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Yahoo
10-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Bill on public sector union lists clears Senate
The Iowa Capitol on Feb. 25, 2025. (Photo by Kathie Obradovich/Iowa Capital Dispatch) The Iowa Senate approved legislation Monday allowing Iowa residents to seek district court action during a public sector union's recertification process. Senate File 472, which passed in a 32-15 vote, would allow Iowans to petition a district court to order public employers to provide lists of their employees to the state as part of the union bargaining process. Under the the state's 2017 collective bargaining law, government employers are required to submit a list of their employees to the Employment Appeal Board (EAB) before recertification votes in which workers are asked if they want to continue being represented by their union before the next contract negotiation period. If a list is not submitted to the EAB, the recertification election will not occur, and contract negotiations occur with the existing union representation. The bill would make failure to submit a list of employees illegal. It would allow Iowa residents to petition a district court for a writ of mandamus compelling the public employer to provide a list to EAB within 10 days of receiving notice of intent to conduct an election from the EAB. The bill limits the timeframe for petitioning the court in these cases to 60 days. Supporters of the legislation said in earlier meetings the measure was necessary as some public unions were purposefully not submitting lists of employees so existing union representation would retain control over contract negotiations. Sen. Jason Schultz, R-Schleswig, highlighted the subject as a 'teacher union issue,' claiming that school administrators were choosing not to submit employee lists because of their loyalty to the teachers' union. During floor debate, Sen. Adrian Dickey, R-Packwood, said statistics from the Iowa Department of Inspections, Appeals, and Licensing found that from 2020-2023, nearly half of the recertification elections that were called to take place did not occur because employers did not submit lists. He argued the measure would not create any issues for public employers that are abiding by current Iowa law, but would ensure public sector employees' voices are heard through the recertification process. Sen. Molly Donahue, D-Cedar Rapids, said the bill 'creates an unnecessary financial burden on our school districts, because sometimes they choose not to turn in that list — not because they sympathize with educators or with the union — but because they know that this is a redundant process and it's costing money.' Donahue said that the EAB recertification process overall was 'unnecessary' and a waste of resources and time for the state, noting that in more than 98%, of cases, public sector workers have voluntarily kept their union representation. 'If we truly care about the efficiency and cutting wasteful spending, the logical solution isn't to add more hurdles, it is to eliminate the entire system of (EAB) recertification,' she said. 'Teachers and public employees already have a choice, and they get to use their voice every single year … by choosing whether or not to join the union, or if they're already a member, whether or not to stay a member. No one forces anybody into a union. They've made that decision already. The current system is nothing more than an expensive and redundant exercise in bureaucracy. So let's start focusing on some real solutions that empower our educators, strengthen our schools and use taxpayer dollars wisely.' Donahue argued the bill was not supported by any educators, public sector workers or groups representing them, but was a measure pushed by conservative organizations that serves 'no real public benefit other than to try to get school districts to lose their rights to be represented by a union.' Dickey said the measure was not a 'union-busting bill' but a 'pro-worker bill.' 'The fact is, this legislation has just as much opportunity for a union to be formed as dissolved,' Dickey said. 'For opponents of this legislation to complain that it's too expensive for public sector unions or public sector employers, then all they need to do is follow the law, and no cost will be placed upon them.' The measure moves to the Iowa House for further consideration.
Yahoo
28-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Iowa is on the verge of removing civil rights protections for gender identity
On Thursday, both chambers of Iowa's legislature passed a bill to remove gender identity protections from the state's civil rights code, positioning the state to become the first to eliminate such protections for transgender and gender non-conforming people. Senate File 418 swept through Iowa's House and Senate despite fierce protests against the bill, including at the State Capitol on Thursday. The measure passed the state Senate along party lines. In the state House, five Republicans voted against the bill alongside their Democratic colleagues. The bill would remove gender identity as a protected class in the state civil rights code, effectively exposing trans and nonbinary people to being discriminated against by employers, businesses or landlords. It would also define sex as based on a person's anatomy upon birth. Iowa is one of 23 states that protects against discrimination based on gender identity and sexual orientation. If the measure is signed into law, Iowa would become the first state to roll back civil rights protections for a group of people facing some of the highest rates of discrimination across the country. Republican state Sen. Jason Schultz, who introduced the Senate measure, has said that a recent lawsuit over Iowa's anti-trans bathroom bill — which cites gender identity being a protected class under the state civil rights code — was the impetus for the bill. During a debate on the bill Thursday, when asked if he considered the statistics on discrimination against trans people in the workplace, Schultz said, 'I don't know. I've never thought about it.' State Sen. Bill Dotzler, a Democrat, chastised his Republican colleagues. 'This state is going to become the first state in the nation to back up on civil rights,' he said. 'You get to carry that honor with you as long as you live, because you're going to take the votes to do it.' In recent years, Iowa Republicans have banned trans women from participating in girls and women's sports, prohibited gender-affirming care for trans youth, and prevented trans students from using school bathrooms that correspond with their gender identity. Those efforts mirror that of Republicans in states across the country, as well as the spate of anti-trans executive orders that President Donald Trump has signed. Senate File 418 now awaits Gov. Kim Reynolds' signature. Reynolds, a Republican who has approved previous anti-trans legislation — and who was by Trump's side earlier this month as he signed his order banning trans athletes from female sports — has not said whether she intends to sign the bill into law. This article was originally published on
