Iowa House debates union bargaining
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By Charlotte Eby | Thursday, March 20, 2008 |
DES MOINES — The Iowa House continued to debate into the night Wednesday on a measure that would expand the list of items that could be subject to collective bargaining with public employee unions.
The bill drew sharp debate along party lines, with Democrats describing the bill as a way to provide more protections to Iowa workers and Republicans saying the measure would raise taxes and take decisions out of the hands of local officials.
House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, D-Des Moines, said the bill gives public sector unions more negotiating power on a variety of working
conditions.
“I think it makes the bargaining situation more equitable,” McCarthy said. “Corrections officers will be able to bargain for things that will improve their safety. Police officers will be able to bargain for things like bulletproof vests.”
State Rep. Todd Taylor,
D-Cedar Rapids, said the bill was a way to modernize the state’s collective bargaining law, created more than three decades ago.
But Republicans argued the measure would undercut school boards’ negotiating ability on issues such as class size and discharging or evaluating teachers. They reiterated complaints from local government and school officials.
House Minority Leader Christopher Rants, R-Sioux City, said the measure would result in huge property tax increases.
“We’re getting calls and
letters from school board members, city council members, supervisors, administrators, saying this is going to cause us untold increases in property taxes,” Rants said.
Republicans complained the proposal was pushed through before others could catch on to what was happening.
“That’s why they’re trying to jam it through in one day, because they don’t want the phone calls. They don’t want the public to find out what they’re doing,” Rants said.
State Rep. Jeff Kaufmann,
R-Wilton, said he’d heard from a local superintendent that the measure would be catastrophic to his school.
Kaufmann, a former school board president and former negotiator for his union of teachers at Muscatine Community College, believes the measure would make it harder to force out bad teachers or force them to improve.
“This is massive; this is devastating. This is not good for Iowa kids,” Kaufmann said.
Earlier in the day, Rants accused Democrats of attempting to allow unions to negotiate for the right to charge “fair share” fees to non-union
members.
To counter the claim, McCarthy offered an amendment that reaffirmed Iowa’s existing law, which prohibits unions from charging “fair share” or agency fees. The measure was adopted on a 100-0 vote.
McCarthy said he expected the final bill to pass and move to the Senate for consideration.
Charlotte Eby can be reached at
(515) 243-0138 or chareby@aol.com. Comment on this story at qctimes.com.
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