Lawmaker rallies against collective bargaining law

A rally and press conference on Saturday sought to increase awareness about a Republican bill to change collective bargaining working its way through the state Legislature.The bill to change collective bargaining for public employees and a 1.1 percent increase in per-pupil state funding approved the Republican-controlled Legislature and signed by the governor last week are being met with resistance by some eastern Iowa Educators.Rep. Todd Prichard-D Charles City, hosted the press conference at his downtown law office prior to the rally in Mason City.“The way that this has been done is very disturbing,” Prichard said. “Here was no bipartisan input.”The bill was presented out of the blue, Prichard said, and he added that no discussion was had outside of the governor and Republican legislators.In the past, collective bargaining has given a voice to state employees to attract good teachers, Prichard said.Prichard said the legislation was suspect.For the complete story see the 2/14/2017 New Hampton Tribune.