February 7, 2007

Senator Harkin Speaks out for Unions

“Working families can celebrate the fact that  the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA) has been introduced into the Senate, which will now have  a chance to weigh in on the single most important piece of legislation to  help working people build a better life for themselves and their  families,” said AFL-CIO President John Sweeney.

The U.S. House of Representatives  earlier voted “yes” to EFCA by a wide margin. 

Our Senator Tom Harkin spoke on this bill:

“I have been a proud cosponsor of the Employee Free Choice Act in previous sessions of Congress, and look forward to its consideration soon.  This is truly one of the most important things that we can do to give people a fair playing field in their workplace.

“The first thing I want to talk about in regard to majority sign-up is what it is not.  I have been bombarded with press releases from groups alleging that this bill will eliminate the secret ballot.  This is just plain wrong.  This bill does not establish a new election process; it merely requires employers to honor employee choice.  Right now, the company gets to decide whether it will recognize a majority sign-up vote.  Under the aptly named Employee Free Choice Act, the employees get to decide.  I would also add that the decertification process does not involve a secret ballot, yet people who object to the Employee Free Choice Act do not seem to be protesting that process.

 “This bill says that if workers choose to use the National Labor Relations Board process, they may.  However, that process can be threatening and intimidating to many employees.  Right now, the employer can refuse to acknowledge the wishes of the majority, and insist on an NLRB campaign.  But the NLRB process isn’t like the democratic process we are used to in public elections.  The mere fact that the election ends in a secret ballot does not make it democratic.  In the NLRB process, only one party – management – has a list of voters.  Only one party – management – has access to all of the voters for at least eight hours a day.  To say that the NLRB process is balanced simply ignores the facts.  Imagine an employee having to take face to face meetings with their supervisor on a daily basis.  This supervisor is the person who has to approve their vacation, sick leave, raises and promotions.  It is illegal for a supervisor to pressure employees to vote for a political candidate – and for good reason.  There needs to be a way to protect workers from similar undue pressures in the organizing context, and the Employee Free Choice Act provides just that.”

Remember the Kentucky River Decision?

We demand RESPECT!

Thanks to the new Democratic majority, a bill dubbed the Re-Empowerment of Skilled and Professional Employees and Construction Tradeworkers (RESPECT) Act, will overturn a September 2006 NLRB ruling that slashed longstanding labor law protections of workers' freedom to form unions. The bill was introduced March 22nd by Reps. Robert Andrews (D-NJ) and Don Young (R-Alaska) in the House and Sen. Christopher Dodd (D-CT) in the Senate.

The NLRB ruling radically reinterpreted the definition of "supervisor" in a way that greatly expanded the number and types of workers that can be classified as supervisors. The board ruled a worker can be classified as a supervisor if he or she spends as little as 10 percent to 15 percent of his or her time overseeing the work of others. That breaks down to less than an hour a day or one full shift every two weeks. 

"The NLRB defied congressional intent by reclassifying as 'supervisors' many workers with only low-level supervisory duties, professionals such as nurses, and other skilled craftspersons," said AFL-CIO President John Sweeney. "The RESPECT Act will restore Congress's original intent, which was never to deny protection to these workers."

So far, no Iowa members of Congress have signed on as Co-sponsors, so it might not hurt to let them know your feelings. Bill numbers:      Senate S 969 and in the House HR 1644.

Bills

to

Watch

HF 881  Tax credit transfers.  Requires the DOR to establish a tax credit certificate transfer program to allow a biotechnology enterprise or a targeted small business to transfer tax credits in return for financial assistance.  IFL opposes.    

HSB 298  Tax Amnesty.  Creates a tax amnesty from  September 4, 2007 to October 31, 2007 for liabilities that are delinquent as of December 31, 2006.  Authorizes the tax to be paid with no penalty and only half the interest that would be due.  IFL supports.

SF 566  Historic Preservation credits.  Increases the amount of tax credits for historic preservation and cultural and entertainment districts to $20 million in FY 2010.  IFL opposes.

SSB 1343  Sales tax exemption for performing arts centers.  Exempts materials and services used in the operation of a non-profit private performing arts center.  IFL opposes.

SSB 1344  Employer tax credit for repayment of student loans.  Provides a tax credit for an employer that pays any portion of an employee’s undergraduate student loan.  IFL opposes.

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

Free DVD on organizing

 A free 14-minute DVD Justice: The Heart of Organizing, presents five organizing campaigns that expose the unlawful tactics that employers use to thwart employees’ organizing efforts.  It dramatically highlights the need for the Employee Free Choice Act.  

Order a free copy of this video to use at union meetings and conferences, and to share with family, friends and neighbors.   Send your :

• Name, Union affiliation, Address, Daytime Phone, Fax  and E-mail Address:
• By Fax 202-508-6908, attn:  The Union Shop
• By  mail to The Union Shop, 815 16^th Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20006.  

Beware — Turn these Phrases into Policy, and they can Contaminate your Drinking Water — as well as  your Mind!

