Don’t dismiss the UI Labor Center

The Labor-Management Relations Act of 1947, more popularly known as the Taft-Hartley Act, is the law of the land, governing labor-management relations in the United States. The act states, in part, that 'sound and stable industrial peace and the advancement of the general welfare, health and safety of the Nation and of the best interests of employers and employees can most satisfactorily be secured by the settlement of issues between employers and employees through the processes of conference and collective bargaining between employers and the representatives of their employees.”

The University of Iowa Labor Center has been at the forefront of providing instruction, information and training in the art of collective bargaining throughout the Midwest for decades. The work done by the center certainly has aided in promoting the 'general welfare, health and safety of the Nation” and, I suspect, has helped labor and management avoid many costly labor disputes over the years. It should not be dismissed as not being integral to student learning and economic development.

Let us not lose a valuable state resource and be sorry one day that we did.

James Schepker

North Liberty