Democratic lawmakers outlined their new plan today called Putting Iowans First. The plan was developed by lawmakers to keep the 2018 session focused on improving the lives of everyday Iowans with better-paying jobs, revitalized small towns and rural communities, the best education in the country and a great quality of life.
All workers deserve economic security. ThE new economy is an on-demand economy, a gig economy. Gig economy workers could work in the technology field or maybe they are drivers for companies like Lyft and Uber. These workers do not have access to benefits when they get hurt on the job, healthcare or even retirement savings.
Little has changed in the Iowa Senate more than four years since Kirsten Anderson was fired after filing a complaint about the toxic work environment. As Ambassador Kramer wrote in her report: ‘As of now, there is nothing that has changed to prevent additional inappropriate behavior and ensuing problems.’
“IPERS and Iowa’s other public pension plans are secure, strong, and sustainable. Some current legislative proposals to change IPERS could break the promise we have made to hard working Iowans since 1953,” said Treasurer Michael Fitzgerald.
Democratic State Senators Rob Hogg of Cedar Rapids and Pam Jochum of Dubuque will be touring job training programs and meeting with students at Northeast Iowa Community College from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Wednesday, November 1, at the Peosta campus.
Building on bipartisan work by the Legislature over the past several years, the Future Ready Iowa Alliance lays out a plan to enhance the skills of Iowa workers. Senate Democrats are focused on initiatives to help Iowans get the education and training they need to qualify for increasingly technical jobs, especially in our small towns and rural areas.
“The opportunities at Western Iowa Tech are key to building a stronger Iowa economy, one with more higher skilled, higher paying jobs,” said Senator Hogg. “Iowa’s shortage of skilled workers can be fixed by making Western Iowa Tech’s opportunities more available and more affordable for more Iowans.”
Every worker deserves a secure retirement. That includes the hundreds of thousands of Iowans who contribute part of each paycheck to one of our state’s public retirement systems. Iowa’s public retirement systems are well managed and fiscally sound. However, under Republicans, those funds could be at risk.
Now, instead of ending huge giveaways to out-of-state corporations, Governor Reynolds and legislative Republicans hope a steep, multi-year ‘tuition tax’ on Iowa students will balance Iowa’s busted state budget.
State Senator Rita Hart of Wheatland highlighted several bipartisan ways to reinvest in rural Iowa and small towns in a letter to Governor Kim Reynolds on August 1. Hart, former chair of the Iowa Senate’s Economic Growth Committee, indicated her strong desire to focus on workforce training.
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