Veterans call on Iowa lawmakers for benefits, bargaining rights

DES MOINES - Military veterans conducted maneuvers at the Capitol Wednesday, calling for improved benefits for the 230,000 who call Iowa home and protection for the collective bargaining rights of more than one-fifth of Iowa veterans who hold public sector jobs.

At a rally with Gov. Terry Branstad and legislative leaders, veterans noted their $1.6 million in state benefits and $449 million a year in federal benefits.

Still, Dan Gannon of the Veterans Affairs Commission also said more needs to be done for veterans, who make up 8 percent of the state population.

Veterans account for more than their economic impact, Gov. Terry Branstad said, noting his Home Base Iowa program has helped more than 2,000 veterans find jobs - about two per day since it was created in 2014.

That's one way 'to honor and recognize the men and women who accepted the call to duty to serve their country and now need our assistance and support,” he said.

Attracting and retaining veterans benefits the state through their contributions to the state's workforce and communities, said Branstad, who is a Vietnam-era Army veteran.

'I learned to work hard. I learned the importance of duty and honor and sacrifice and service,” he said. 'The lessons I learned in the military have served me well as governor. The traits you get from veterans are really what makes the state of Iowa the special place that it is.”

Veterans are among the most important people in Iowa communities, added Sen. Wally Horn, D-Cedar Rapids, ranking member of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee.

'They are important. They are responsible. They get up in the morning and go to work. They do their jobs,” said Horn, a veteran of the Korean conflict.

It's important to preserve those jobs, labor union representatives said at a Statehouse news conference Wednesday afternoon.

'It's only through having access to a good job - a career - that a veteran is enabled to live out the American dream we fought to protect and defend,” said Will Fischer, a Marine Corps veteran and executive director of the AFL-CIO Veterans Council.

Twenty-one percent of Iowa veterans work in public sector jobs - teachers, firefighters, police and correctional officers, said AFSCME Local 61 President Danny Homan, a Vietnam-era Army veteran. That includes 30 percent of female veterans, 30 percent of veterans of the second Gulf War and 36 percent of veterans with a service-connected disability.

They confront the same issues as other working Iowans 'with an additional layer of turmoil beyond what any civilian must bear,” he said.

Politicians love to talk about how much they respect veterans, Fischer said, but sometimes the rhetoric doesn't match their record.

'You can't call yourself pro-veteran if you are anti-worker,” Fischer said, warning lawmakers, 'If you come after us, we will come after you.”

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