It’s Friday, June 13, 2025.
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The Iowa Legislature passed a bill this session banning diversity, equity, and inclusion programs and trainings by “public entities,” including Iowa’s public universities.
And they spelled out exactly what they don’t want us to learn about:
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“unconscious or implicit bias, cultural appropriation, allyship, transgender ideology, microaggressions, group marginalization, anti- racism, systemic oppression, social justice, intersectionality, neopronouns, heteronormativity, disparate impact, gender theory, racial privilege, sexual privilege, or any related formulation of these concepts.”
The legislation did not ban professors from teaching courses on those concepts. But that didn’t stop the Iowa Board of Regents from trying to ban it themselves, using virtually the same language.
The first reading of the new proposal was this week.
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Thanks to Rane, a newsletter reader, for passing this along.
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University of Northern Iowa’s faculty union, United Faculty, came out to oppose it, saying it would “censor university faculty and bend Iowa’s public universities and their curricula to an agenda that undermines critical inquiry, free speech, and student choice.“
“The end result will be censorship by the government … choosing what we can and cannot say in a classroom, undermining academic freedom and freedom of speech,” UF President Christopher Martin told the Regents at their meeting. “This proposal is literally against the law.”
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The University of Iowa’s graduate student worker union, COGS, protested outside of this week’s meeting, saying programs across the board would be affected, including history, social work, English, and education.
“It is an unacceptable encroachment on First Amendment rights and the free exchange of ideas vital to a vibrant and healthy academic environment. And it does not reflect values held by the University of Iowa community,” COGS said in a release. “The Board of Regents is bending to political pressure from state and federal administrations.”
The Board said it would continue to discuss the issue at future meetings.
What do you think? Email me.
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Amie Rivers
Newsletter Editor, Iowa Starting Line
Member, COURIER UNITED, WGA East
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Reynolds signs bill cutting unemployment to save companies money: “While Iowa families struggle and Iowa’s economy ranks dead last, Gov. Reynolds and Republican lawmakers are handing out a $1 billion tax break to big corporations, paid for by raiding funds meant for laid-off workers,” said Rep. Daniel Gosa, D-Davenport. (Iowa Capital Dispatch)
- Working on a union: Around 200 general duty registered staff nurses at Southeast Iowa Regional Medical Center’s two facilities in West Burlington filed an intent to unionize Thursday with the Communication Workers of America Local 7181.
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Paid only in tips: The US Department of Labor says Rocio Correa-Mata, who owns three Mexico Lindo restaurants in southeast Iowa, paid some servers only what they earned in tips—less than minimum wage—and didn’t pay kitchen staff overtime. (Iowa Capital Dispatch)
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Postal workers reach tentative agreement: The American Postal Workers Union reached a tentative three-year agreement with the US Postal Service this month. Members will be mailed ballots to vote on it starting next week, with results by mid-July. Here’s the full agreement.
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Where are all the dudes sitting in basements? I was told dudes sitting in their mom’s basements were taking all of the Medicaid. It turns out there aren’t as many of them as they say there are. (Brookings)
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No, Trump can’t lay off CDC workers: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is reinstating around 450 workers laid off under the Trump administration’s massive reduction of the federal workforce, including those at the National Center for HIV, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and Tuberculosis Prevention, the National Center for Environmental Health, and the Global Health Center. (Reuters)
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ICE arrested, then released, labor leader David Huerta: The president of Service Employees International Union (SEIU) United Service Workers West was tackled by ICE agents in Los Angeles for documenting a workplace raid. Rank-and-file union members are also being targeted. (In These Times, Labor Notes)
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- Iowa layoffs coming up in the next month:
– Eckerd Connects in Denison, a Job Corps site, is closing and laying off 115 workers by today. Read more here.
– Winnebago Industries is laying off 196 workers at four plants by today: 20 in Charles City, 128 in Forest City, 30 in Lake Mills, and 18 in Waverly. Read more here.
– Wells Fargo in West Des Moines is laying off 46 workers by Sunday, 41 workers by June 29, and 24 workers by July 14.
– Chevron USA/Renewable Energy Group in Ames is laying off 70 workers by Wednesday. Read more here.
– Hy-Vee Short Cuts Facility in Chariton is closing and laying off 129 workers by June 24.
– Hy-Vee Fresh Commissary in Ankeny is closing and laying off 332 workers by June 24. Read more about both Hy-Vee closures here.
– Lutheran Services of Iowa in Des Moines is laying off one worker by June 27.
– Accelerate 360 Distribution in nearby Sioux Falls, South Dakota, is laying off 35 workers by June 28. Read more here.
– ASM Global in Dubuque is laying off 160 workers by June 30. Read more here.
– Career Systems Development Corporation in Wapello is closing and laying off 92 workers by June 30.
– Forte Openings Solutions in Mason City is closing and laying off 93 workers at two locations by June 30. Read more here.
– Sodexo in Decorah is closing and laying off 130 workers by June 30. Read more here.
– Orient-Macksburg Community School District in Orient is closing and laying off 36 workers by July 1. Read more here.
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It’s bad enough knowing that thousands—sometimes millions—of animals are killed when highly contagious avian influenza is found in a flock.
But worker protections are falling through the cracks too: Underage workers have been found to be killing birds and handling carcasses; workers lack protective gear for the processes used to kill them, which could spread the disease to humans; and producers who need to kill them quickly sometimes use inhumane methods to do so.
Read more from Investigate Midwest.
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