Political Football

Your Capitol Voice
Representative Jeff Kaufmann

In my last column I wrote about a strong bipartisan effort dealing with Iowa health care policy. Both political parties in the House worked together, resulting in good legislation that passed unanimously.

Last week, unfortunately, was the most partisan so far this session. Quite frankly I did not enjoy my time in the Capitol last week. At 4 pm on Wednesday, after the media had gone home, the majority party filed a 14-page amendment to a non-controversial bill that will dramatically change Iowa’s collective bargaining laws. Debate on the amendment began the next day and we continued until 3 am in the morning. With Easter weekend approaching and debate in the middle of the night, most school, city and county officials affected by this law were on vacation and at that specific moment asleep. It was obvious that the goal was to minimize coverage of the legislation.

By the next day, mid-afternoon, Republican House members had offered 43 amendments and every single one was turned down on a party-line vote. It was obvious that a deal had already been worked out between the majority party and the labor unions who were the only groups in favor of the bill. In fact there were multiple groups registered strongly opposed.

Neither the minority party nor the public were allowed input.

Did the 24-hour debate accomplish anything? By Thursday morning Iowans became aware of the negative aspects of this legislation and the significant lack of input into the process. My e-mail inbox was filling up fast. I had school board members, superintendents, city administrators, and county officials demanding my “no” vote. Not since last year’s attempt to force non-union members to pay a share of union dues, or the previous year’s veto of our strong property rights law, did I hear such anxiety and bitterness towards a bill. People were quite angry at the attempt to pass controversial legislation in the middle of the night right before a major holiday.

This legislation will add topics to union negotiations that were previously the responsibility of management. These include staffing levels, classroom size, choice of health insurance carrier, class preparation time, and all aspects of employee evaluation. The list also includes the phrase “not limited to” that will lead to a list of negotiated items that is virtually endless.

Most troublesome is the stipulation that an unelected adjudicator has final decision-making power in a dispute between employer and employees, removing a potential challenge in court. The adjudicator is not accountable to the voters and many do not even live Iowa. Many also have a background as a public employee. Do you think their final decision will be unbiased and sensitive to the community and tax payer? For example if a union negotiates a classroom size, schools could be forced to hire new teachers and build new facilities, not because of the demands of a school board or citizens, but because an unelected adjudicator ordered it. If the District doesn’t have the money, it will be required to raise property taxes if it has the capability to do so.

You can see why I had many constituents, in their contacts with me last week, describe this legislation as “catastrophic,” “devastating,” and “potentially the largest property tax increase ever.” These descriptions were typical and originated from local officials all over the state. Universities, municipal utilities, and municipal hospitals are also included in this legislation, hence tuition rates, utility rates, and health care costs could also be affected.

Our collective bargaining laws have always been a balance between employer and employee; management and labor. This legislation destroys this balance, something with negative consequences beyond this session and the next. When legislation happens without ANY input from the minority political party or the affected citizens, bad things are bound to happen. I have been on both sides of the bargaining table and this legislation is not good policy. The original collective bargaining law was a work of bipartisanship, this was the exact opposite.

The only recourse is for the Governor to veto this bill. I would suggest a call to him at 1-515-281-5211 or an e-mail at chet.culver@iowa.gov If you like this legislation I respect your view, but I am convinced that this will be the disaster of 2008.

Please contact me with your opinions or questions:
jeff.kaufmann@legis.state.ia.us
Write me:   State Capitol Des Moines IA 50319
Call me:      1-515-281-3221

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