Political Action Update

	Political Action Update
Vol. 08-12	May 19, 2008

Governor Vetoes Collective Bargaining Bill

Culver Sides with Management

When Governor Chet Culver was forced to choose between labor and management on collective bargaining last week, he chose to side with management. The Governor vetoed HF 2645, a bill that would have allowed public sector workers to negotiate over a wider range of issues at the bargaining table.

Over the last two years, since labor helped Democrats win the majority in both the House and Senate and elected Democrat Chet Culver as Governor, this is the first major labor bill to reach the Governor’s desk. Other priorities, such as fair share, prevailing wage and employee choice of doctor, failed to pass both chambers.

The Governor has always professed to be a “strong supporter of workers’ rights and collective bargaining,” but his veto of HF 2645 is a clear contradiction of that support.

A summary of the 2008 legislative session will appear in the next edition of the Political Action Update.

Labor 2008 Heats Up in Iowa

“May Day!” for McCain’s Health Care Forum
Informational Picket in Des Moines

The Iowa Federation of Labor held an informational picket outside the Polk County Convention Center where Senator John McCain was holding a Health Care Forum on May 1^st. Several local unions, elected officials and coalition groups protested his health care proposal—a plan that actually makes health care in America worse.

Labor 2008 Kick-Off and Political Action Training

An eager group of activists joined AFL-CIO State Director Betty Brim-Hunter and a team of experts in learning how to focus their political message and sharpen their mobilization skills for the upcoming campaign. The school, held May 2-3 in Des Moines, concentrated on building member power and articulating the issues at stake in the fall campaign.

Don’t be Fooled:
Capital Gains and Dividends Tax Cuts Go to Wealthiest.

IOWA CITY, May 13. Capital-gains and dividend tax cuts heavily benefit the wealthiest Iowans, according to a new report from Citizens for Tax Justice (CTJ).

Analysis from the non-partisan Iowa Policy Project (IPP) shows that the tax cuts do not deliver for middle income Iowans. In Iowa, an individual in the top 1% of income earners (averaging $891,200 per year), is projected to get an average tax cut of $12,179 in 2009. Compare that with the $19 average cut for the bottom 60% of Iowans, who make an average of $27,500.

“CTJ’s report exposes these tax cuts for what they are: tax breaks for people who don’t need the help, particularly when lower-income Iowans have trouble meeting basic bills for food, home energy and transportation,” said

David Osterberg, executive director of the Iowa Policy Project. “Even in the middle 20%— families making $45,200 — the average tax cut would be $50. It wouldn’t buy a tank of gas.”

“Turn Around America” Health Care Meeting

DAVENPORT, April 21. The Quad City Federation of Labor, AFL-CIO, attracted 250 people and 58 local unions and union councils to a meeting critiquing John McCain’s health care proposals. Joining union members were ten elected officials and local coalitions, including the Davenport NAACP and Progressive Action for the Common Good. Participants were reminded that McCain’s plan will tax health care benefits and that he opposed health care for millions of children when he voted against the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP).

John McCain:

Not quite what he seems

Six things you should know about John McCain (but probably don't)

1. John McCain voted against establishing a national holiday in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Now he says his position has "evolved," yet he's continued to oppose key civil rights laws.

2. According to Bloomberg News, McCain is more hawkish than Bush on Iraq, Russia and China. Conservative columnist Pat Buchanan says McCain "will make Cheney look like Gandhi."

3. His reputation is built on his opposition to torture, but McCain voted against a bill to ban waterboarding, and then applauded President Bush for vetoing that ban.

4. He speaks about his concern for workers and jobs going overseas, but his 2007 AFL-CIO voting record on issues of top concern to labor is a big fat ZERO.

5. The Children's Defense Fund rated McCain as the worst senator in Congress for children. He voted against the children's health care bill last year, then defended Bush's veto of the bill.

6. He's one of the richest people in a Senate filled with millionaires. The Associated

Learn more: www.mccainrevealed.org

Press reports he and his wife (who refuses to ever release her tax returns) own at least eight homes! Yet McCain says the solution to the housing crisis is for people facing foreclosure to get a "second job" and skip their vacations.

The Richest 1%

Own 40%
of the Planet’s Wealth.

John McCain Will Take Good Care of Them.

Union (and other) Retirees Ready to Charter an Iowa Alliance for Retired Americans (ARA)

At a Senior Advisory Committee meeting in Des Moines on May 9th, union representatives interested in incorporating an Iowa branch of the ARA came closer to a Chartering Convention. This development will provide seniors with a powerful voice for expressing their concerns and interests to local, state and national elected officials.

Nationally, ARA has three million members in 28 state alliances working together to make their voices heard in the laws, policies, politics and institutions that shape the lives of retired Americans. From Medicare and prescription drug prices to Social Security, pension protection and retiree health care, the Alliance weighs in on the most pressing issues for seniors. For more information, visit www.retiredamericans.org