The public policy organization representing the Catholic Church in Iowa released its list of 2012 legislative priorities this week, along with a statement on “Labor and the Common Good.”
A board including bishops, priests, nuns, deacons and lay Catholics recently approved the Iowa Catholic Conference’s legislative agenda for the 2012 session and the pro-labor statement. I’ve posted the full text of both documents below. All passages in bold were emphasized in the original as “legislative priorities for the 2012 Legislative Session,” which begins in January. The Iowa Catholic Conference’s position tends to make the news mostly when the legislature is considering bills to restrict abortion rights or overturn same-sex marriage. However, the conference takes a position on a wide range of issues, including economic justice, environmental protection, and fair treatment of both undocumented and documented immigrants.
Legislative action in other states to limit collective bargaining rights prompted the Iowa Catholic Conference board to approve its new statement on labor. Tom Chapman, executive director of the Iowa Catholic Conference, described the document as a “yellow caution light” in an October 31 interview with Radio Iowa.
“For the people who pay attention to what the Catholic Church is saying, this is not going to be anything groundbreaking,” Chapman says. “But with all the discussion that’s taken place in the state about labor unions and where we should go with that, we thought this would be a good chance to reinforce what the church has been talking about.” […]
“It’s clear that the church supports the rights of workers and labor unions,” Chapman says. “I think we always say that we need to have just wages and benefits and a living wage, good working conditions – and that there should be an opportunity to organize. At the same time, people have a free choice of whether to join a union or not.”
Chapman says those sentiments from the Iowa Catholic Conference were shared with lawmakers last spring when the Republican-led Iowa House passed a bill which would have no longer allowed public workers in Iowa to negotiatve over their health care benefits or layoff plans. The bill was never considered in the Democratically-led Iowa Senate, who said provisions in the bill which would have let individual government workers negotiate their own pay and benefits was effectively an end to the state’s collective bargaining rules. Chapman says Catholics believe there are other ways to make Iowa a better state.
“I think it’s fair to say that we’re putting up a yellow caution light when we’re talking about it taking away rights to organize,” Chapman says.
Bleeding Heartland covered the main anti-labor bill pushed by Iowa Republican lawmakers here and here. Not only would it limit collective bargaining rights, it would in effect end binding arbitration for public-sector workers in Iowa. If Democrats retain control of the Iowa Senate, the bill will go nowhere in 2012. But if Republican Cindy Golding wins the November 8 special election in Iowa Senate district 18, Republicans who would share power in the Senate will surely try to move the collective bargaining bill. Assuming Senate committees have an equal number of Democrats and Republicans in that scenario, I doubt the legislation would advance to the Senate floor.
Whatever happens in next week’s special election, Republicans have a decent chance at winning an Iowa Senate majority in the 2012 elections. Governor Terry Branstad appeared at a Heritage Foundation fundraising dinner in West Des Moines last week with Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker. Walker’s anti-labor moves became a national news story earlier this year and led to a series of Wisconsin Senate recall elections over the summer. Radio Iowa’s O.Kay Henderson asked Branstad about the issue during the latest episode of Iowa Public Television’s “Iowa Press” program:
Henderson: As we look to the past week Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker came to Iowa to give a speech to a private event. You defended before that event started his actions in Wisconsin with regard to collective bargaining rights for unions. Do you think he acted appropriately in Wisconsin? And do you hope to make the same sort of changes here?
Branstad: Well, first of all, their situation is different than ours and I think Scott Walker, like I, inherited a big mess. In fact, his situation was even worse than mine. They had a much bigger projected deficit and they had to make tough decisions. I think he has done the right thing and he has focused on jobs and Wisconsin is making great progress. Compare that to Illinois — Illinois raised taxes and they are $6 billion behind on paying their bills. So, I just think that governors like Scott Walker and [Ohio Governor John] Kasich and the other republicans that came in in this last election recognize that we needed to do what our colleagues in New Jersey and Indiana had done and that is put the focus on jobs, reduce the size and cost of government and reduce the tax and regulatory burden to make our economies grow. And Wisconsin has had success, we’re having success in Iowa in the focus on jobs and I want to see the focus on jobs.
Henderson: So, if the outcome of the 2012 election is that republicans control both the Iowa House and the Iowa Senate will you propose significant changes in Iowa’s collective bargaining law?
Branstad: We’re not looking at that, we’re looking at things that we can do to attract more business and jobs to our state and that is our focus, reducing the commercial and corporate income tax, putting limits on property tax for all classes of property and those things that can attract more jobs. […]
Branstad supported the collective bargaining bill that passed the Iowa House earlier this year. His administration may not make those policies a priority, but I am certain the governor would sign similar legislation if Republicans are able to get it through both chambers of the legislature in 2013.
