Another year, another chance for Iowa Republicans to decide whether they’ll choose to help their corporate donors or Iowa workers.
(Want to watch this story instead? Click here.)
The Iowa Legislature is officially back in session, and—despite recent Democratic gains—Republicans still control both the House and Senate. It’s also Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds’ last year in office—and her legacy, let’s just say, hasn’t been in workers’ best interests.
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Over the past few years, Iowa Republicans have gutted protections for workers, from basically eliminating bargaining for public sector workers like teachers, to slashing unemployment benefits to just 10 weeks—hitting construction workers especially hard.
So the big question this year is: What’s next for Iowa workers?
I asked Starting Line political correspondent Zachary Oren Smith to talk about three worker-focused bills you should be paying attention to, how they’d help or hurt, and whether they have a chance of becoming law.
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Zachary Oren Smith in a screenshot taken Jan. 21, 2026.
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First: Senate File 2041, introduced by Sen. Charlie McClintock, a Republican from Alburnett.
- What it does: The legislature had previously prohibited public employers from allowing payroll deductions for union dues and prohibited public unions from bargaining for them. This bill not only strikes the first part but also makes the second part mandatory.
- What the Iowa Federation of Labor says: They support it.
- The impact: “It makes union membership more convenient for public workers and gives unions more stable funding,” Smith said.
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Will it pass? “Unlikely, as this reverses the collective bargaining restrictions Republicans championed in 2017,” Smith said. “State Senator Charlie McClintock is the sole sponsor with no House companion bill. He is a Republican, so that helps, but it’ll need more support to pass.”
Next: Senate File 2046, introduced by 16 of the Senate’s 17 Democrats. (Sen. Zach Wahls did not sign on.)
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What it does: Requires employers who pay by the task, piece, mile, or load to explain to all workers, in writing, how wages are calculated and when they are paid out. It also strengthens enforcement and whistleblower protections in workers’ favor.
- What the Iowa Fed of Labor says: They support it.
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The impact: “Truck drivers, delivery workers, and commission workers would see exactly how their pay is calculated,” said Smith. “Workers get three years instead of just one to challenge wage theft. Firing someone within 90 days of a wage complaint is presumed retaliation, with penalties of at least $150 per day.”
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Will it pass? “Extremely unlikely,” Smith said. “This has 16 Democratic sponsors and zero Republicans—in other words, it’s a messaging bill. Business groups will strongly oppose it and a Republican trifecta isn’t likely to move it.”
Finally: House Study Bill 556, proposed by Iowa Workforce Development. It has not yet been introduced by any House representative as of this writing.
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What it does: Would add a new, individualized “reemployment case management program” to IWD’s workload. Most unemployed workers would be forced to participate within two weeks of receiving benefits. It also switches unemployment notices to employers from regular mail to IWD’s online portal.
- What the Iowa Fed of Labor says: They oppose it.
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The impact: “The bill doesn’t define what ‘compliance’ would mean or how much time case management would require,” Smith said.
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Will it pass? “There’s a good chance,” Smith said. “Department-sponsored bills usually have administrative support. ‘Helping people get back to work’ is politically popular, and this lacks the partisan flashpoints of the other bills.”
Your regular reminder that your elected officials work for you, and you should definitely email them your thoughts regularly.
What Iowa bills are you following this year? Share your thoughts.
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Watch the latest edition of Clocked In on:
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Amie Rivers
Newsletter Editor, Iowa Starting Line
Member, COURIER United (WGA East)
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$15 minimum wage on the table: Iowa House Democrats unveiled a sweeping agenda last week that includes raising Iowa’s minimum wage to $15 per hour, establishing mandatory paid family leave, freezing utility rates through 2030, and eliminating the state’s Education Savings Account program to fund health insurance subsidies. Read the details here.
- Grocery prices have spiked at their fastest pace in three years. The worst? Coffee (20%), beef (16%), and candy (10%).
