Action Alert from Progress Iowa: Republicans dismantling worker rights in Iowa

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It’s happened.

Republicans have started their all-out assault on Iowa workers’ rights. Will you fight back?

Just moments ago, House Republicans filed HSB84, which dismantles Iowa’s Chapter 20, Iowa’s Collective Bargaining law that has worked for over 40 years. The legislation removes nearly all of the provisions that give hard-working Iowans a seat at the negotiating table, silencing the voices of Iowa educators, correction officers, snow plow drivers, nurses, and more.

If HSB84 is successfully passed and signed, the consequences would be severe. The public workers we all rely on will have less health benefits, lower wages and no say in their work conditions. Other states that gutted collective bargaining laws saw their most qualified workers leave the state.

The fight, however, has just begun, and we need your help to stand up for working Iowans.

For the first step, sign our petition calling on all legislators to oppose HSB84. We need to show these Republicans that Iowans will not stand for this extremist attack on Iowa workers.

They need to hear from all of us -- click here to get started, and add your name to our petition.

We'll stay in touch regularly, to give you the resources you need to flood the capitol with emails and phone calls to stand with Iowa workers!

Thanks for all you do,
Matt Sinovic
Progress Iowa

P.S. There will be a lot of false information presented as Republicans try to gut worker's rights (and while we all work to stop them). Here are a few facts about Chapter 20, Iowa’s Collective Bargaining law:

Bipartisan law passed by a Republican legislature and signed by Governor Robert Ray
Has given Iowa public workers a voice for over 40 years
Allows employees to negotiate over wages, overtime, benefits, safety rules and more
Sets up fair and balanced process to arbitrate in case of no agreement
Only 2% of negotiations went to arbitration last year – proves the process works!

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1. Another link to this abomination

http://iowalabornews.com/?p=16504
The long-dreaded collective bargaining legislation that was crafted behind closed doors has been released in the Iowa House and Senate, and it’s worse than we ever imagined. The same bill (House Study Bill 84 and Senate File 213) was released in both chambers so that the passage could be expedited and sent to the Governor.

Let me be clear: this bill completely guts collective bargaining for public employees in Iowa. If we could’ve predicted what “Wisconsin on steroids” meant, this would be it. Nearly every topic of bargaining that was mandatory is now illegal. The only thing left that has to be bargained is base pay. Grievances are off the table, there is no requirement for “just cause” for firing an employee, seniority is gone, all dues deductions are gone, and re-certification is required for every contract, plus the union has to eat the cost of that election. These are just a few of the points that take this bill from a “thoughtful review,” as Representative Deyoe suggested, to a full-fledged vindictive attack. As we continue to analyze this bill, we will send additional information that it contains.

more at link

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2. Thanks!