Share any relevant thoughts in this thread.
Legislative agenda approved by the Iowa Catholic Conference in October 2011:
Iowa Catholic Conference
2012 Legislative Concerns and PrioritiesEducation
*Supports expanding tax credits for individuals, businesses, or financial institutions who contribute to a “school tuition organization” that provides scholarships to low- and middle-income children who want to attend a nonpublic school.
*Supports the equitable participation of nonpublic school children in federal- and state-funded programs.
*Supports full funding of public schools for the transportation of nonpublic school students.
*Supports parental choice in education by broadening financial assistance to families through tax credits or other means to allow their children to attend the school of their choice.
*Supports parents as the first and primary educators of their children.
*Supports continuation of assistance for students enrolled in accredited nonpublic schools through technology and textbook appropriations.
*Supports full funding of the Area Education Agencies.
*Supports on-site special education assistance through the AEAs.Families and Children
*Supports amending the Iowa Constitution to recognize marriage only as a union of one man and one woman.
*Supports efforts to expand family strengthening programs, improve childcare programs and increase welfare payments to poor families and children in Iowa.
*Supports governmental assistance that strengthens families, encourages and rewards work, and protects vulnerable children — born and unborn. Supports adequate funding for job training and child care.
*Supports assistance for veterans returning from active duty from war zones.
*Supports legislation to ensure parental consent when free contraceptives are provided to their children.
*Supports efforts to provide comprehensive programs for domestic violence victims and for those who commit these crimes.
*Supports presumption of joint custody.Pro-Life
*Supports protection of human life and dignity as a foundational principle, including limitations on late-term and “telemed” abortions.
*Supports alternatives to abortion for women by providing funding to programs that assist women in crisis pregnancies.
*Supports legislation to promote adoption programs.
*Supports efforts to provide women with a choice to be fully informed about abortion.
*Supports funding for research using adult stem cells.
*Supports the reinstatement of a ban on human cloning.
*Opposes embryo creation and destruction for stem cell research.
*Supports disclosure of trafficking of human eggs and fetal tissue.
*Supports extending protections to unborn victims of violence.
*Supports updating the statistical reporting of abortions law to include procedure used, week of gestation, and county where patient resides.
*Opposes the use of taxpayer funds for abortions, human cloning or embryonic stem cell research, including funds allocated to those organizations that engage in or advocate for these practices.
*Opposes any state efforts to legalize assisted suicide and/or euthanasia.
*Opposes the death penalty.Social Concerns
Restorative Justice
*Supports legislation that prohibits sentencing juveniles to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
*Supports sentencing reform that will emphasize community-based corrections for prisoners who are not a threat to the community.
*Supports sentencing reform that will give greater latitude to judges when deciding appropriate penalties.Economic Justice
*Supports legislation to limit predatory lending practices.
*Supports a progressive tax system, a just living wage, and fair and reasonable labor practices by employers.
*Opposes disproportionate cuts to programs that support the poor and vulnerable.
*Opposes legislation that would allow for additional taxes and/or fees for services to be imposed on not-for-profit organizations.Elderly Care
*Supports measures to provide effective programs for those who are poor and elderly, including health care, transportation, housing and nutrition.
*The Conference is in support of development of programs which would provide for a full continuum of care for moderate and low-income families, from care in the home, assisted living care and nursing home care, etc.Environmental Issues
*Supports measures to preserve, protect, and improve the quality of the air, water, and land in Iowa.
*Supports strict enforcement of present environmental laws and adequate state funding for this purpose. The Conference favors local control.
*Strongly endorses legislation that requires industry, including large agricultural related production operations, to be environmentally sound.
*Supports efforts to expand renewable sources of energy in the state of Iowa.Health Care
*Supports state initiatives which would make health care more readily available and affordable to all Iowans, including immigrants and their children.
*Supports prohibition of abortion funding and mandates in the implementation of federal health legislation.
*Supports the conscience rights of medical professionals and institutions.Housing
Supports efforts to create and preserve affordable housing units as well as rental assistance to low-income families. This includes shelter assistance and case management for homeless children and families, and rehabilitation of existing housing, both city and rural.Immigration
*Supports the basic human rights of documented and undocumented immigrants and refugees. This includes fair treatment under the law for all workers including legal representation during deportation proceedings, a just living wage, safe working conditions, and humane treatment of children and families.
*Opposes efforts to make state and local police responsible for the enforcement of federal immigration laws.
*Supports legislation allowing undocumented high school graduates who are residents of Iowa to be eligible to pay in-state tuition rates at colleges and universities in the state of Iowa.
*Supports legislation providing for a provisional driver’s permit for undocumented immigrants.
*Supports full restoration of benefits to permanent legal residents.
