Are Unions Dead? Iowa Senate Debates Labor Bill That Would Drastically Limit Collective Bargaining Rights

Legislators in Iowa’s Senate pulled an all-nighter Wednesday night debating a controversial bill that would eliminate most collective bargaining rights for workers, dealing a possibly fatal blow to unions. As of 8 a.m. CST, the Senate had not yet adjourned.

"Gooooood Morning, Des Moines....The sun is about to come up,” said Democratic State Sen. Herman Quirmbach, at 6:11 a.m. CST as he stood on the Senate floor. “It's time to get up and milk the cows and get the work done. We have 10 amendments down and 42 to go."

The bill would end automatic payroll deductions for union dues. Republicans who support the bill argue tax dollars shouldn’t be used in the payroll process to help unions collect their dues. The bill would also require government workers to vote regularly on whether they want to stay unionized. The bill’s changes would affect 184,000 public employees.

Democrats, who debated all night on the floor in order to delay voting on the bill, said it would be a death sentence to unions in the state.

“You want to get rid of the labor unions because you know how difficult it would be to collect those dues individually, but I’ve got news for you,” said State Sen., Bill Dotzler, a Democrat who used to be a union worker at John Deere, Wednesday afternoon. “I’ve got a feeling that this is going to really incite members of the labor union.”

Iowa’s House of Representatives is expected to debate a similar bill Thursday morning. Both houses are dominated by Republicans — 29 of the Senate’s 50 members are Republicans, and 59 members of the 100-member house are Republicans.

Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad is also a Republican, and although he’s supported labor-friendly efforts to raise the minimum wage, he was expected to sign the Senate bill to limit collective bargaining rights if it lands at his desk.