Truck and car horns blared as they drove laps Wednesday around the Iowa Capitol complex as union members and advocates rallied in opposition to a proposal that would impact Iowa public workers’ collective bargaining rights.
Two semis emblazoned with graphics for the Teamsters union were a part of the caravan of at least two dozen vehicles that circled the complex for roughly an hour, and an Iowa Teamsters leader addressed reporters on the Capitol steps.
The proposed legislation, Senate File 2374, would decertify a public worker collective bargaining unit if the public employer fails to submit to the state a list of union-eligible workers.
Labor advocates have called it a “union-busting” bill because it places bargaining units’ fate in the hands of the employer. Union members compare the proposal with a 2017 law that stripped Iowa public workers of most of their collective bargaining rights.
“When things aren’t broke, don’t fix it,” Jesse Case, secretary-treasurer and principal officer of Teamsters Local 238 in Iowa, said during his remarks to reporters. “The public sector bargaining law wasn’t broken in 2017, and they broke it. And now they want to break it some more. Well guess what: we’ve had enough.”
The Teamsters union has six local chapters in Iowa, Case said, representing roughly 12,000 members in law enforcement, freight, warehouses, county road crews, public works and school bus drivers.
Shortly after the new legislation was introduced, Case recorded a video in which he said Teamsters unions may engage in “rolling” strikes. During Wednesday’s events at the Iowa Capitol, Case said Teamsters members also are considering other options.
Case claimed that some Teamsters members across the state have been working while technically off-duty, and as an example said some public workers are answering work calls even though they are off the clock and not on-call. Case said if state lawmakers pass the latest legislation on collective bargaining, unions will tell those public workers, for example, to stop taking those off-duty calls.
“Our members are not obligated to go above and beyond the call of duty while they’re under attack” from lawmakers, Case said. “And I’m telling you right now, the next time that there’s a union-busting bill signed into law, people across the state will start feeling the effects of service.”
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Two semis emblazoned with graphics for the Teamsters union were a part of the caravan of at least two dozen vehicles that circled the complex for roughly an hour, and an Iowa Teamsters leader addressed reporters on the Capitol steps.
The proposed legislation, Senate File 2374, would decertify a public worker collective bargaining unit if the public employer fails to submit to the state a list of union-eligible workers.
Labor advocates have called it a “union-busting” bill because it places bargaining units’ fate in the hands of the employer. Union members compare the proposal with a 2017 law that stripped Iowa public workers of most of their collective bargaining rights.
“When things aren’t broke, don’t fix it,” Jesse Case, secretary-treasurer and principal officer of Teamsters Local 238 in Iowa, said during his remarks to reporters. “The public sector bargaining law wasn’t broken in 2017, and they broke it. And now they want to break it some more. Well guess what: we’ve had enough.”
The Teamsters union has six local chapters in Iowa, Case said, representing roughly 12,000 members in law enforcement, freight, warehouses, county road crews, public works and school bus drivers.
Shortly after the new legislation was introduced, Case recorded a video in which he said Teamsters unions may engage in “rolling” strikes. During Wednesday’s events at the Iowa Capitol, Case said Teamsters members also are considering other options.
Case claimed that some Teamsters members across the state have been working while technically off-duty, and as an example said some public workers are answering work calls even though they are off the clock and not on-call. Case said if state lawmakers pass the latest legislation on collective bargaining, unions will tell those public workers, for example, to stop taking those off-duty calls.
“Our members are not obligated to go above and beyond the call of duty while they’re under attack” from lawmakers, Case said. “And I’m telling you right now, the next time that there’s a union-busting bill signed into law, people across the state will start feeling the effects of service.”
Union truckers circle Iowa Capitol in protest of proposed labor legislation
The proposed bill would place more responsibility for bargaining units’ recertification with public employers; labor members and advocates call it a ‘union-busting’ bill
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