The newsletter for the Iowa worker.
It’s Wednesday, May 1, 2024.
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Happy May Day, aka, International Workers’ Day! (Read about why the US government doesn’t want to recognize it.)
If you want to show solidarity for your fellow workers—especially immigrant Iowans working in some of the dirtiest and most dangerous jobs—there are vigils in four Iowa cities tonight.
Specifically, organizers want to call more attention to SF 2340, a new Iowa law that deputizes state and local law enforcement to act as federal immigration officials, and gives them complete legal immunity to do so.
If you go and snap some photos, I’ll reshare in this email next week!
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Last time, I asked readers whether they were members of a union or not. Of the people who clicked one of the buttons, 49 of you are union, and 26 are not. A good mix, I think!
- Mark S. isn’t/can’t be in a union, but nonetheless said he’s “100 percent pro-union.”
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Doris T. said her retired husband was union: “The benefits the union fought for always helped our family, and even now, as a retiree, the benefits continue to help us.”
- Greg C. wasn’t union, but “learned so much about the challenges these men (slaughterhouses jobs in the 60s and 70s were mostly male positions) faced” as a legislator.
I also asked what you want to see more of in the newsletter:
- Bonny H. is concerned about groundwater depletion: “It’s a big ticking time bomb!”
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Stephen T. worried about the new law that allows 14-year-olds to drive: “We are going from requiring another adult to ride along … to a policy that says they are the same as mature adults for driving purposes. I’m sure we won’t hear any crying when one of these kids dies while driving to school or work.”
I’ll take more of your ideas for this newsletter anytime.
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This week’s Iowa worker news:
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Voting on a union: Twenty-six workers at McDowell Crane and Rigging in Keokuk are working to unionize with the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 150.
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Layoffs this month: Cygnus Home Services/Yelloh in Osceola is laying off 5 on May 3. DTG2Go in Storm Lake is closing and laying off 14 on May 3. West Liberty Foods is laying off 24 on May 6. John Deere Des Moines Works in Ankeny is laying off 30 on May 6, and another 30 on May 20. Lutheran Services of Iowa in Waverly is laying off 31 on May 16, and another 12 on May 31. Bayer CropScience in Muscatine is laying off 28 on May 22. Blue Monde in Camanche is closing and laying off 69 on May 31.
- A Daisy plant could be coming to Boone: The Texas-based maker of sour cream and cottage cheese is applying for state tax breaks and city infrastructure help to build a plant in Boone, which the company says could create more than 250 jobs.
- Concerns about Koch Industries buying an Iowa fertilizer plant brought the chair of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to Nevada, Iowa, last week. The agency could decide to block the multi-billion-dollar deal if it believes it will harm competition.
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Want a job in the newly expanded American Climate Corps? Nearly 2,000 positions opened up across 36 states last week, including in Iowa—but as of this writing, there was only one position in Iowa left!
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No more preventing you from working at a competitor: The FTC has officially banned noncompete agreements, which bar workers from moving to a competitor in the industry or starting a similar business of their own. Worker-rights organization applauded the new rule, arguing that one in four private-sector workers was hamstrung by a noncompete. Industry group US Chamber of Commerce called it an “unlawful power grab.”
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More salary workers will soon be eligible for overtime: The Biden administration last week finalized a rule to help 4 million low-paid salaried employees not get taken advantage of at work. Currently, workers paid via a salary (not hourly) are not eligible for overtime if they make more than $35,500. But starting July 1, that cutoff will be $43,888, and it rises further to $58,656 on Jan. 1, 2025.
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Before you punch out 🏳️🌈
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