Amie here. What do you do if you’re the president, the economy is going south, and Americans are looking to you for leadership?

Own it? (remember “the buck stops here”?) At least tell us your plan to fix it?

LOL, not if you’re President Donald Trump.

Trump’s not stopping at his classic “FAKE NEWS” mantra. He’s fired the head of the agency that runs the numbers—another step toward cementing fascism, which you’ll remember from “1984” relies on propaganda.

(If a recession falls in a forest, and no one’s around to tell us, it’s easier to just straight-up lie to people!)

But if you look around Iowa, you can still find the truth: The government is not helping workers, or the companies, even. They’re making it worse.

Extremely well-paid federal immigration agents (which now will include the Iowa National Guard) have been detaining and illegally deporting increasing numbers of hardworking, taxpaying Iowans. To keep up with Trump’s quotas that he totally doesn’t have, they’re now expected to expand this—and that could include Iowa’s Ukrainian refugees, who now aren’t able to get their work permits renewed.

“It’s not safe to go back to Kiev,” Liana Avetisian, one of those refugees who lives in Dewitt, told CBS News. “Every day, every night, it’s bombing.”

I remain mystified as to who this is actually helping (besides the Stephen Miller fanboys who want to see their xenophobic fever dream play out).

Have thoughts? Email me.

Amie Rivers

Newsletter Editor, Iowa Starting Line

Member, COURIER United (WGA East)

Email me

(AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes, File)

Gutting Iowa’s workforce: Between rising prices and dwindling job growth, using “buy now, pay later” on everything from concert tickets to fast food deliveries is becoming increasingly appealing. But greater use also means more people fall behind on repaying these loans. (Associated Press, Iowa Starting Line)
Trump is LOWERING wages for disabled workers. (The Progressive)
‘Trump tariffs kick in at highest rates since Great Depression.’ That’s it, that’s the headline. Here’s what it means for you. (CNN)
How many layoffs? Only “a small number” of workers were laid off last week at Cedar Rapids’ CRST, the company told TV station KCRG. These layoffs don’t appear on the state’s layoff website, so we’ll have to take the company’s word for it. (KCRG via reader tip)
GM workers at a second Mexico plant tried to unionize, but lost their bid to join an independent union, the National Auto Workers Union (SINTTIA), that could have raised their paltry wages. Some allege election interference. (Labor Notes)
Money for the big producers in Trump’s bill, and not the small farmers who really need it. (New York Times)
Your Black coworkers might seem like they’re OK, but they’re likely putting up with added discrimination, indignities, and misunderstandings, leading to more stress at work. Here’s what you can do to help foster a better workplace culture. (Black Iowa News)
Voting on a union: Seventeen full- and part-time baristas and shift supervisors at a Starbucks in Des Moines voted yesterday on whether to unionize with Starbucks Workers United; no word as of this writing. Seventeen linemen, apprentice linemen, line foremen and member service technicians with Southwest Iowa Rural Electric Cooperative in Corning vote Tuesday on whether to unionize with the International Brotherhood of Electric Workers Local 55.

All information taken from Iowa Workforce Development’s WARN Act website. Read WARN Act and Iowa WARN Act criteria here.

The Mutual Group in West Des Moines is laying off 34 workers by today.
Wells Fargo in West Des Moines is laying off 35 workers by Sunday, 35 workers by Aug. 24, 11 workers by Sept. 8, 44 workers by Sept. 22, and 10 workers by Oct. 4.
Southeast Service Corporation in Mount Vernon is laying off 31 workers by Monday.
Advanced Drainage Systems in Waterloo is closing and laying off 71 employees by Aug. 17. Read more here.
FedEx is laying off 168 workers at three locations by Sept. 1: 57 workers in Cedar Rapids, 84 workers in Des Moines, and 27 workers in Dubuque. Read more here.
Winnebago Industries is closing and laying off 18 workers in Charles City and 77 workers in Waverly by Sept. 8, and laying off another 26 workers in Charles City by Dec. 12. Read more here.

What are the unions doing about the attacks on workers?

Some are pressuring, some are protesting, and some are groveling. Here’s who’s doing what.

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