Public Sector Teamsters' Opposition to
SF2374 Kills the Bill
DES
MOINES, Iowa, April 24,
2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Intense and sustained opposition
by Iowa Teamsters to SF2374, legislation that would gut public
sector unions, led to the bill's final defeat at the close of the
legislative session on Saturday.
The bill, originally introduced by Senators Adrian Dickey (R-Packwood) and Jason
Schultz (R-Schleswig) in
February 2024, received strong public
pushback from Iowa Teamsters, including the Missouri-Kansas-Nebraska Conference of
Teamsters, Joint Councils 25 and 32, and Locals 90, 120, 238, 371,
554, and 710.
If signed into law, the bill would have required public
employers to submit a list of their employees to the state upon the
expiration of a collective bargaining agreement. If the employer
chose not to provide the list, the union would have had to sue the
employer in district court or be decertified.
"Working people have crushed an absolutely disgusting bill that
would have hurt public employees and unfairly targeted unions,"
said Alano De La Rosa,
Secretary-Treasurer of Local 90 in Des
Moines. "Since 2017, Iowa
lawmakers have set their sights on destroying public sector unions.
This attack on Iowa public sector
unions is now where it belongs—in the trash."
"Iowa legislators heard
Teamsters loud and clear about how disastrous this bill would have
been," said Tom Erickson, President
of Joint Council 32 and Teamsters Central Region International Vice
President. "Public sector workers are essential to every community
in Iowa. Every day, they deserve
the respect and protections of strong collective bargaining
agreements that preserve dignity on the job. If elected officials
in Iowa—or anywhere across the nation—want to continue to push
legislation undermining public sector workers, those
corporate-owned politicians better be prepared to go to battle with
1.3 million Teamsters."
Iowa's original public sector
bargaining law passed in 1974 by a Democrat-led legislature and
signed by a Republican governor in a bipartisan fashion and was
considered one of the fairest and most effective laws in the nation
for more than 40 years. In 2017, Iowa legislators drastically weakened public
sector bargaining laws in the state when Republicans took over all
three branches of government. The aftermath has led to higher
turnover and lowered standards in what had previously been
considered career jobs.
Teamsters Joint Council 32 represents more than 75,000 active
and retired members at 12 affiliate unions in Minnesota, Iowa, North
Dakota, and South Dakota.
For more information, visit TeamstersJC32.org.
Contact:
Kara Deniz, (202)
497-6610
kdeniz@teamster.org
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SOURCE Teamsters Joint Council 32