect on health is poorly described. We examined justice at work as a predictor of coronary heart disease (CHD).

“Findings: Although other psychosocial models such as job strain and effort-reward imbalance predicted coronary heart disease in the data studied, the level of justice remained an independent predictor of incident heart disease after adjustment for these factors.

“Conclusion: Justice at work may have benefits for heart health among employees.”

Arch Intern Med. 2005;165:2245-2251

We knew it, we knew it, we knew it!!

Now, what would make it less stressful to be a union officer?

     Fair Share!