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.
On the same day when thousands took to the streets of Madison, Wis., to protest legislation that would strip collective bargaining rights from nearly 200,000 state workers, an Iowa House subcommittee passed a bill that would weaken the bargaining position of public employee unions in the Hawkeye State.
The bill, House File 206, was passed by a subcommittee Tuesday and will now go to the full House Labor Committee. State Rep. Ron Jorgensen (R-Sioux City) is the sponsor. If contract negotiations deadlock, the legislation would prohibit an arbitrator from selecting a final offer that an employer couldn’t afford without raising taxes. It would also require public employees to pay up to 30 percent of the cost of health insurance.
Earlier in the session, Gov. Terry Branstad released a report from his labor adviser, Leon Shearer, criticizing the state’s collective bargaining laws and proposing numerous changes. The report was immediately criticized by the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Iowa Council 61, saying it relied on faulty data to try to paint a picture that state workers are overpaid.
In fact, analysis by Iowa State University economist Dave Swenson concluded the opposite, that private sector workers with a bachelor’s degrees earned $58,670 annual, compared with $48,752 for state employees. Advanced degrees further widen the pay gap, according to Swenson, who said that private-sector workers with master’s or higher degrees averaged $82,081, compared with their public-sector counterparts, whose earnings averaged $58,670.
Groups like the Iowa League of Cities, the Iowa State Association of Counties and the Urban Education Network of Iowa have registered in support of the bill. Labor unions make up the bulk of the opposition, including AFSCME, the Iowa State Education Association and the State Police Officers Council.
While it is expected to pass the Iowa House, the Democrat-controlled Senate is unlikely to take up the measure.
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