Another dark day at the Iowa Capitol for working Iowans. A majority of Republican legislators, with all Democrats in opposition, have passed legislation that will cut unemployment benefits for Iowans who lose their jobs through no fault of their own. Unemployment benefits are earned by the worker and now those protections are being whittled away.

Over the next ten years this legislation is estimated to take over $750 million from Iowa workers. This move makes no sense. Iowans work and our state has a lower unemployment rate than most of the states in this country. This legislation benefits Iowa’s biggest corporations and is a reminder of how dirty, national politics can enter our state. To grow Iowa’s workforce, we need to be prioritizing real issues that affect families everyday like daycare, public education and lowering the cost of healthcare.

This legislation is cruel and punches down on the essential workers that makes Iowa the great state that it is. The Iowa labor movement stands in solidarity with every worker, from every sector, across Iowa today and we won’t stop working until Iowa workers get the dignity they deserve.

Lance Coles

Iowa Federation of Labor, AFL-CIO