THERE IS S IN UNITY TRENGTH RATION O DE F E L F A B A O W R O I AFL-CIO AFL-CIO D e a s ow Moines I NEWS IOWAVolume 18, Issue 1 Official Publication of the Iowa Federation of Labor, AFL-CIO June 2018 The Secretary-Treasurer's Notes . We've Reached The End Of Session By Charlie Wishman, for 400 weeks and reduces com- IFL Secretary-Treasurer pensation for those injuries as well. Do you wish that your union Nothing in these workers compen- would “just leave politics alone?” sation changes do anything to lower That’s a nice thought. The unfor- health care costs, except for making tunate truth is that politics won’t it harder for workers to obtain ben- leave your union, your rights at efits. work, and your life alone. A general assembly lasts two If you care about your state: years. It is not exaggeration to say This Governor and this legisla- that this has been some of the tough- ture has continued to mismanage est two years that organized labor, the state budget. For the second and workers in general have faced. year in a row, there was a need for It is an election year. We don’t and mid-year budget cuts it was so mis- won’t tell you who to vote for. What managed. At the same time, they we will do, is show you who votes are passing billion-dollar tax cuts what way, what the bills that affect skewed toward the wealthy and workers do, and recommend you corporations. No surprise, its be- stand with people who either have cause they want to reward their do- stood with you, or pledge to stand nors going into an election year. It with you. doesn’t take a math genius to know that this is a recipe for disaster. If you are a public worker: am confident that public employees They have also tried everything These disasters include under- Almost all your bargaining rights reading this are no fools. they can to make this state a low funding mental health, underfund- have been stripped away, for abso- They repeatedly say there will be bid, low wage, low skill state. Un- ing education, underfunding our lutely no reason other than because no changes to your retirement sys- less you turn this around, Iowa will corrections system to the point peo- the people in charge of this state do tems “this year,” because this is an continue to race to the bottom for ple are getting stabbed. not value your work, believe you election year. They do want to de- wages. You may, or may not see it are a second-rate citizen, and want stroy IPERS like they gutted your today in your paycheck, but you We Fought – and We you to be paid less and have few if collective bargaining, but this time, will. Fought together any benefits. Even if your represen- they gave you a window, a chance, Corporate and insurance lobby- tative was a Republican who voted an opportunity, to make a difference If you work in manufacturing, ists (some of these corporate vam- “no” on the final bill, they passed up before they attack. Just like collective food processing, or steel: pires call themselves Democrats) every opportunity to stop the bill, to bargaining they won’t campaign on This legislature, swept into office along with Senate Republicans at- vote no on amendments, and never it, but I’d bet my bottom dollar your on “Making America Great Again,” tempted to criminalize the work- spoke against it one single time. Not pension will come under attack next voted to allow the state to stop us- ers compensation system, but we one time. They are not your friends, year if things do not change. ing US manufactured steel and oth- stopped them, together. These they are just trying to fool you. I er American made products on road same people tried to eliminate un- If you work in the building trades: and bridge projects. They would employment in all circumstances You weren’t spared either. This rather use cheap Chinese products except for in a layoff situation, tak- legislature chipped away at Davis – with taxpayer money than yours. ing no other circumstances into Bacon, which are your wages. They Also, see what they did to your account. These same people intro- also ended project labor agreements workers’ compensation below. duced a million different schemes on public projects, again going after to make Iowa a low-wage night- PAID your wages, benefits, and job oppor- If you work for a living and could mare, and we fought back more U.S. POSTAGE U.S. PRESORT INC PRESORT tunities. They even outlawed ask- be injured (that’s anyone): than I can list, together. NON-PROFIT ORG. NON-PROFIT ing a contractor on a project simple Workers Compensation has tak- We won some, but we lost most questions such