Iowa Starting Line – Workers Almanac Natural List
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Here’s why Nov. 1 is so important
News about and for the working class Share with a friend Saturday is Nov. 1, and Nov. 1 is when the monthlong federal government shutdown—assuming it hasn’t been lifted—will become very personal and very real. There are two big reasons for that. First: Nov. 1 is when SNAP benefits will end for 42 million…
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Shutdown means no pay for 10K Iowa workers
News about and for the working class Share with a friend A correction from last week: Meghan Holloran graduated from Drake University with a degree in multimedia journalism, not environmental journalism. Amie here. The ongoing federal government shutdown is resulting in lots of Iowans not being paid—and it’s not just federal workers. …
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AI has wiped out a third of entry-level jobs
News about and for the working class Share with a friend Amie here. Another young college graduate from Iowa can’t find any sort of entry-level job, she told me last week. And AI may be to blame. Meghan Holloran just graduated from Drake University this May with an environmental journalism degree. She did…
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Here’s what workers won at Le Mars Dairy
News about and for the working class Share with a friend Amie here. Another group of workers won a pension back; it’s spreading! Around 186 workers at Kemps, a dairy plant in Le Mars, have won raises, a new health care plan, and a defined benefit pension in their first-ever work stoppage at…
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150+ job apps. Zero offers. One Iowa grad’s story.
News about and for the working class Share with a friend Amie here. I’ve written before about how the job market is abysmal right now, which is particularly hard on new graduates and those just trying to get started in their field. Now, one of those recent grads is confirming just how bad…
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It’s really bad for Iowa farmers right now
News about and for the working class Share with a friend Amie here. Harvest time is upon us, and Iowa farmers are supposed to have the third-largest harvest on record. Yet it all amounts to a hill of beans (literally) if nobody’s buying them. Iowa soybean farmers—and those in the wider ag…
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Support for capitalism at record low
News about and for the working class Share with a friend Amie here. Americans are starting to sour on capitalism. That’s according to the latest Gallup survey, which found the number of US adults who say they support capitalism—”an economic system characterized by private or corporate ownership of capital goods,” per Merriam-Webster—is at…
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Does your union’s endorsement matter?
News about and for the working class Share with a friend Amie here. Labor unions are just starting to endorse candidates for 2026. It’s still very early for this, but here are a few I’ve seen so far: Rob Sand, running for governor, was endorsed by Service Employees International Union Healthcare Minnesota and Iowa…
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These Iowa workers have a higher risk of cancer
News about and for the working class Share with a friend Amie here. If you’re an Iowan, you already have a higher cancer risk than the rest of the US for reasons we’re currently exploring in ISL’s Cancer in Iowa series. But some workers face extra cancer risks. This week’s story, in…
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Iowa has a dire shortage of nurses. Here’s why
News about and for the working class Share with a friend Amie here. You probably already know Iowa has a problem getting qualified health care workers: We’re 44th in the nation for physicians to patients, or 30% worse than the national average; The problem is particularly bad in our nursing homes; Iowa Republicans passed…
