Iowa House, Senate passes collective bargaining bill

By Kate Hayden, khayden@charlescitypress.com

This is a developing story.

UPDATE 3 p.m.: The AP reports the Senate has approved bill on collective bargaining, sends measure to Gov. Terry Branstad. Check back for updates later today.

The GOP-led chamber voted 29-21 Thursday, with all Democrats and an independent opposed. The vote followed lengthy debate in the chamber that started Wednesday morning and entered the next day.

The Republican-majority House approved the measure 53-47 about an hour earlier. The bill now heads to Gov. Terry Branstad, who supports the measure.

Legislative leaders used a rare procedural move to end debate early on the bill.

2 p.m.: Republicans had their first collective bargaining vote victory early Thursday afternoon, as the Iowa House passed the bill 53-47.

The passage of the bill is a “slap in the face” to public employees in Iowa, Rep. Todd Prichard, D-Charles City, told the Press.

“It was done without any collaboration of the people it affects. To me it smells of political payback the way this was handled,” Prichard said.

The Iowa Senate started voting at 2:40 p.m. and is expected to pass the bill. The final legislation will have to go through paperwork in Gov. Terry Branstad’s office before he signs a bill into law, Prichard said. From there, the future of negotiations is unclear for public employers and employees.

“This was a very rushed process, so we don’t really know what contracts look like going into the future,” Prichard said.

News media members tweeting from the gallery reported shouts of “shame” from public employees in attendance as the House gaveled out of session. The mood shortly after the vote was very somber, Prichard said.

“There were a lot of public employees in the gallery today, and there were tears about what it meant for them and their jobs,” Prichard said.

“I just hope that given the new reality that we live in now, we continue to treat workers well and respect their service to the state, that we respect what they do and appreciate their hard work,” he added.

The measure would prohibit public sector unions from negotiating over several issues, including health insurance and extra pay. The bill proposes that mandatory discussions be limited to base wages. Some public safety employees are exempt from some provisions of the bill.

Democrats introduced dozens of amendments to try to stop the bill or reduce its impact. Many of those amendments were not discussed after Republicans used a rare procedural move to end debate at noon.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.