Posts tagged Iowa
Commentary: Why Are Union Officials So Comfortable Stealing From Their Own Members?
June 8, 2026 // That’s why we’re highlighting legislation like Iowa Senate File 472, championed by Iowa State Senator Adrian Dickey. The legislation requires public-sector unions to obtain affirmative consent from workers before deducting union dues from their paychecks and to renew that authorization on a regular basis. Workers must actively opt in rather than being treated as automatic revenue sources. The measure strengthens transparency, reinforces worker choice, and ensures unions maintain the support of the people whose paychecks fund them. Organizations that serve their members well have nothing to fear from accountability. Accountability strengthens trust. It forces leaders to remain responsive to the people they represent. Union members deserve the same protections, transparency, and financial safeguards that shareholders expect from corporations and taxpayers expect from government.
Goldwater Institute: Embracing the Future: Say No to Driver-in Mandates
June 4, 2026 // If an autonomous truck cannot operate safely, it should not be on the road. But if it can operate safely without a human driver, requiring one anyway does not improve safety. It simply raises costs, slows deployment, and forces consumers to pay more. The United States has never prospered by forcing new technology to imitate the old system it improves upon. Policymakers should allow autonomous vehicles and trucking to develop under clear, evidence-based safety rules. They should not revive the logic of railroad featherbedding for the age of artificial intelligence. Autonomous vehicles should be judged by their safety and performance, not by whether they preserve the labor arrangements of the past. The future of freight should be faster, safer, and less expensive. Policymakers should let it arrive.
Bill on public-sector union lists clears Iowa House
April 29, 2026 // Senate File 472, passed 56-34, deals with situations that supporters of the measure say would allow unions to avoid recertification elections required under the state’s 2017 collective bargaining law. Under the current law, government employers are required to submit a list of their employees to the Employment Appeal Board (EAB) before recertification votes, where workers in a bargaining unit are asked if they want to continue to be represented by their union before the next contract period. If an employer does not submit a list of their workers to the EAB, the recertification process will not occur and contracts will be negotiated with current union representation.
Results of UnityPoint nurse vote to unionize are undetermined
December 15, 2025 // "We get this contract, and we have every intention going forward of adding on, if they would like to join, our respiratory therapists, our patient care techs, pharmacy, environmental services, dietary I mean, the list just keeps going on and on," she said. A spokesperson for UnityPoint Health — Des Moines said in a statement it doesn’t believe there is any merit to the Teamster’s ballot challenges. "We have reason to believe they only challenged the ballots of certain nurses based on how they believed those nurses would vote," the statement read. "UnityPoint Health did not challenge the ballots of any nurses currently employed in the bargaining unit — we believe everyone’s vote should count and everyone’s voice should be heard."
MAXFORD NELSEN: The Other Education Choice: Freeing Teachers from Monopolistic Unions
November 17, 2025 // Public-sector collective bargaining tends to crowd out the interests of students, families, and taxpayers in education policymaking, but teachers unions’ power comes from subjecting teachers to a monopoly system of workplace restrictions. While individual educators now have the legal right to forgo union membership, state policymakers have many opportunities to improve educators’ ability to exercise that right. To level the playing field and increase teachers unions’ accountability to the public and their own members, policymakers should consider reforming or replacing collective bargaining in public education.
DOL Awards $86M for Skilled Trades Training
October 29, 2025 // Administered by the department’s Employment and Training Administration, these grants will provide outcome-based reimbursements to employers for providing training in high-demand and emerging industries that align with President Trump’s Executive Order 14278, Preparing Americans for High-Paying Skilled Trade Jobs of the Future, and Executive Order 14629, Restoring America’s Maritime Dominance. These priorities are also in line with the goals published in America’s Talent Strategy and America’s AI Action Plan. “President Trump has directed the Labor Department to Make America Skilled Again by providing states with the resources they need to expand on-the-job training opportunities,” said Secretary of Labor Lori Chavez-DeRemer.
Starbucks workers union planning pickets, rallies through Nov. 2. See in which states
October 27, 2025 // Starbucks, for its part, says it is willing to bargain with the union, which the company says represents about 9,500 of its "partners," or employees. "Workers United only represents around 4% of our partners but chose to walk away from the bargaining table. If they’re ready to come back, we’re ready to talk," corporate spokesperson Jaci Anderson said in a statement to USA TODAY. "Any agreement needs to reflect the reality that Starbucks already offers the best job in retail including more than $30 an hour on average in pay and benefits for hourly partners," Anderson said. "We’re investing over $500 million to put more partners in stores during busy times. The facts show people like working at Starbucks. Partner engagement is up, turnover is nearly half the industry average, and we get more than 1 million job applications a year.”
Star-Tribune Packing to Iowa, Costing Minnesota Jobs
September 14, 2025 // Most print papers are facing tough times anyway. With Unions making demands impossible to meet and make a profit, papers have to make tough decisions.
UnityPoint Des Moines nurses push unionization, Democratic Senate hopefuls show support
August 22, 2025 // Teamsters Local 90 in Des Moines announced they're endorsing State Senator Zach Wahls to represent Iowa in the U.S. Senate.
10 Roads Express strike nearing an end
June 23, 2025 // More than 160 drivers at Breakthru locations across Florida have gone on strike – a strike that has slowed liquor distribution in Florida for the past two weeks. The Teamsters union alleges the work stoppage comes after the company illegally fired workers for union activity and refused to bargain in good faith with the Teamsters.