as, “have you been en a beating the past two years. The of the time. It’s just the cold, hard, convicted of fraud?” or “Do you changes this legislature approved facts. It wasn’t because we didn’t have a qualified workforce for this automatically presumes that any try hard enough, organize hard project?” or “What do you pay your trace of drug or alcohol is the cause enough, and it wasn’t because we employees?” They have opened of an accident, and the burden of didn’t have solidarity, it was be- the opportunity for app-based con- proof to say it wasn’t is now on cause those were the cards the vot- struction employers to not have to the worker. Perhaps the main and ers dealt to you in 2016. pay workers compensation or un- most harmful changes to workers For decades men and women employment insurance (though we compensation law is how shoulder have stood up to power and fought did work to ensure workers must be injuries are treated. What was once for each other. It is your turn. The licensed at the minimum). considered a body of the whole in- power, and the choice about what dustrial injury now is only covered you do, is in your hands. Voter Info For June 5th 2018 Elections . Inside This Iowa Primary Elections IFL Endorsements Issue ....................... Pages 4 & 5 ................................Page 8 Iowa AFL-CIO Iowa News AFL-CIO Federation of Labor, Iowa A St., Suite 2000 Walker 50317 Des Moines, Iowa June 2018 IOWA AFL-CIO NEWS Wha pression efforts, unemployment bills t is IL that make a mockery of theThe systemIowa Labor History OralHO Project Page 2 (ILHOP) P? are just a few of the lawsIowa that Federation have was started of Labor 40 leadersyears ago who by recog- been upended in the nizedcurrent the need Iowa to preserve the stories of quire a few key strokes or are you ILH legislative sessions. Theworkers tax billswhose that lives shaped Iowa’s rich OP T willing to work to take advantage take money from insufficientlabor history. rev- A new round of ILHOP interviewsoda The President's View . under way to preserve important storiesy from of the circumstances that look favor- enues are going to put our budget in more recent decades. able? jeopardy for possiblyFrom decades.the 1970s does she send out a clever, factful text The Iowa Federation of Labor, over 1,100 interviews is now ILH So, what are you going -1990s,to do, ILHOP recorded OP or Facebook post or does she do the labors, and struggles of Iowa union mem- Areas of focus for new interviews include: Ad AFL-CIO has worked hard to put pound a few keys or pound a few viso bers. ILHOP is widely regarded recounting as onethe lives,of the Origins and growth of Iowa’s ILHOP is a joint project of thers Iowa& So, Whathard Are work to raise the sailsYou and take together Going a good program, provide To Do? St doors? If you want to tell your kids most comprehensive labor oral history col- unions Federation of Labor aff advantage of the circumstances? good information and we are wait- Imagine a sailor standing on the and grandkidslections that in theyou world were and on one the of the only Major events and University of Iowa Labor Center, the There you have the current po- ing, albeit not too patiently, for those frontlineslarge to take back Iowa from struggles public sector State Historical Society-AFL of Iowa, and the deck of her sail boat thinking about litical climate. Many are predicting -scale oral history projects initiated and University of Iowa Division of-CIO, Continuing the committed activists to step up and the far right,funded come by labor and unions help themselves. us raise (organizing, the amazing breeze at her back. So, a good election this year for candi- Education do the hard work necessary to be the sails and chart a new course for strikes, lock- . Th dates who support working families. ILHOP audio recordings, interview tran- e I successful. Iowa. outs, plant H ow scripts, and isto a L Crystal balls aside, we seem to have We have seen the consequences closings) Lead Interviewer ry O abo a lot of energy, many candidates and thousands curring since oc- John McKerley, ILHOP Oral Historian, r r of a bad election first hand. Work- al P of docu- the 1970s University of Iowa Labor Center ro motivated people who want to see ers rights attacked, rights for injured jec ments, pho- Industrial, E-mail: john t change, want to have an economy (IL workers set back decades, voter sup- tos, and economic, Phone: 301 [email protected] Pre H that works for all of us and not just serv OP artifacts are and political -789 ing ) Project Director -4164 Iow and some of us.