Iowa Worker’s Almanac news briefs for Oct. 22, 2026:
- Here’s a look at where gas prices are in Iowa today.
- Funny how they can find $8 billion in bail-out money for farmers right before the election!
- The story of Fatou Traore of Iowa City, who was deported to Sierra Leone and fears deportation to her home country of Ivory Coast, is going national. But she’s still imprisoned in a Sierra Leone hotel, and said she worries she could be taken from there to Ivory Coast and killed.
- More workers in TPS limbo: Besides workers from El Salvador, Ukrainian and Sudanese TPS holders are now also awaiting news on whether they can keep working legally or not—and Venezuelan workers now officially have their TPS revoked by the administration. “As we continue to hear about workers with TPS being fired, Iowa MMJ calls on Congress to fix the problem it has perpetuated,” the Iowa Migrant Movement for Justice said in a statement this week.
- They battled anti-union consultants and won: Here’s how 69 workers at aerospace-grade casting manufacturer Wellman Dynamics in Creston won their union.
- We can’t afford to live like this: Around 60% of Americans don’t make enough income for the life they want, while 53% of us don’t have emergency money for three months if we lost our jobs, according to a new survey from Pew Research. And it doesn’t get better for older folks: 20% of Americans over age 50 have no retirement savings.
- What’s the answer to private equity swallowing up everything? Maybe a federation of worker co-ops?
- A Working Families Roundtable was in Ankeny last week, with candidates from state and county offices taking questions. Watch Bleeding Heartland’s video here.
- UAW President Shawn Fain, who led workers through the Stand-Up Strikes of 2023 and has been organizing new unions across the nation, was just re-elected by UAW workers.
Upcoming layoffs:
All information taken from Iowa Workforce Development’s WARN Act website. Read WARN Act and Iowa WARN Act criteria here.
- RTX in Cedar Rapids is laying off 1 worker by Oct. 30.
- Wells Fargo in West Des Moines is laying off:
5 workers by Oct. 31
35 workers by Nov. 14
10 workers by Nov. 28
2 workers by Dec. 12
Read more here. - Winnebago Industries in Forest City is laying off:
51 workers by Nov. 9
27 workers by Nov. 30 - Cambridge Investment Research in Fairfield is laying off 33 workers by Nov. 11. Read more here.
- Carry On Trailer in Missouri Valley is closing and laying off 79 workers by Nov. 29. Read more here.
