The Mackinac Center has a long history of helping workers defend their First Amendment rights against union abuses. It’s not an easy task. Through research, advocacy, investigative journalism, and litigation, we have seen what unions do to keep workers on the hook.
But every so often, the good guys win one, as recently happened in Iowa.
Almost a decade ago, Gov. Terry Branstad signed HF 291, which required that every bargaining unit undergo a recertification election before its contract ends. A majority of the unit must vote to recertify the union. If the recertification election fails, the representative union is decertified and cannot represent the employees in the unit for at least two years.
The intent of the law was to make sure that a union’s interests align with its members’ interests.
What’s the easiest way for a union to survive a recertification election? Rig the process so the election never takes place.
When a recertification election is required, rules state that public employers must submit to the Iowa Employment Appeal Board a list of employees in each bargaining unit.
If the employer fails to submit this list, however, there is no election, and the union does not have to make its case to its members.
Between 2020 and 2023, a public employer failed to forward the employee list, meaning that 465 unions were automatically recertified.
Last year, several Iowa legislators introduced SF 472 to close the loophole. Under it, public employers must submit a complete list of employees in the bargaining unit to the Employment Appeal Board within 10 days of receiving notice from a union of an upcoming election.
The legislation also allows any Iowa resident to petition a district court for a writ of mandamus to compel a public employer to comply if it fails to submit the list.
SF 472 passed the Iowa Senate early last year but stalled before reaching the House floor, forcing it to carry over to this year. Thanks to strong support from Workers for Opportunity, Americans for Prosperity-Iowa, and Americans for Tax Reform, the bill finally cleared the House in late April.
I was honored to join Gov. Kim Reynolds and our Iowa legislative champions on May 19 for the official signing ceremony. Reynolds said SF 472 ends labor’s “undemocratic practice” of avoiding retention elections. She also thanked WFO for its leadership over the past few years to get this legislation to her desk.
Iowa joins Mississippi and Florida in passing meaningful worker freedom legislation in a difficult and combustible legislative session year. These states provide critical momentum for WFO’s ambitious policy push into 10 states next year.
