It’s Worker Wednesday, Nov. 13, 2024.

I’ve been reading several takes on what went wrong for Democrats in this election. And there’s one that actually resonates:

The party as a whole needed to do a better job centering the working class.

Before you furiously hit reply, look: I know Democrats have done a much better job for the labor movement historically, as well as recently.

There’s a robust National Labor Relations Board taking on the likes of Starbucks and Amazon;
Lina Khan and ilk at the Federal Trade Commission are fighting mergers among our increasingly monopolistic society;
President Joe Biden walked strike lines, and learned from the rail strike to not cave to Chamber of Commerce pressure—staying out of big labor fights and ensuring UPS drivers and dockworkers had a chance for a good contract.

Republicans, meanwhile, have made no secret that they prefer tax cuts for the rich, getting rid of enforcement of worker rights, and kicking out a large immigrant workforce that keeps many industries (agriculture, for one) afloat.

The country’s union members saw that, passed the word, and voted overwhelmingly for Vice President Kamala Harris as a result.

But! Unionized workers are also only 11% of the US workforce. How about reaching the other 89%? For instance:

Raising the federal minimum wage.
Better protections from states, like ours, that are trying to roll back health and safety standards for workers.
Actual movement on price gouging, because prices remained high, pressuring low-income folks. (If I had to read one more tone-deaf story about how inflation was “easing”….)

When people don’t think you’re doing anything to materially help their situation—whether that’s actually true or just perceived to be—they will turn to the other guy. That’s actually good news for Dems, since if nothing changes under President Donald Trump (or, even more likely, things get worse), they’re in a good position to win back the White House in four years.

Will they just go back to their old ways when they do? Or will they build a new coalition starting now?

Resistance is brewing, particularly among the young, multiracial working class, who already largely find a home in Dems’ progressive policies (as we saw in ballot measures across the country this election). But none of it matters if politicians don’t understand the rent is too damn high.

What do you think would win over the working class in Iowa? Email me here.

Amie Rivers

Community Editor, Iowa Starting Line

Email me

This week’s Iowa worker news:

‘Mounting insurance crisis’ in Iowa: A new report shows Iowa homeowners had an average premium increase of 14% last year, and increasingly severe weather (like the derecho) has a lot to do with it.
Iowa State Fair vendor Steer ‘N’ Stein stiffed its workers, and also didn’t pay the fair, the Des Moines Register reports.
Boeing strike over: Around 33,000 striking IAM workers at Seattle company Boeing won a 38% raise over the next four years after a 53-day strike.
Who is paying the Trump tariff? You are paying the Trump tariff. Here’s exactly how that will work.
Billionaires love that Trump won, in case you were wondering who his policies will support.
Amazon workers in Alabama get to vote on a union for the third time, the NLRB has ruled. (Amazon is still expected to whine and moan in court about it for a while.)
Pushing back private equity in mobile home parks: Some states are passing new laws that allow mobile home owners more rights to the land underneath.
Consolidation at the Postal Service: The nation’s largest union workforce is pushing back against a plan by the postmaster general to close 200 mail processing plants, funneling them to 60 “mega plants” like UPS and FedEx have instead.
It’s tough switching banks. Then you have to switch your direct deposit, all your bill pay, etc. A new federal rule could make that a whole lot easier.
Apparently the US Copyright Office is why the McDonalds ice cream machine was always broken. Now, thanks to a new set of exemptions, you should have no problems ordering that McFlurry anymore.
Unionizing:
– 187 workers at DFA Dairy Brands (Kemps) in Le Mars filed for an election Nov. 7 on whether to be represented by either the International Union of Operating Engineers Local #234 or the General Drivers and Helpers Union Local #554.
Iowa layoffs coming up in the next month:

– Gates Corporation in Newton is closing and laying off three workers by Friday, and six workers by Nov. 22. Read more here.

– Wells Fargo in West Des Moines is laying off 47 workers by Monday, and eight workers by Dec. 1.

– Cygnus Home Services, aka Yelloh, is closing five Iowa locations, and laying off 13 workers in Atlantic, eight in Dyersville, 10 in Marion, 10 in Sioux City, and 12 in West Union, all by Nov. 22. Read more here.

– Winnebago Industries in Forest City is laying off 33 workers by Nov. 22.

Before you punch out ✊

All this talk of getting organized made me remember I had yet to read this book I picked up at last year’s Labor Notes conference in Iowa City. And it was a quick and easy one!

“Secrets of a Successful Organizer” might seem like a book exclusively for folks trying to organize their coworkers at their job. And it absolutely is that book. But it’s not called “Successful Union Organizer” for a reason—there are lots of parallels that can be drawn between how to organize that type of union as well as organizing politically, around tenants’ rights, around civil rights, and more.

If you’re ready for action after this election, you might start here.

(Send me your book/movie/article suggestions here.)