Republican legislators are asking Governor Tom Vilsack to reconsider his order that state business recruitment efforts make no mention of Iowa’s “Right to Work Law”. Under that law, unions which have organized a workplace cannot force all workers to join the union. House Republican Leader Christopher Rants of Sioux City says the law should be highlighted, not hidden as the Governor has ordered. Rants says it sends a negative message about the state.Senate Republican Leader Stewart Iverson of Dows says the democrat Governor’s edict is a “first step” toward a push to repeal the “Right to Work” law. He says it’s about the freedom of an individual to go to work. Iverson says the law has never been repealed in the 21 states that have it.”Iowa Right to Work” Committee chairman Cornell Gethman runs a construction business in Gladbrook. He says the state’s economic development brochures should tout the “Right to Work” law. Gethman says they don’t want to hinder the growth of the state by not portraying it as a ‘Right to Work’ state.David Brasher, head of the Iowa chapter of the National Federation of Independent Businesses, says surrounding states will have a field day after Vilsack’s move. He says they’ll be sure to point out that Iowa’s governor won’t let his state advertise its “right to work” status.In a prepared statement, Governor Vilsack said Republicans were just trying to “generate” a political issue for the fall election. He said rather than focusing on Iowa’s Right to Work law, state economic development materials will tell prospective businesses Iowa has the “best-educated, productive workforce in the United States,” and a high quality of life — things he said distinguishes Iowa from other states.
