March 28, 2024

Big crowd at Iowa Capitol for collective bargaining hearing

DES MOINES (AP) — More than 1,000 people were gathering at the state Capitol for a legislative hearing about a bill that would dramatically change Iowa’s collective bargaining law.

Hundreds of people signed up to speak at what was expected to be a two-hour hearing Monday night.

They gave their views on a 68-page bill that would remove most issues other than wages from Iowa’s collective bargain rules for public employee unions. The bill also would require unions to manually collect dues from members instead of automatic paycheck deductions.

The bill was unveiled last week and is expected to quickly come up for a vote in the House and Senate. Both chambers are controlled by Republicans, who largely favor the effort, as does GOP Gov. Terry Branstad.