Iowa Public Employees Sue, Claim Cutback In Rights Unconstitutional

In response to what its national union leader characterized as a politically-motivated “attack on public-service workers,” Iowa Council 61 of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees has sued that state’s government claiming that a new law sharply restricting its bargaining rights violates the state constitution.

At the heart of its case is the assertion that the law creates separate-but-unequal classes of Iowa public workers, since it applies to the 40,000 members of Council 61 but exempts public-safety employees including cops, firefighters, park rangers and other peace officers. The lawsuit claims that language in the Iowa constitution requiring “uniform operation” in how state laws are applied makes it illegal to restrict the rights of some public workers but not all of them.