June 2009
The Iowa 2009 Legislative Session has come to a close with two very important issues fortunately being defeated.
Prevailing Wage: Labor was adamantly pushing this issue during this legislative session and the fight came down to a few legislators who believed they had the 51 votes needed to pass the legislation. Fortunately, a couple of legislators changed their minds. There were only 50 votes cast in favor of the legislation when the bill came up for a vote. The voting was kept open over an entire weekend in the hopes that one person would change their mind and the legislation would pass. Finally, after no one had changed their vote, the voting was closed and the legislation was defeated.
Fair Share: Early during the session, there was caucusing on fair share and it was determined that there was not enough support to pass the legislation. Pressure was building as the legislative session went on without a single labor bill being passed. A major push for fair share started during the final week of the session. Several legislators who had previously opposed the legislation changed their position and said they would support it. With the union support, the legislation came within one vote of being passed.
Both the Prevailing Wage and Fair Share legislation have been defeated for another year.
If you would like to discuss the subject matter of this article, or any other labor or employment-related issue, please feel free to contact Shareholder and Senior Attorney Joseph H. Laverty at (563) 333-9102 or email him at jolaverty@wesselssherman.com.
