June 29, 2007

Health Care Commission Meets

ABI Convention Brings Out Policymakers

ABI Policy Committee Sign-Up

Have You Made Your 2007 IIPAC Contribution Yet?

Employee Free Choice Act Dies

STAFF:

Mike Ralston
President
515/235-0562

Government Relations Team:

John R. Gilliland
Senior Vice President, 
Government Relations
515/235-0566

Kellie Paschke
Vice President, 
Government Relations
515/235-0567

Tess Dickinson
Government Relations Coordinator
515/235-0561

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Upcoming ABI Events - Mark Your Calendar!
Click Here to Register

Workforce Solutions Tour
July 12 - Waterloo
July 18 - Atlantic
July 19 - Des Moines
July 26 - Burlington

ABI National Health Care Summit
July 25 - Des Moines

Creating a Drug-Free Workplace Solutions Tour
August 7 - Oskaloosa
August 9 - Mason City
August 14 - Sioux City
August 16 - Clarinda

Employee Drug Testing Compliance
September 27 - Ankeny

ABI Environmental and Manufacturing Conference
October 15 & 16 - Coralville

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Health Care Commission Meets  

The first meeting of the Commission on Affordable Health Care Plans for Small Businesses and Families met at the Capitol last week.  The Commission created by the legislature is charged with reviewing a number of factors related to health insurance and develop legislation to be considered early next year.  The commission is charged with reviewing the following:

• Benefits, costs, and mandates of covering all Iowans;
• Benefits and costs of covering all children;
• Uninsured and underinsured Iowans and government programs; and
• Factors and trends affecting costs, pooling and wellness initiatives.

HF 909, the legislation creating the commission, specified that ABI designate a representative for the commission.  Amy DeBruin, Executive Vice President for Interpower in Oskaloosa has accepted the ABI appointment.  The commission includes 10 legislators and 12 other individuals appointed by stakeholder groups.  The commission is co-chaired by Senator Jack Hatch (D-Des Moines) and Representative Ro Foege (D-Mt. Vernon).  ABI member Joe Teeling, TrueNorth Companies, West Des Moines , is also a member.  

The meeting focused on laying groundwork for future meetings with a number of presentations on the current state of health care in Iowa .  Insurance Commissioner Susan Voss detailed the private health insurance landscape while Iowa Department of Human Services Director Kevin Concannon explained the public programs.  Other presentations contained data on the uninsured as well as the safety net programs.   

A significant amount of time was devoted to identifying what information the commissioners wanted to see at future meetings and how the Health Care Data Research Advisory Council headed by Dr. James Merchant at the University of Iowa College of Public Health could best assist the commission.  The Commission has $500,000 budget approved by the legislature and it’s expected that a great deal of those dollars will be paid to entities doing research and studies for the commission.  

The Commission also plans a series of 3 public hearings across Iowa on health care to be identified soon.  The commission approved its own meeting schedule for the balance of 2007 meeting in several locations.  All meetings are open to the public.  Here are the dates of future Commission meetings:  

July 18 – Oskaloosa
August 15 – Mason City
September 19 – Iowa City
October 17 – Sioux City
November 14 – Dubuque
December 19 – Des Moines

ABI Convention Brings Out Policymakers  

The Annual ABI Convention held in Okoboji was attended by over 350 this year and word of our enthusiastic membership is getting around.  That probably explains why so many state elected officials and department heads made Okoboji a destination during the second week of June.  Between the joint meeting of the ABI Board and the Department of Economic Development and Workforce Development Boards as well as the Welcome Reception on opening night of the convention, a long list of the state’s top policymakers made their appearances.  Governor Chet Culver made his first appearance to an ABI event since his inaugural.  Iowa Agriculture Secretary Bill Northey also attended.  The state legislators attending included Senators Bill Dotzler and Ron Wieck, Representatives Kraig Paulsen, Swati Dandekar, Tami Wiencek, Clarence Hoffman, and Phil Wise.  DED Director Mike Tramontina, Interim Workforce Director Dave Neil, Department of Education Director Judy Jeffrey, as well as former DED director Mike Blouin, now at the Greater Dubuque Development Corporation, joined conventioneers.

ABI Policy Committee Sign-Up  

Time is nearing for the development of ABI’s 2008 Legislative Agenda. The ABI agenda is developed by members for the benefit of members.  It all starts with you.  Now is the time to sign-up for ABI Committees meeting later this fall.  The only qualification you need is that your employer is an ABI member and that you try to attend the fall meeting. 

ABI will host five (5) policy committee meetings in the Des Moines area where individuals from member companies can share thoughts and ideas around more focused topical issues.  If you have an interest and any (or all) of the following committees, sign up today by emailing Tess Capps. 

• Employment and Workforce:  focused on traditional human resources issues including health care benefits and the challenges of workforce and skill development as well as unemployment compensation issues.
• Workplace and Product Safety:  focused on safety of any business’ most valuable resource: its people, as well as the products and services they make and provide.  This committee will address occupational safety, workers’ compensation and liability issues.
• Economic Growth:  focused on economic development issues ranging from regulation of commerce to state incentive programs to transportation of people and goods.
• Environment:  focused on the issues affecting the regulated community from air, water and land.
• Tax:  focused on the all forms of tax levied on business including property, income and sales and use taxes.

Have You Made Your 2007 IIPAC Contribution Yet????  

This past legislative session was anything but pro-active for the business agenda.  Issues such as Right to Work and Employer Directed Medical Care will continue to be in jeopardy until more business friendly legislators can be elected!  

As a member of the business community, you know how important it is for ABI to advance a pro-active agenda to grow Iowa .  A key component of ABI’s mission is to advocate for a business environment where businesses can grow and prosper, creating jobs and economic opportunities for our citizens.  The Iowa Industry PAC is ABI’s best tool to stop “anti-business” legislation and get back to advocating a pro-active business agenda.   

Please invest in your future by supporting IIPAC.  Contributing is easier than ever.  CLICK HERE!

Employee Free Choice Act Dies

This week, the United States Senate took action on H.R. 800 – commonly called the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA).  The legislation failed to garner enough support to end debate and bring the bill to a vote.  As a result, the legislation will likely be a contentious election issue and resurface again in 2009.

Organized labor has made the EFCA its top legislative priority. The act would replace the current system of secret-ballot organizing elections with card checks, in which workers publicly sign union cards to organize and join a union. It would also impose binding arbitra­tion for the initial bargaining agreement after orga­nization and increase the penalties for unfair labor practices committed by employers--but not unions--during organizing drives.

Under the EFCA, once organizers collect signed cards from a majority of a company's employees, all of the company's workers would be forced to join the union without a vote. This strips workers of both their fundamental right to vote and their pri­vacy.  Today's elec­tion procedures balance the rights of employers and unions and ensure that unions have access to workers when they are not on company time.

The EFCA's second component would force employers and newly organized unions into bind­ing arbitration if they were unable to settle on a col­lective bargaining agreement within 90 days from the start of bargaining.  An arbitrator's ruling would be final.  Workers could not appeal a decision that gave them too little pay or one that would bankrupt the firm.

The EFCA's final section would increase penal­ties on employers, but not unions, that engage in unfair labor practices during organizing drives.  Increasing penalties on employers alone would send the message that union coercion is a lesser injustice to workers. Congress should treat the unfair labor practices of unions exactly the same as it treats those of employers.  

Iowa Association of Business and Industry
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Des Moines, IA  50309
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