A tongue-in-cheek thank you to the right-wing “Public Interest” Institute in Mount Pleasant for drawing to our attention some phrases used by vicious anti-union forces in our state: 

· “privatization of public services”

· “deregulation” 

· “free-market solutions”

· “market-based approaches”

These approaches, says the Institute in its mission statement, work just great in “areas where property rights and markets do a better job than government bureaucracies.” 

The Institute is also a leading anti-union voice in opposing Project Labor Agreements, which have produced high quality, on-time and under-budget public construction projects while protecting workers’ working and living standards.  So much for the “public interest” in the Institute’s name!

By contrast,  the Iowa Policy Project in Mount Vernon has conducted research that clearly points out the dangers of privatization and the public value of Project Labor Agreements.

You can link to the IPP  website through our IFL website:
http://www.iowaaflcio.org/

NO to Privatization;

Yes to Project Labor Agreements!

Election Day Registration in Iowa—At Last!

Civil Rights and Workers’ Comp Bills

How did your Senator vote? 

Senators voting “no”:  Angelo, Hartsuch, McKibben, Seymour, Behn, Houser, McKinley, Ward, Boettger, Johnson, Mulder, Wieck, Gaskill, Kettering, Noble, Zaun, Hahn, Lundby, Putney, Zieman.

The new Civil Rights bill, which adds sexual orientation and gender identity to the protections of state civil rights law, passed 32—17.  How did your Senator vote? 
Senators voting no:  Behn, Houser, Mulder, Zaun, Boettger, Johnson, Noble, Zieman, Hahn, Kettering, Putney, Hancock, McKibben, Seymour, Hartsuch, McKinley, Wieck.  Absent: Gaskill.

One of several “live” Workers’ Compensation bills passed the Senate 30—19.  SF 341 would  allow compensation for work-related injuries suffered and claims made outside of this state.

How did your Senator vote?  Senators voting no:  Angelo, Hartsuch, McKibben, Seymour, Behn, Houser, McKinley, Ward, Boettger, Johnson, Mulder, Wieck, Gaskill, Kettering, Noble, Zaun, Hahn, Lundby, Putney.   Absent: Zieman.

Workers' Memorial Day April 28

5,702 killed by job injuries in 2005.  50,000 workers die each year from occupational diseases.  Hispanic worker job deaths at an all time high.  Coal mine deaths doubled in 2006… 
When is  enough, enough??

In cooperation with the Iowa Federation of Labor, AFL-CIO presents a conference for union members.

Issues for Building Trades Unions

• Misclassification of construction workers:  how employers wrongly classify workers as independent contractors; union strategies to combat the problem

• Labor law update with recent NLRB rulings affecting the building trades

• State prevailing wage laws and other legislative issues

Plus:  Thursday afternoon golf outing sponsored by the Iowa State Building and Construction Trades Council

Phone registration:  call (319) 335-4146.  Fax registration:  (319) 335-4464.  Online and email registration is available at http://www.continuetolearn.uiowa.edu/laborctr. 

2007 51st Annual Convention
Iowa Federation of Labor, AFL-CIO

Mark your calendars

When: August 15—17, 2007

Where:  Ramada Inn, Waterloo

BOX SCORE
Your tax dollars at work

$15 billion — Money already spent on reconstruction in Iraq 

$15 billion — Amount needed for infrastructure repair in the US 

 ----------------

$1.2 billion — Amount Bush proposed in State of the Union for additional Iraqi reconstruction

$2 billion  — likely tally on government waste and corruption in federal government cleanup after Katrina

 --------------

$2.7 billion (1/07) Cost of  Iraq war (so far) for Iowans 

$2.7 billion   What it would cost to hire 47, 423 additional public school teachers for Iowa schools for one year. 

Not on our Side: 
Iowa City Chamber of Commerce
 Reports to its Members, March 2007

“Right to Work    The Chamber membership continues to contact legislators about this proposal.  This bill was locked up in caucus a week ago but it is not a dead issue until the session is over.  When you are talking to our delegation, please remind them that we are opposed to this bill.”

“Choice of Doctor     This is eligible for debate in the House but has not been posted yet.  The Iowa City Area Chamber has come out against it.  A call to action was sent a week ago to the membership.  Again, please remind our delegation that this bill is BAD for Iowa business and growing this state.”

Wrong, wrong, wrong!!! 
 

Wrong on the facts (Choice of Doctor has not yet passed the Senate and is not eligible for House debate until it does) and wrong on the issues.  Fair Share is not about the “right to work” act, and neither of these two proposals will hurt business.  Each of these measures is about a better Iowa for workers.  Too bad some businesses don’t care about that issue.

Iowa Federation of Labor,  AFL-CIO

Lobbyist Meeting

10:00 Monday Mornings

During the Legislative Session

2000 Walker Street

Des Moines, Iowa
 

You’re invited!

FAIR SHARE
for public workers still on hold.

Passed Senate — Delayed in House.