Iowa Collective bargaining decision could come Wednesday or …

DES MOINES - As they open debate on sweeping change in Iowa's public sector collective bargaining law this afternoon, key leaders expect the conversation to extend into the evening, but be wrapped up as soon as Wednesday.

'This has the feel of one of those old-fashioned House debate that could go on for days,” said Sen. Jason Schultz, R-Schleswig, a former House members who is floor manager of on Senate File 213.

In the House, Rep. Bruce Hunter, D-Des Moines, the ranking Democrat on the Labor Committee, said '41 Democrats will talk about why it is a bad idea take away the voice of 180,000 public employees.”

However, Sen. Nate Boulton of Des Moines, the ranking Democrat on the Labor and Business Relations Committee, was less certain debate will be over so soon.

'We want to have a full and thorough discussion of this landmark labor legislation,” the freshman senator said. 'We want adequate answers for what impact each section will have.”

With nearly 80 amendments filed to House File 291, Hunter expects debate could extend into Wednesday. Like Boulton, he offered an 'as long as it takes” qualifier.

'We'll talk as long as it takes to get the message out,” he said. 'We're not just talking to the people in this House, but to everyone in Iowa and a lot of people are getting the idea it's a wrongheaded bill.” Hunter noted that in several hours of public hearings and subcommittee meetings, only three or four people spoke in favor of the bills.

The Senate is scheduled to begin debate at 3 p.m. and the House will follow suit at 4 p.m. on its identical bill.

To follow a live stream of the Senate debate, go here.

To follow the House Debate, visit here.

To join a live chat about the legislation and the debate with Des Moines Bureau reporter Erin Murphy and others, go to this link.

Hunter and fellow Democrats will offer strikeafter amendments that will basically maintain the status quo for public employee collective bargaining.

If the 59-member GOP majority rejects them, which he's sure they will, Democrats will offer amendments to modify various parts of the bill. For example, some members will try to add correctional officers and teachers to public safety workers who will have the opportunity bargain on more than base wages.

Hunter rejected the idea that Republicans increased their majority in the 2016 election because they were going to modify Chapter 20.

'Nobody we talked to while door-knocking - and we talked about education, Medicaid and water quality and more - no one talked about sticking it to 180,000 public workers,” Hunter said.

Although Hunter knows Republicans have majorities in both the House and Senate, he doesn't believe the discussion will be over when Gov. Terry Branstad signs the bill.

'We will keep reminding people what happened, that elections have consequences,” he said.

And Democrats will be looking forward to the next election, he added.

l Comments: (319) 398-8375; james.lynch@thegazette.com