Wednesday was a difficult day for The American Independent News Network, which is the larger entity that operates The Iowa Independent. Our chief executive and founder announced two of our sister sites would close and their content would be moved to The American Independent.
A recently introduced bill could have far-reaching impact on the U.S. sugar industry, including American Crystal Sugar, a farmer-owned cooperative that locked out 1,300 Midwest workers on Aug. 1.
The chairman for Herman Cain’s Iowa effort says the campaign “relied more on the word of farmers than Washington regulators” in deciding to run an ad containing claims the Environmental Protection Agency says are false.
The Iowa Senate will remain under the control of a slim 26-25 Democratic majority when it reconvenes in January 2012.
A bill making it easier for labor unions to organize will never become law because Republicans will filibuster it, Sen. Charles Grassley told reporters Tuesday.
The bill, known as the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA), would give workers the right to unionize as soon as a majority of employees in a workplace signed cards saying they want a union. Its chief co-sponsor is Iowa Sen. Tom Harkin, who told Politico that he expects a vote on the measure shortly after the Easter recess, and when it does come up, it will have the 60 votes it needs to overcome a GOP filibuster.
Grassley disagrees.
“It won’t become law because we’ve got 41 Republicans sticking together against it,” he said. “And it’s my understanding that we have some Democrats that are nervous about it, too. I don’t see how you can get around a filibuster. And it will be filibustered.”
The EFCA would allow unions to be certified by the National Labor Relations Board if a majority of workers sign cards designating the union as their bargaining representative. It would not do away with secret ballots for union organizing, but they would no longer be required. Union activists and anti-labor groups both agree that the change would make it easier for unions organize.
Grassley said allowing unions to organize without a secret ballot opens the door for intimidation.
“The crux of the matter is this: That once 51 percent of the people sign up, you’ve got a union,” he said. “And one by one, they’re going to go to them and intimidate them into joining the union. And so there isn’t going to be much left to have a secret ballot about.”
Supporters of the bill counter that employees already face intimidation from their employer when contemplating a union vote. Under the current law employers can veto workers’ decision to organize through majority signup and force them into the election process where, according to a recent study, a pro-union worker is illegally fired in a quarter of all organizing drives.
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