DES MOINES – Today, AFSCME Council 61 President Danny Homan spoke at a Capitol press conference for the first day of the 2017 legislative session with many progressive partners.
The following are his remarks:
“’The original collective bargaining law was a work of bipartisanship. Our collective bargaining laws always have been a balance between employer and employee; management and labor. When legislation happens without any input from the minority political party or the affected citizens, bad things are bound to happen.’
Now those are important words. Words that I believe should be remembered as we enter in to this legislative session. A session where the rights of public employees and the quality of public services available to the citizens of Iowa could be under threat.
But those words aren’t my words. Those are the words of the chairman of the Republican Party of Iowa, Jeff Kaufmann. Words he chose to express in 2008 as a State Representative, when Democrats had control of the House, Senate and Governor’s office.
Many of his fellow Republicans during that time also echoed his call for balance and bipartisanship over a collective bargaining law that has worked well for Iowa’s public employees, government and taxpayers for three, now four, decades.
Today, we enter a new legislative session where we’ve heard there might be a number of proposed bills aimed at either reducing, restricting or even abolishing the collective bargaining rights of more than 180,000 workers who provide the vital services that keep our state working.
Correctional officers who keep our state’s most dangerous locked up where they belong. Mental Health Professionals who care for some of the most vulnerable among us. Police officers, firefighters and first responders who risk their lives to keep us safe. Nurses, teachers, highway workers and other professionals working vital jobs who we count on in our communities every day.
It is my hope that when our legislators take their seats in this 2017 session, they will take caution and care to include the minority party and those citizens affected by any changes to these laws—as then-representative Kaufmann stated so well back in 2008.
And I ask every concerned citizen across the state to contact their elected legislators to voice your support for collective bargaining rights. To attend legislative forums held in your local communities, and to have your voice heard on this issue.
[off-script remarks] Now before you leave today, please take a moment to visit our state flag in the display case. It reads, ‘Our liberties we prize and our rights we will maintain.’ So when you’re showing up at legislative forums or talking to your legislator upstairs about collective bargaining, you are put our state’s motto into action. Go out there and defend our liberties and maintain our rights.
Thank You.”
“his call for balance and bipartisanship over a collective bargaining law” DANDY Danny Homan has tried to scare workers into thinking the workers will be reduced and those left will be under paid…LIBERAL SCARE TACTIC 101, from the handbook of become dependent.
I can not ever envision this total collapse cab happen, if anything MAYBE get rid of the dead weight and useless workers protected by the union rules. Oh no! somebody is saying it like it is! What now? WELL, I got my “the sky is falling” letter from AFSCME awhile ago and the amount of BS in that was sicking.
Truth be told, my job, and my department, all would have gotten more wage if the protection wasn’t in on all the,…sorry can’t get carried away, but anyway, maybe the intention was there when this all started 50/60 years ago, but it is just a blockage to advancement for those who work and reduction in income to “keep every one fair”
JM2C
Allen Bookmeyer ?
Allen -if your liberal government would quit ruining conservative peoples lives for exposing their crimes I would post as Allen goody 2 shoes.
People who post anonymously, have no credibility.
Government/public servant sure as hell know about eroding the private sector to further their own greedy interests.
Allen – we wished for an Honest president and politiicans to clean up corruption from our cities to the swamp in DC – AND WE WERE GRANTED OUR WISH – TRUMP AND COMPANY LLC. This is nothing folks – watch the rats scurry when Sessions and company start the hearings – BTW your liberal bitch must have moved to Quatar where she deposited 2 billion dollars last month – Obama will follow soon and you can rent his new lgtb what ever house in the swampland .
Listen to the liberals scream – fact – public servants (all levels city/county/state/federal have received 3% to 5% raises over the last 8 years – compounded upon prior years they have received approx. a 30+ percent increase in pay and free health care – do you know of any private sector employer who paid these kind of raises – About time to take control of our public service give a ways – People on SS got a 19 cent raise per month this year – You tell me public servants are hurting and I will tell you you have been given DISINFORMATION! Low life liberal douch bags and corruption – That’s why their crying the blues – NEW sheriff in town on the 20th and will end this political liberal bullchit. BOO HOO !
This wasn’t me Dumb Ass TROLL. I wish it was because it is very well said.
This looks like the work of LVS, NIT’s cowardly dumbass.
LVS Will delete this post but as we all know he is Mason city’s biggest punk ass coward. And the truth be known he knows he’s a punk ass coward that is why he always deletes posts
Be careful what you wish for.
This is just a simple one line sentence, how is it possible to read between the line, and blow the meaning out of proportion. And then as figured, resort to name calling.
All he is really worried about is losing his cushy job and having to go back to work for a living.