“Iowa voters, and working families in particular, have a pivotal choice to make this November. As far as we are concerned, the difference between the Reynolds administration and a Hubbell administration is night and day.
“On one hand, you have Kim Reynolds, who represents a shameful era of tearing down and stripping rights from working Iowans. Under the Branstad and Reynolds administrations, over 180,000 hardworking families have had their voices stolen on the job, two critically important mental health facilities have been shuttered with no replacement for their services, and our privatized Medicaid system has failed the most vulnerable among us. Let us not forget that, among Reynolds’ laundry list of failures and attacks, our budget surplus has turned into a woefully-mismanaged budget disaster, campaign promises of rising incomes have been a lie, and IPERS now hangs in the balance with Kim Reynolds wanting nothing more than to decimate the retirement security of all public employees next legislative session.
“On the other hand, Fred Hubbell presents a vision and a plan for finally turning this state around. He is committed to doing everything in his power to restore the collective bargaining rights stripped away from Iowa workers, protecting IPERS, undoing the failed experiment of privatized Medicaid, and reversing Kim Reynolds’ wasteful spending that has put corporate special interests ahead of working Iowa families. We believe that Fred will make a good Governor for all Iowans, especially those who have been cast aside and under attack by Kim Reynolds.
“Putting our state back on the right path is long overdue, and the stakes this November could not be higher. I pledged on the day that the collective bargaining bill was passed that we would do everything in our power to replace each and every one of the Republican politicians who turned their backs on working Iowans, and that starts right here by electing Fred Hubbell to the Governor’s office.”
“I am honored to have the support of AFSCME Council 61, and look forward to standing side-by-side with the 40,000 Iowans they represent to ensure Iowa workers have the support and protections they deserve,” said Fred Hubbell.“As a former union member myself, I decided to run for governor after seeing the unprecedented, politically-motivated assault on workers’ collective bargaining rights, workplace protections, and fair compensation. We must restore these essential rights and get Iowa back to putting its people first.”
The American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees Council 61 represents 40,000 public employees in Iowa including law enforcement and correctional officers, firefighters, mental health workers, professional school staff, emergency responders, and many other workers. AFSCME Council 61 also represents home health care and child care providers across the state and private sector workers at Prairie Meadows, Palmer College of Chiropractic, Des Moines University, and ABM (Marshalltown).