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Union endorsements: Bricklayers and Allied Craftworkers Local 3 of Marshalltown endorsed Sen. Zach Wahls for US Senate this week. “Zach Wahls has been in our corner every time it counts—standing up for collective bargaining, fair wages, and safe job sites, and listening to what our members are facing on the job and at the kitchen table,” said Ray Lemke, President of BAC Local 3. “Our members are proud to stand with Zach because we know he’ll fight like hell to lower costs and make sure Iowa’s economy finally works for the people who build this state.”
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More rural hospitals closing: MercyOne announced last week it will close its Ottumwa Family and Internal Medicine Clinic on Feb. 27—and, apparently, workers only found out just before the public announcement. Pella Regional Medical Clinic in Ottumwa separately reduced its family practice operations starting last week, citing challenges in getting and keeping health care providers. “The privatization of Medicaid has only made things worse, burdening our health care providers with more administrative costs and leading to higher costs for Iowans, and threatening rural hospitals,” candidate for governor Rob Sand said in a release. “As governor, I’ll work to reverse the privatization of Medicaid and protect our rural hospitals.”
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Tariffs hitting farmers hard: Ag businesses are traveling to DC, and farm industry groups are saying that per-acre tariff bailout money is not enough to help farmers climb out of debt and asking Congress to allocate more. “Our corn is selling 44 cents below the estimated cost of production,” said Aaron Lehman, president of the Iowa Farmers Union. “Soybeans, locally, they’re selling for $1.30 below … Farmers are losing money on every bushel that they grow.”
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Workers who aren’t farmers aren’t doing well either, according to the latest labor share statistics, which show how well workers are doing in wages compared to bosses. Lowest ever labor share, cool, cool.
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We’re in a Black recession, according to the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies, which cited a rising Black unemployment rate because of deliberate policy choices—including the elimination of hundreds of thousands of federal jobs, cutting federal programs that increased Black workforce participation, and dismantling the Minority Business Development Agency.
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Wage garnishment plan delayed for student loans, the Department of Education announced, which “would have risked pushing nearly 9 million defaulted borrowers even further into debt,” said Aissa Canchola Bañez, policy director for the advocacy group Protect Borrowers.
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General strike against ICE: Nearly 100 labor unions and other organizations are supporting the call for a work stoppage across Minnesota on Friday, which also includes the call to not go to school or shop to protest ICE’s continued operations in the state as well as pressure companies currently staying silent about it. “We are facing a tsunami of hate from our own federal government,” said Abdikarim Khasim, a Minnesota rideshare driver. “We’re going to shut it down on the 23rd. We’re going to overcome this.” (ICE’s campaign of terror is likely the reason why the US has negative net migration for the first time in at least 50 years.)
- UAW backs Trump heckler who lost job: TJ Sabula, an autoworker in Michigan, called President Donald Trump a “pedophile protector” while Trump was touring the plant Sabula works at last week. The UAW, his union, backed him and his “freedom of speech,” but Sabula was later fired.
- Write your congress members: The Big Beautiful Bill eliminated tax on overtime—but only for some workers. There’s now a bipartisan bill in the House that would add railroad and airline workers, truck drivers, and more.
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Voting on a union: Forty full- and part-time drivers and monitors at Durham School Services in Urbandale voted on whether to unionize with Teamsters Local 90 last month; there is still no vote total posted to the NLRB website as of this writing.
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Wells Fargo in
West Des Moines is laying off 14 workers by Friday, and 25 by Feb. 6. Read more here.
- 10 Roads Express/10 Roads Service in Carter Lake is closing and laying off 42 workers by Jan. 30.
- DRT in Carter Lake is closing and laying off 26 workers by Jan. 30.
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CRST Expedited in Cedar Rapids is laying off 30 workers by Feb. 1.
- Medtec/CQ Medical in Orange City is closing and laying off 33 workers by Feb. 6.
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Winnebago Industries in Charles City is closing and laying off its remaining 23 workers by Feb. 20.
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Thanks for reading. This newsletter was written by Amie Rivers. It was edited by Paula Solis.
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