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Live updates: Collective bargaining bill debate in Iowa

Erin Murphy is providing live updates as the Iowa House and Senate both are scheduled to debate the collective bargaining bill today.

3rd & 7 37yd

First amendment, by Democratic Sen. Nate Boulton, D-Des Moines, essentially deletes the bill. As with most, probably all, Democratic amendments, it will be voted down or ruled not relevant by Republicans.

by Erin Murphy 2/14/2017 10:05:54 PM

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Boulton is disputing Republicans' assertion the bill provides more local control. Boulton says local governments/employers have told him they prefer the current system, notes many are rushing to sign new contracts this week before bill becomes law.

by Erin Murphy 2/14/2017 10:10:51 PM

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.@NateBoulton disputing assertion bill provides more local control, says local gov'ts prefer current system.

#ialegis #collectivebargaining

by Erin Murphy via twitter 2/14/2017 10:12:27 PM
.@NateBoulton says #ialegis Republicans did not campaign on #collectivebargaining reform, calls it a "secret agenda."

by Erin Murphy via twitter 2/14/2017 10:16:34 PM
Sen. Boulton still speaking, now noting many public employees are veterans. While it's opening comments on a specific amendment, this is essentially Senate Democrats' opening comments on the bill.

by Erin Murphy 2/14/2017 10:18:00 PM

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.@NateBoulton amendment, succinctly, erases the bill. As with most/all Dem amendments, Rs will vote it down.

#ialegis #collectivebargaining

by Erin Murphy via twitter 2/14/2017 10:18:50 PM
.@NateBoulton says parts of #ialegis #collectivebargaining bill "mean," including new, higher certifying requirements for unions.

by Erin Murphy via twitter 2/14/2017 10:23:07 PM
.@NateBoulton noting new requirement unions be certified by majority of members, not majority of voters.

#ialegis #collectivebargaining

by Erin Murphy via twitter 2/14/2017 10:24:28 PM
Sen. Boulton is describing the bill's requirement that unions be re-certified by a majority of its members, not by a majority of voting members. In other words, if a union has 5,000 members, 2,501 must vote to keep its certification; currently, that union needs a majority of members who vote in the recertification election.

Think of it this way: the vast majority of elections are decided by a majority of voters. The president is not selected by a majority of eligible voters; he or she is selected by a majority of eligible voters who cast a vote in the election.

Unions currently recertify under the former format, but under the Republicans' collective bargaining proposal would be governed by the latter.

by Erin Murphy 2/14/2017 10:27:35 PM

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.@NateBoulton : this bill and its vote will be historic ... for the soul of our state.

#ialegis #collectivebargaining

by Erin Murphy via twitter 2/14/2017 10:29:31 PM
Sen. @DotzlerBill : The bill stacks the deck against the working men and women in this state.

#ialegis #collectivebargaining

by Erin Murphy via twitter 2/14/2017 10:35:04 PM
Dotzler, and Boulton before him, have raised the issue of the bill removing the requirement that public employers establish proper cause for firing an employee. We haven't yet got there, but Republicans plan to introduce an amendment that reverses course on that and keeps that requirement in law.

by Erin Murphy 2/14/2017 10:37:16 PM

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Here's a little inside baseball for you:
In the Iowa House, the board that shows all the members' names changes the color of a member's name when he or she has indicated a desire to speak. So folks watching (including us in the media) can see how many legislators plan to speak on a particular bill or amendment.
In the Iowa Senate, the board does not light the names of those planning to speak, so observers have no idea how many people are in line.
Suffice it to say, I prefer the House board.

by Erin Murphy 2/14/2017 10:41:10 PM

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Speaking of the Iowa House, they are rolling through some other bills over there, what are known 'round the Capitol as non-controversial bills, the kind of minor fixes and updates upon which most, if not all, legislators agree. I'm keeping an eye on their progress as they work their way toward their collective bargaining bill.
At some point, there's a very real possibility both chambers will be debating their bills simultaneously.

by Erin Murphy 2/14/2017 10:44:12 PM

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Sen. Chaz Allen, D-Newton is describing that town's comeback from an economic crash after its Maytag plant closed. He says the town's recovery was successful in part because business and employee leaders worked together, unlike, he says, the way the collective bargaining bill was crafted.

by Erin Murphy 2/14/2017 10:46:28 PM

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Democratic Sen. @senatorragan says #ialegis #collectivebargaining bill devalues public employees and their work.

by Erin Murphy via twitter 2/14/2017 10:47:35 PM
Dem. Sen. @senatorragan : #ialegis #collectivebargaining bill designed to cut and to gut; not to help people, but hurt people.

by Erin Murphy via twitter 2/14/2017 10:49:51 PM
Dem. Sen. @mccoyforiowa : I've never heard from so many frightened Iowans, many who don't follow politics.

