The newsletter for the Iowa worker.
It’s Wednesday, Feb. 28, 2024.
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Jesse Case, secretary-treasurer of Teamsters Local 238, speaks at a rally outside the Iowa Capitol to oppose an Iowa Senate union-busting bill on Wednesday, Feb. 21.
Photo by Ty Rushing/Starting Line
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Teamsters members and their supporters circled the Iowa Capitol by vehicle last week, some with “Stop the War on Workers” signs affixed, honking their horns.
There was even a plane flying above the capitol with a banner that read, “Kill Senator Dickey’s Union Busting Bill.”
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Charlie Wishman, president of the Iowa Federation of Labor, speaks at a rally in the Iowa Capitol to oppose a union-busting bill on Monday, Feb. 26.
Photo by Avery Staker/Starting Line
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I asked you all what you thought of the unions’ pressure strategy last week, and got several thoughtful responses:
- “My take on Jesse Case’s stance is…’Hell Yeah,’” Jeff S. wrote.
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Ron P. liked Case’s idea of “rolling strikes” as a protest. “Voting in local, state and federal elections to remove anti-union legislators out of office is also a way to protect the right,” he added.
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Bridget M. pointed out that each law that weakens public unions has had “immediate effects causing job losses and wage losses.” (Fact check: proven true on the wage losses!)
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“Workers carry the brunt of the taxes in our country,” added Carol and Butch M. “We should have the ability to speak and stand for what we need.”
- “I hope Biden is watching this,” wrote Cassandra A. “Trump will most likely try to bust unions, and we need them.”
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“Where are these cruel bills coming from?” wondered Brenda C. (Two out-of-state groups bankrolled by the Koch brothers, naturally.) “People are getting tired of having their freedoms taken away in this state.”
Send me your thoughts, rants, and predictions below!
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This week’s Iowa worker news:
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Iowa’s biggest workforce problem? Bad legislation. That’s according to University of Northern Iowa students who told Democratic Sen. Eric Giddens that Republicans’ war on white-collar and blue-collar workers alike were forcing them to leave their home states after graduation.
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At least nine children were working illegally on overnight shifts cleaning dangerous meatpacking equipment at a Sioux City plant, according to court filings by the Department of Labor last week. The children were technically contracted with Tennessee-based Fayette Industrial to work there. In response, the plant said it had “terminated all contracts with Fayette” and that it was “disturbed” by the allegations.
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West Liberty foods will lay off a quarter of its workers, or 260 out of 865 people, starting in April. The turkey plant said it would be getting rid of its ready-to-eat slicing operation as well as its second-shift log fabrication operations by November of this year.
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New Iowa union: Fourteen full- and part-time technicians at Ryder Truck Rental in Davenport are looking to unionize under the International Association of Machinists & Aerospace Workers. (Their employer has already enlisted the union-busting help of the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation.)
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For more information or to register by Mar. 11, click here.
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Screenshot of webpage from The Guardian.
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Better pay and benefits might seem like they’d be big issues in union campaigns and during contracts.
But a different issue has risen to the top in many US cities: Affordable housing.
Read about the problem and some interesting solutions various unions are coming up with in this piece by The Guardian.
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