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.
The Iowa Association of Business and Industry has purchased radio time across the state to air an ad critical of labor legislation currently under consideration.
The ad specifically points to so-called “Fair Share” legislation, which would require some non-union workers to pay a fee when they receive union services, such as representation during grievances and arbitration. The group accuses Gov. Chet Culver and Democrats in the legislature of “auctioning off” Iowans’ jobs to labor unions and forcing workers to “pay the union, even if they’re not a member.”
Unlike previous versions of the bill, the language in the current Fair Share legislation would apply only to public employees in state government’s executive branch. It would not apply to private businesses, or public unions for teachers, or city or county employees.
The proposal would give Iowa’s executive-branch public employees the right to negotiate on whether non-union members should reimburse unions for bargaining and grievance services, limiting those costs to 65 percent of annual union dues, depending upon the service provided by the union.
Below is the ad purchased by ABI:
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