Legislative Delegates Talk Collective Bargaining Law

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Senator Tom Greene (R), Representative David Kerr (R), and Representative Dennis Cohoon (D) sat down with members of the Greater Burlington Partnership on Saturday to discuss the collective bargaining bill that Gov. Terry Branstad signed into law on Friday. The bill removes the ability for public sector unions to negotiate on anything other than base wages.

The Legislature made 78 amendments to the bill. Senator Greene and Representative Cohoon have opposing descriptions of the bill.

Greene, a supporter of the bill, said that he was speaking for the 88% of the Iowans who are not public employees when he made his vote. He described the bill as a reform.

“(This is a) collective bargaining reform. This was not a gutting. This was not a repeal. This was a reform,” Greene stated. “It was 30 years overdue; 20 years overdue; and 10 years overdue.”

Cohoon categorized the cuts as politically motivated.

“This legislation was more of a cut-and-gut,” he said. “It was really politically motivated. You may remember here, as well as at our other town meetings, that Tom Courtney and I both said in the past that if Terry Brandstad ever had the majority house in the senate, he would get rid of collective bargaining. That is exactly what has happened.”

He went on to criticize the Republicans for meeting with Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, who signed a similar bill into law in 2011, before voting on the bill.

Mandatory discussions during collection bargaining negotiations will now focus on base wages.

The legislative delegation met with community and business leaders during the monthly Eggs and Issues Breakfast at the Greater Burlington Partnership.