*Supports reduction from a felony to an aggravated misdemeanor for undocumented immigrants carrying false papers to secure a driver’s license or work.Rural Life
*Supports the creation and growth of small business in Iowa’s rural communities. The Iowa Catholic Conference supports incentives in rural areas for training and the creation of new jobs which provide living wages and safe working conditions.
*Supports strengthening agriculture, local food systems, and family farms in Iowa.
*Supports efforts to secure a healthful food supply.Legislative Concerns in bold-face type are the legislative priorities for the 2012 Legislative Session.
They are not intended to be a complete list of the Conference’s position on every issue. Other concerns may be moved to “priority” status if the issues are introduced and start to advance through the legislature.
Labor and the Common Good
Oct. 20, 2011Recently there have been efforts in several Midwestern states, including here in Iowa, to limit the collective bargaining rights of public employee unions. Accordingly, now is a suitable time to recall the Catholic Church’s teaching on the common good and the rights of workers. We also reflect upon the responsibilities which accompany these rights, as well as offer questions for reflection when such legislation is considered.
We believe all people have the same basic right to the spiritual and material things that make for a decent life. These “common goods” begin with the right to life itself, given by God through a mother and father, and include, among others, freedom to follow the moral law, access to healthy food, shelter, clean air to breathe and water to drink, education, and health care; and spiritual goods such as freedom of religion and freedom of association (Pacem in Terris, #11-14 and following.) The common good can be understood as “the sum total of social conditions which allow people, either as groups or as individuals, to reach their fulfillment more fully and more easily” (Catechism of the Catholic Church, #1906).
Also among these rights is the opportunity to obtain work. Work is considered a form of cooperation with God’s creative powers.1 In the earliest chapters of Genesis, God invites us to work the soil and care for his creation. We have a duty to work when we are able, not only so we can provide for our families and ourselves, but also to contribute to the common good through the fruits of our work. We believe the “economy exists for the person, not the person for the economy.”2
One hundred and twenty years ago, the misery and injustice experienced by much of the working class led Pope Leo XIII to issue his landmark encyclical, Rerum Novarum. The letter expressed support for the rights of workers and labor unions, while rejecting socialism, unfettered capitalism and greedy moneylending practices. Since then, the Church has steadfastly upheld that workers deserve just wages and benefits, decent working conditions and the opportunity to organize. Workers retain their right of association whether they work for a private employer or for the government. Workers should also retain the free choice of whether to join a union, and remain free of coercion from employers or unions in making this choice.
We affirm that, at their best, unions help workers receive fair pay and benefits and improve working conditions. Unions and employers can contribute towards the common good by playing an active role in the economic and social development of all society.
In our communities, we still see many people who do not have easy access to all the goods consistent with our sacred dignity. Unions can be a part of the solution to these difficult social and political problems.3 In Laborem Exercens, Pope John Paul II called labor associations “an indispensable element of social life, especially in modern industrialized societies,” but also reminded unions “to secure the just rights of workers within the framework of the common good of the whole of society.” (#20) More recently, in his encyclical letter, Caritas in Veritate, Pope Benedict XVI states, “The repeated calls…for the promotion of workers’ associations that can defend their rights must therefore be honored today even more than in the past.” (#25)
However, we also affirm that no right is unlimited in its exercise (Pacem in Terris, #28, 30). As Pope John Paul II wrote in Laborem Exercens (#20), workers have a responsibility to take into account “the limitations imposed by the general economic situation of the country.” Not every union proposal must be embraced in its entirety. Members of unions have responsibilities – to provide a fair day’s work for a fair day’s pay and to treat employers and co-workers with respect.
We also fully acknowledge the challenges the state government finds in balancing its budget while fulfilling its own responsibilities to the common good, which include paying its employees fairly and protecting the life and dignity of those who are poor and vulnerable.
Finally, we offer these questions for consideration by the legislature and union members:
*How do my individual interests correspond to or conflict with the common good?
*How does a just society with limited resources act together for the common good?
*How can we evaluate the consequences our decisions will have for the common good?
We believe a patient dialogue on labor issues will best serve the people of Iowa. The present situation offers all of us an opportunity to work strenuously for the common good in order that all might participate justly and equitably in the rich gifts from our Creator.
NOTES
1 “The word of God’s revelation is profoundly marked by the fundamental truth that man, created in the image of God, shares by his work in the activity of the Creator and that, within the limits of his own human capabilities, man in a sense continues to develop that activity, and perfects it as he advances further and further in the discovery of the resources and values contained in the whole of creation.” Laborem Exercens, (#25)
2 A Catholic Framework for Economic Life, United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, (#1) 3 “Properly speaking, unions are promoters of the struggle for social justice” Compendium of Social Doctrine. (#306)