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 a 57-39 vote, the Iowa House on Friday passed legislation that alters collective bargaining laws for public employees.
The bill, House File 525, allows employees to become “free agents,” who can negotiate their terms of employment directly with employers even if they are in a union shop. The bill would also prohibit unions from negotiating on health benefits, retirement or layoffs. The bill would also require arbitrators to consider comparisons with non-union workers and the private sector, and whether taxes would be increased.
Debate on the measure stretched out over three days, beginning Tuesday at 2 p.m. Democrats introduced more than 100 amendments to the bill, but Friday morning Republicans voted to close debate at noon in order to force a vote.
“Like Wisconsin, Republicans in Iowa will stop at nothing to take away rights from police officers, fire fighters, state troopers, teachers, correctional officers and other hard-working Iowans,” said House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (D-Des Moines). “This bill to end collective bargaining is worse than the bill approved in Wisconsin earlier today.”
House Speaker Kraig Paulsen (R-Hiawatha) said in a statement that the bill did not represent an end to collective bargaining, but rather represents lawmakers “leveling the playing field for taxpayers.”
“This bill addresses the cost of government in Iowa,” Paulsen said. “Today, 84 percent of state employees pay nothing for their health care. Republicans added a provision that required each public employee covered by a collective bargaining agreement to pay at least $100 for the own health insurance. Employees not covered by a collective bargaining agreement, which includes state legislators, were previously required to contribute at least $100 towards their own health care coverage in both House File 45 and Senate File 209.”
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