Too bad that film-credit thing didn’t work out. There’s plenty of fodder in the Statehouse for horror movies.


Whisper “labor” or “union” and it scares the daylights out of some folks. Odd. If anything, we should fear the corporate forces that oppose anything proposed by organized labor, regardless of the merits.

Two recent issues illustrate this continuing problem.

First, Gov. Culver signed an executive order backing the use of what are known as “project labor agreements,” or PLAs, in state construction projects. A PLA is a contract among all parties working on a big project — so that even with many contractors and unions, everyone has the same ground rules for that project.

PLAs are widely used in the private sector and Governor Culver, accurately, sees them as a tool that can assure more efficient and timely management of large-scale projects that involve many contractors and often many craft workers.

While PLAs allow nonunion firms to participate, they do involve unions — so that sends the anti-union crowd off the deep end.

The only reliable research on PLAs shows they are an effective tool. And, by the way, they protect everyone’s rights, a point affirmed in a 2002 Iowa Supreme Court decision upholding a PLA on the Iowa Events Center project.

In fact, the Governor’s order strikes a blow for better working conditions and fiscal responsibility. Remember that when the charges start flying this fall.

Then there’s the issue of “fair share.” Battered by inaccurate and tortured arguments claiming the concept “guts” the “right-to-work law,” it has not passed. It is being discussed, and if it gets to floor debate in the Capitol, be prepared for the same tired claims.

Actually, the current arrangement is what violates the spirit of “right-to-work,” a label that comes out of a one-paragraph statement of policy in Section 731.1 of the Iowa Code, under the heading “Right to Join Union.” That section (and the entire chapter) attempts to assure neutrality in the workplace on the question of union membership. Under the law, you may not be required to join a union, and you may not be intimidated from joining one, either.

“Fair share” is in keeping with that concept. You don’t have to join the union or support union activities — simply reimburse for those services you automatically receive because of the contract the union negotiates on your behalf. It should be seen as a positive compromise between polarized camps, but some depend on polarization.

It’s also more honest to acknowledge that what rights and benefits we have in the workplace are there principally because unions were on the job, working for better legislation at the Capitol or negotiating better contracts that eventually raise working standards for everyone.

The moral to the story: Anti-union talking points are usually economically driven but emotional in tone and without factual basis. It’s at least worth checking them first before repeating them. When the law and the debate are one-sided, there is a citizen’s defense: Listen to the other side.



Mike Owen of West Branch is a former Iowa Statehouse correspondent and West Branch Times editor. He is assistant director of the nonpartisan Iowa Policy Project in Iowa City. Views expressed here are his own.