Working Class News You Can Use:
- Almost half of US households didn’t earn enough money to meet basic needs in 2024, according to a new study. In Iowa, we’re doing a little better than average, with 60% of us able to make rent and utilities on time—but it varies widely by county (pictured above), with rural county residents generally not doing as well. Seventy percent of Jackson County residents can pay all their bills, but only 45.5% of Fremont County residents can say the same.
- Meanwhile, the richest 1% of Americans are holding 32% of the country’s wealth—the largest wealth disparity since WWII.
- Gov. Kim Reynolds is eliminating 200 information technology (IT) jobs and transferring them to a private company—blindsiding state workers who say they’re worried they’ll lose their jobs and state IPERS pensions.
“Iowa jobs are for Iowans, not corrupt New Jersey tech bros,” said State Rep. Brian Meyer, the House Democratic Leader. “Laying off 200 Iowa AFSCME members who work hard and get good benefits in favor of out-of-state consultants is outrageous.” Meyer added it was “disappointing that Governor Reynolds is partnering with Cognizant Technology Solutions, whose executives were charged with foreign bribery in 2019.” - Ottumwa Job Corps students learned all about high speed fiber optic network during a job training day hosted by the Iowa Communication Network this month.
- A bill requiring companies to bargain faster with new unions passed the House this month, 230-193. All four of Iowa’s Republican representatives voted against it. The Faster Labor Contracts Act, now in the Senate, would set a 90-day time limit on bargaining first contracts. If no agreement is reached by then, the bill would mandate mediation and then arbitration if necessary.
- Vermont is the first US state to ban paraquat, an herbicide the National Institutes of Health found substantially increases the risk of contracting Parkinson’s disease for farmworkers exposed to it. It’s clearly up to states to regulate now; the US Supreme Court just sided with Monsanto/Bayer in ruling the chemical company essentially can’t be held liable for failing to warn Roundup users of cancer risks.
- Union news: Fourteen full-time, part-time, and on-call bus and paratransit drivers at Siouxland Regional Transit System withdrew their request June 5 to hold an election on whether to unionize with AFSCME Council 61.
- Voting on a union: Fifteen workers at Mydatt Services, aka Block by Block in Iowa City, will vote Saturday on whether to unionize with Teamsters Local 238.
- Voted on a union: Eighteen full- and part-time maintenance workers at Fair Oaks Foods in Davenport voted June 17 on whether to unionize with UFCW Local 431. An official vote tally was not yet posted. // One hundred ninety-seven full-time, part-time, and PRN nurses with UnityPoint – St. Luke’s in Sioux City voted June 18 to hold an election on whether to de-certify with their current union, United Food and Commercial Workers. An official vote tally was not yet posted.
- Won a union: Eighteen full- and part-time registered nurses and licensed practical nurses at Davenport Lutheran Home in Davenport won the right to form a union on June 17, 10-4, with one ballot challenged. They are now unionized with UFCW Local 431.
Upcoming Iowa Layoffs:
All information taken from Iowa Workforce Development’s WARN Act website. Read WARN Act and Iowa WARN Act criteria here.
- CNH Industrial in Burlington is closing and laying off:
15 workers by Friday,
13 workers by Sept. 25, and
five workers by Dec. 31.
Read more here. - Wells Fargo in West Des Moines is laying off:
10 workers by Saturday,
29 workers by July 11,
one worker by July 25, and
43 workers by Aug. 22.
Read more here. - First Student in Waterloo is closing and laying off 120 workers by Tuesday. Read more here.
- Whirlpool in Amana is laying off 288 workers by July 5. Read more here.
- Ryder Systems in Waterloo is laying off 153 workers by July 24, with workers told they can apply to work for the new company, HODGE. Read more here.
- UnityPoint Health is laying off 203 workers statewide by July 24:
1 worker at UnityPoint Clinic Multi-Specialty in Cedar Rapids,
3 workers at Iowa Methodist in Des Moines,
19 workers at Accountable Care in Des Moines,
76 workers at UnityPoint Health Thornton in Des Moines,
2 workers at Finley in Dubuque,
1 worker at Trinity Pain Management Center in Fort Dodge,
1 worker at Accendra Health in Grimes,
97 workers at Proxy Access in Hiawatha,
1 worker at Marshalltown Hospital in Marshalltown,
1 worker at St. Luke’s in Sioux City, and
1 worker at Allen Hospital in Waterloo. Read more here.
