Good news - Bad news from the Iowa Senate--the so-called "Fair Share" bill passed through the Senate in modified form. The revised bill affects only teachers and government workers, while the original bill would have required all employees--public or private--who are affected by a collective bargaining agreement to pay a fee.
Isn't it ironic that the two unions who probably lobby the Legislature the most stand to benefit from this bill? Now all the non-union teachers and governmental workers will have to help those unions lobby even more!
I haven't seen any statistics on the teacher's union, but a recent AP news article noted that 25% of state employees are non-union members. That's 4,000 people that will be required to start paying union fees. They couldn't convince those 4,000 people that union membership would be beneficial, so now those same people will be forced to pay fees. Add county and municipal workers to the equation, and those unions will suddenly see a big influx of funds!
Another bill to watch is the education bill, which also includes provisions that are helpful to the teachers' union.
Why does the Legislature think they need to help the unions? If the unions are so beneficial, employees would be fighting to join them. Then, those unions wouldn't need the Legislature to pass a bill requiring related non-union workers to pay fees.