#ialegis #collectivebargaining

by Erin Murphy via twitter 2/14/2017 10:51:11 PM
Sen @mccoyforiowa : #ialegis #collectivebargaining bill "horrendous, anti-worker, anti-gov't, mean-spirited, Koch-funded propaganda machine."

by Erin Murphy via twitter 2/14/2017 10:57:04 PM
Sen. @mccoyforiowa : Send the #ialegis #collectivebargaining bill back to Wisconsin where it came from.

by Erin Murphy via twitter 2/14/2017 10:58:21 PM
key #ialegis leaders say Chapter 20 debate could be over Wednesday or not: thegaz.co/2kQuIx8 #iapolitics

by James Lynch via twitter 2/14/2017 10:59:12 PM
Sen. Kevin Kinney, D-Oxford, criticizes the collective bargaining proposal's plan to create "two classes of workers." The bill exempts from its vast changes many public safety workers, including state troopers and firefighters.

by Erin Murphy 2/14/2017 11:03:46 PM

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will #ialegis Chapter 20 debate be opportunity for @RepPrichard @hart4senate @janet4iowa to boost 2018 prospects? #iapolitics

by James Lynch via twitter 2/14/2017 11:04:24 PM
Sen. Joe Bolkcom, D-Iowa City, reading an email from a Republican in western Iowa who expresses concern with the bill.

by Erin Murphy 2/14/2017 11:07:04 PM

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#ialegis Senate gallery almost full now with #collectivebargaining debate underway and we pass the 5 o'clock hour. http://pbs.twimg.com/media/C4qW9ljUoAAcJno.jpg

by Erin Murphy via twitter 2/14/2017 11:15:51 PM
Sen. @LizMathis1 : Outside influences have clouded your view of an Iowan that I don't even recognize anymore.

#ialegis #collectivebargaining

by Erin Murphy via twitter 2/14/2017 11:16:54 PM
Iowa bishops push for middle ground on collective bargaining dlvr.it/NNGt3w http://pbs.twimg.com/media/C4qYX7kVMAATyVh.jpg

by Q-C Times politics via twitter 2/14/2017 11:21:58 PM
Sen. Tod Bowman, D-Maquoketa, is relaying all the times in the past week he's been approached in the public by people expressing concerns with the bill. Not a commentary on whether the bill is good or bad, but a Capitol reporter's observation: Bowman's tales are not in the least bit surprising. I have not seen the public engaged in a statehouse issue as they have been since this bill popped a week ago today.

by Erin Murphy 2/14/2017 11:24:54 PM

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Of 310 responses among UNI faculty, 81.9% said they'd consider leaving (retire or seek another job) if collective b… twitter.com/i/web/status/8…

by Christinia Crippes via twitter retweeted by ErinDMurphy 2/14/2017 11:29:45 PM
We're now roughly an hour into Senate debate on the collective bargaining bill. The House has not yet started. They've finished their other bills, and the members are in caucus.

by Erin Murphy 2/14/2017 11:31:56 PM

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Sen. @SenTodBowman also noting many local agencies (school districts) rushing this week to sign contracts.

#ialegis #collectivebargaining

by Erin Murphy via twitter 2/14/2017 11:33:44 PM
Sen. @SenTodBowman : "You're making this profession (teaching) unattractive, unrespected."

#ialegis #collectivebargaining

by Erin Murphy via twitter 2/14/2017 11:36:49 PM
Just getting home from work, wondering what's up with that #ialegis #collectivebargaining debate?

Hey, looky here!

qctimes.com/news/state-and…

by Erin Murphy via twitter 2/14/2017 11:40:20 PM
Sen. Pam Jochum, D-Dubuque, reading from a 2008 op-ed by then-state Rep. and now-Iowa GOP state chairman Jeff Kaufmann, who at the time defended the state's collective bargaining laws when Democrats sought to expand employees' collective bargaining rights.

by Erin Murphy 2/14/2017 11:47:14 PM

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#ialegis Sen. @PJochum just read from this @kaufmannGOP 2008 defense of Iowa's #collectivebargaining laws. Dems then were trying to expand. http://pbs.twimg.com/media/C4qfZ9LVUAADvBW.jpg

by Erin Murphy via twitter 2/14/2017 11:52:41 PM
Update: early plans were for the Iowa House to start debating at 4 p.m. It is 6 p.m. They have not started.

#ialegis #collectivebargaining

by Erin Murphy via twitter 2/14/2017 11:57:13 PM
The assembled crowd in the Senate gallery is laughing at some of the comments from Sen. Tony Bisignano, D-Des Moines, who is using a little snark. It will be interesting to see how much leeway the crowd gets from presiding officer Sen. Pres. Jack Whitver, R-Ankeny. The gallery is expected to be quiet during debate.

by Erin Murphy 2/14/2017 11:58:58 PM

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Sen. @showbiz8 says making firing of public employees public record is "mean-spirited."

#ialegis #collectivebargaining

by Erin Murphy via twitter 2/15/2017 12:07:58 AM
Sen. @senbisignano says making firing of public employees public record is "mean-spirited."

#ialegis #collectivebargaining

by Erin Murphy via twitter 2/15/2017 12:09:19 AM
#iagov @TerryBranstad has said he wants these records public for transparency.

#ialegis #collectivebargaining twitter.com/ErinDMurphy/st…

by Erin Murphy via twitter 2/15/2017 12:10:37 AM
There it is. A round of applause bursts during Sen. Bisignano's remarks as his speech intensifies, and Sen. Whitver bangs the gavel to bring the Senate chamber to order. Prediction: that won't be the last time Whitver will have to do that.

I didn't even finish composing the update and it happened again.

by Erin Murphy 2/15/2017 12:15:43 AM

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.@senbisignano gets fiery, gallery applauds loudly 3X, Sen. Pres. @jackwhitver bangs gavel to restore order.

#ialegis #collectivebargaining

by Erin Murphy via twitter 2/15/2017 12:17:30 AM
Dear #ialegis wifi being finicky during the #collectivebargaining debate:

Not the best time, dude.

by Erin Murphy via twitter 2/15/2017 12:19:32 AM
Now speaking: Sen. David Johnson, the Senate's only independent, a former Republican. He opposes this bill.

#ialegis #collectivebargaining

by Erin Murphy via twitter 2/15/2017 12:22:43 AM