Bargaining law affected Secondary Roads union

Changes to Iowa collective bargaining law now in effect have impacted the union contract that covers about 20 members of the Chickasaw County Secondary Roads Department in ways that merit observing.So says business representative for International Union of Operating Engineers Local No. 234, Brian Vaske. He sat down and spoke about it recently to contrast the two proposals for the public.For non-public safety employees such as a large part of the Secondary Roads staff, contract negotiations are limited to wages pursuant to the 2017 law. Insurance and seniority benefits, which were previously bargained for, are now explicitly banned from future negotiations.The contract as of July 1 allows a 1.5 percent increase, spans one year, and is one page long. The agreement was signed on March 21 and filed with the Auditor’s Office on April 11.— For more on this story, see the May 11 New Hampton Tribune.