Chapter 20 opponents dominate more than 8 hours of discussion at Iowa Capitol

DES MOINES | A former adviser to Gov. Terry Branstad told lawmakers she is appalled by a legislative proposal he has endorsed despite public employee warnings that it will strip them of collective bargaining rights they have enjoyed for more than 40 years.

Jodie Butler, who advised Branstad on education policy for almost five years, told members of the Senate Labor and Business Relations Committee Wednesday that Senate File 213 would cause irreparable harm and undo Branstad-backed policies, such as his Teacher Leadership and Compensation System, adopted to improve K-12 education in Iowa.

“You’re on course to set us back 40 years,” Butler said. “Quite honestly, I am appalled. I am outraged.”

She wasn’t alone. For the second day in a row, labor activists flooded the Iowa Statehouse to offer public comment in defense of the 43-year-old collective bargaining law. Despite their numbers, they were unable to stop House Study Bill 84 and SF 213 from being approved by the House Labor Committee and a Senate Labor and Business Relations subcommittee, respectively.

Read more: http://www.southernminn.com/around_the_web/news/article_c8c5ab9c-3376-56e1-bfe1-3166fdca2d97.html