April 16, 2007

Three Major Issues

Outstanding at the Statehouse

l Fair Share for Public Workers

This high priority bill has passed the Senate and is still alive in the House.  Fair Share would greatly strengthen the ability of public sector unions to represent all those in their bargaining unit.  And it would remove one of the great injustices in our labor relations system.  If you haven’t contacted your state representative on this bill, please do so in these few remaining days of the session. 

Urge your Representative to vote “yes” on SF 413.

l Choice of Doctor    

Workers should have the fundamental  health care right of choosing their own medical provider under our workers’ compensation system.  The doctor-patient relationship is one of the most personal relationships, and current law gives employers too much power to intrude into medical decision-making—which is not in the best interest of the injured worker.  Do you have a horror story?  Or know of a co-worker whose rights were violated?  Now is the time to tell this story to your legislators!  Help them understand the pain and injustice of this system.  Please contact both now!  

Urge your Senator and Representative to vote “yes” on  worker choice of doctor in workers’ compensation.

l Prevailing Wage 

Prevailing wage legislation is critically important to protect the wages and conditions of workers in the building and construction trades.  It is also one which should be a top demand of every Iowa taxpayer.  The bill has passed out of House committee and is now up for a vote in the full House.  It then needs to pass the Senate. 

This legislation will protect local jobs and workers’ wages on public construction projects, just as federal law—the Davis-Bacon Act— does on all federally-funded projects.  Prevailing wage laws also improve both the safety and health of workers, and help ensure the quality of our public buildings and other public projects.

Please contact both your Senator and your Representative and urge them to protect the public’s investment in quality jobs and quality construction.

Urge your Senator and Representative to vote “yes” on HF 810. 

Your legislators need to hear from you on these issues.
DO IT TODAY!!

Find your legislator: and send him or her an e-mail with a click by going to:
http://www.legis.state.ia.us/ Scroll down on the left hand side to “Find your legislator”
 

Bills

to

Watch

HF 897  Electrician Licensing.  Establishes a statewide system of licensing for electricians and life safety installers.  IFL supports.

SF 580  Tax Amnesty.  Creates a state tax amnesty program from September 4 to October 31, 2007, which allows payment of delinquent taxes without penalty and with 50% of the interest normally due.  IFL supports.

SF 582  Arts sales tax exemptions.  Exempts services for a non-profit private performing arts center from the sales tax.  IFL opposes.

SF 583  TIF and tax credit reporting.  Requires cities and counties to include a TIF budget in their budget, which, when possible, will include estimated and actual tax increment revenues, spending, identifying TIF recipients and other matters.  IFL supports.

SF 584  Employee choice of doctor in workers’ compensation.  Gives an injured employee the right to choose the provider of medical services at the employer’s expense.  IFL supports.

SF 585  Contractor Registration.  Increases fees for contractor registration and includes other requirements.  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

Tax day has come and gone—so we ask: 

Who’s NOT paying their fair share of education,
the war, health and human services and all the other things taxes support???

Annual Report, Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, April, 2007

Labor Law Reform and Immigration

How Better Labor Laws Might Affect Immigration

Why do employers seek out undocumented workers?  Is it really because legal residents “don’t want those jobs”?  Why don’t we try an experiment and find out?

Improve, Enforce, Protect

What if we greatly improved wages, hours, and working conditions in all those workplaces where the undocumented find jobs, and what if we made sure all workers were fully aware of and protected in their rights to complain against unsafe and illegal treatment?  Would we observe any changes in employment patterns? 

Some ideas include:

l Minimum wage.  Some estimates are that two million immigrant workers earn less than the minimum wage.  Raising it would substantially raise their wages, making them less attractive to employers looking for cheap labor.    

l Enforcement of wage and overtime laws.  More enforcement and more investigators to recover every penny of wages that unscrupulous employers have under-paid workers —undocumented or not. 

l Pass EFCA.  What we really need for all workers are living wages, health care and good retirement programs.  How do we get those?  Simple—by making it easier for workers to form and join labor organizations, regardless of their immigration status. 

l Employment discrimination.  Any workers who have been discriminated against because of their national origin, race, color, disability, or religion, or who have been sexually harassed at work, are entitled to bring legal action, and may still recover compensatory (“pain and suffering’) and punitive damages (monetary awards meant to punish the employer) if they win their cases.  This law needs to be strengthened and given enough funds for full investigation and enforcement.

l Workers’ compensation laws are being weakened in every state.  They apply to all workers, and need to be strengthened to protect injured workers, documented or not.

l OSHA protection against workplace hazards—Enforcement needs to be strengthened  with criminal penalties for employers, much larger fines

and many more OSHA inspectors.

Currently, undocumented workers fear to use these laws, even if they know about them, and if they do complain, they risk bringing themselves to the attention of “the law.” This creates an economic incentive for unscrupulous employers to hire and exploit undocumented workers. It gives those employers an unfair competitive advantage over employers that treat workers lawfully and fairly.  Need proof?  Listen to Mike Gonya, farmer of 2800 acres of wheat and vegetables near Fremont, Ohio. 

“The illegals are probably better workers than the legal ones.  The legal ones know the system.  They know legal recourse.  The illegal ones will bust their butts.”  (NYT 4-9-06)

Let’s remove the incentive employers like Mike Gonya have to seek out the most vulnerable workers.  Then we’ll see what happens to the “jobs no American worker wants.” 

President Sweeney on the Bush Immigration Proposal

AFL-CIO President John Sweeney has blasted the White House’s new policy for immigration reform.  Bush wants two new massive guestworker programs, says Sweeney, “one for the 12 million undocumented people currently living in the US, and another that would supply employers in the future with  hundreds of thousands of temporary workers who will come to

the US to do permanent jobs.  Guestworker programs force workers to  labor in temporary status while doing permanent jobs.”  Sweeney points out that “Their most basic rights are often violated by the very employers who have the power to send them home if they ever complain.  Those programs are simply a method by which employers can lower working standards in entire industries, to the  detriment of all workers. 

Expanding them is wrong.”  

 Sweeney described the Bush plan as guaranteeing “inequality now, for 12 million undocumented workers, and it guarantees inequality for those immigrants who come to our shores legally in the future.” 

“A two-tiered society is not the America we want and is not the America that workers deserve.”

Hold this date!

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

Mark your calendars

When: August 15—17, 2007

Where:  Ramada Inn, Waterloo

Want a challenging summer job?

The AFL-CIO Union Summer internship program offers college students the chance to spearhead union-community coalitions, join unions in organizing rallies and events and build support for important working family issues such as health care and living wage laws.  Find out how you or someone you know can apply.
To apply on line:

Remember:
“Mourn for the dead and fight like hell for the living!”

Workers’ Memorial Day,

April 28, 2007

è Off-campus programs can be customized for local unions as they confront the challenges of changing workplace environments. Classes are offered to locals for a fee of $200 per day plus the cost of materials.  Contact the Labor Center to find out more, or visit the Labor Center website at: http://www.continuetolearn.uiowa.edu/laborctr/index.htm for a list of topics.

FAIR SHARE
for public workers is still on hold.

Passed in Senate

 STILL delayed in House.