Stories

U.S. Sen. Tom Harkin told a crowd of labor activists Thursday that he had amassed the 60 votes needed to pass a version of the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA) back in July but that Massachusetts Sen. Edward Kennedy’s illness prevented him from casting the deciding vote.

The provision of a controversial bill that would give workers the right to unionize as soon as a majority of employees in a workplace signed cards saying they want a union has been dropped, a move designed to make it easier for the legislation to pass.

Top Republicans in the Iowa House and Senate told The Des Moines Register today that stoping union-backed legislative proposals will be a priority in the upcoming session, with shutting down the legislature entirely as one viable option.

Legislators that supported the smoking ban in Iowa will benefit at the polls this fall, Gov. Chet Culver said.

Iowa business owners who repeatedly employ illegal aliens would face civil penalties of up to $10,000 and up to a year in jail under legislation being proposed by a coalition of Democrats in the Iowa House of Representatives.

House File 2026 would lead to the creation of the law that prohibits employers from employing any persons [...]

Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Joe Biden of Delaware wasted no time going on the offensive at the Teamsters Local 238 headquarters in Cedar Rapids. “We’re tired of being pushed around, I’m tired of us losing, and I’m tired of us being under the gun,” Biden told the crowd of 150 gathered inside the Teamsters’ hall. [...]

Not to be outdone by Sen. Chris Dodd’s day-long International Association of Fire Fighters endorsement announcement tour in Iowa, Sen. Hillary Clinton’s campaign today announced an endorsement by the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers.

The statement from the Clinton campaign: