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No changes needed to collective bargaining law

By Colette Schmidtke, Charles City

Over 40 years ago, an Iowa Legislature enacted a collective bargaining bill that became the foundation for public employees and employers in negotiating contracts. The bill set forth timelines, guidelines, scope of bargaining, fair opportunities for exchange of positions and information, and remedies for settling terms and conditions when negotiating parties could not reach mutual agreement.

This collective bargaining bill did not come about in a 68-page document nor was it pushed through in a week’s time. It was a process that took much discussion, listening, research, input from those who would be impacted by the legislation, and bipartisan support. It wasn’t accomplished in one year. It was too important to be rushed and impacted many lowans.

This same collective bargaining law is under attack by the current Iowa Legislature. Why? One legislator said the law was over 40 years old. So? Where is the anecdotal evidence, the numerical or statistical evidence that the law is not working, the registered log of abuses of the law, the registered log of complaints, or total breakdown of the law. None of it exists. What is the real reason or motive behind pushing these changes through so quickly and when there is no concrete evidence that it is needed?

I was a public employee in lowa for over 36 years. Many of those years I voted on and signed contracts that had been fairly negotiated by both parties involved using the existing collective bargaining law. It worked. It was fair. I served on the negotiations team and still found the law to work and be fair.

Being over 40 years old doesn’t make something irrelevant. Again, why are the current legislators seeing the need to make changes?

They have not been truthful in disclosing their true motivation.

There was an article recently in the Waterloo Courier stating that Iowa was facing a teacher shortage of 400. Well, that number will be growing. The proposed actions by the current legislators shows total disregard for teachers and their opportunity to have a say in the terms and conditions of their employment. Of course, these changes will impact all public employees, not just educators.

Contact your legislators and urge them to vote no on legislation that is not needed. This has been a pet project of Terry Branstad’s for years. I, for one, cannot wait for Branstad to get on his slow boat to China and take his lunacy with him. As for his fellow Republicans, who are giddy with power and just can’t help themselves, they need to remember they will own this lunacy if they should seek re-election.

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