The newsletter for the Iowa worker.
It’s Wednesday, Apr. 17, 2024.
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It’s spring! Summer, maybe, with the temperatures last weekend?
In any case, spring always (because I’m a masochist I guess) makes me think of spring cleaning, renewal, and reaffirmation of what I’m doing and why.
So: I’m extending it to this newsletter!
I like writing about Iowa workers. I’m an Iowa worker! And I like writing about all the things that working in Iowa entails, whether that’s:
- Efforts workers are undertaking for better wages and benefits,
- Legislation that could help or harm workers,
- Quality-of-life issues affecting workers, like affordable housing, health care, food insecurity, wage theft, major layoffs, and more.
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Here’s where you come in:
I’m interested in what you have liked about this newsletter and what I could change. (This is sort of different from the surveys you might otherwise get from us, because you can write me whatever you want, and it’s JUST about this newsletter.) So email me your thoughts here!
Iowa as a whole is around 7.2% union, slowly on the rise since 2019. And I’ll continue to write about topics that interest both groups. But, just ’cause I’m curious: How many union members and non-union members are here?
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This week’s Iowa worker news:
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With a major plant closure looming in Perry, Tyson workers—many of them immigrants who have only ever worked at the plant—told the Des Moines Register they’re unsure about what comes next. The city’s new website, Perry Next, has a list of therapists, nearby food pantries, and promises of upcoming job fairs. Tyson is offering up to 75 jobs at its pork processing plant two hours north in Waterloo, though that’s less than 6% of the 1,276 workers being laid off.
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What ‘male dominated’ industry? More women are joining the trades than ever before. Female apprentices are up by a third in the last five years, per WHO 13, who talked with Samantha Groark at Central Iowa Building Trades in a recent segment to learn why it’s exploded in popularity.
- A “good” bill for workers from the Iowa Legislature? That’s what the AFL-CIO calls HF 2680, which expands coverage of mental health and taxing for surviving spouses, among other provisions, for police officers and firefighters.
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14-year-olds working and driving:: That’s the plan under a new bill that just passed the Iowa Legislature and awaits the governor’s signature. It would mean those as young as 14 could drive up to 25 miles to and from work with a special permit. (Am I crazy, or could we do that in the 1990s?)
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Pregnant and working? The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act went into effect in 2023, and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission issued its “final regulation” (how they’ll implement the law) this week. What that means for you? If you’re pregnant, you’re allowed to ask your employer for reasonable accommodations, such as being allowed to sit, additional breaks, a piece of equipment that may help you do your job, and more.
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Railroads must keep two-person crews, according to a new federal rule finalized last week. The International Association of Machinists applauded the rule, which they and other rail worker unions fought and nearly went on strike for in 2022.
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Workers Memorial Day is Sunday, April 28.
On that day in 1970, the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA) went into effect. It was the culmination of the labor movement’s desire to see fewer deaths and injuries on the job.
But still, more than 340 workers are killed and 6,000 injured or sickened on the job in the US—many from preventable injuries and illnesses—every day.
Each year, several unions across the state gather to read the names of workers who have died in the previous year, honor them, and find community.
Here’s a list of Workers Memorial Day events across Iowa:
- Friday, April 26: Bettendorf, Burlington, Sioux City
- Sunday, April 28: Council Bluffs, Waterloo
- Monday, April 29: Cedar Rapids, Des Moines, Dubuque, Iowa City
- Thursday, May 2: Keokuk
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