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.
Members of Iowa largest labor union have approved contract concessions that will avoid nearly 500 layoffs.
Fifty-nine percent of American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Iowa Council 61 members voted t0 approve the concessions, with 41 percent voting against, according to figures on the union’s Web site. The concessions come after Gov. Chet Culver ordered a 10 percent across-the-board cut to the state’s budget. After initial budget plans were made public Culver told AFSCME and two other public employee unions that represent employees of the Department of Corrections and Department of Public Safety that they would need to reopen their contracts in order to avoid layoffs.
Union leadership announced a deal earlier this month, leaving it up to members to vote on whether to accept it. The 20,000 members of AFCSME’s contract will be required to take five mandatory unpaid days during the remaining months of FY2010, which ends July 30, 2010. The state will also stop making payments into the deferred compensation program for state employees.
The moves will save the state $26.4 million.
At a press conference Monday morning announcing the outcome of the vote, AFSCME Local 61 President Danny Homan said the next step is for the state to look at the number of supervisors, saying there is currently an 8 to 1 employee to supervisor ratio.
“We have too many supervisors,” he said. “We should get rid of some of them. We don’t need that many.”
The State Police Officers Council reached a similar agreement with the state that will avoid 43 lay offs and save the more than $1 million.
The Iowa United Professionals union already rejected the idea of cutting benefits and pay, instead allowing for 55 of its members to be laid off. The union represents social workers and corrections counselors.
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