On this Labor Day 2000, one of Iowa’s top union leaders says the status of the labor movement is “holding steady.”Iowa Federation of Labor president Mark Smith says the work of the labor movement is undone. He says the promise of the labor movement is that people working together can make it better for all workers. He says there’s been “vicious assault” on workers in recent years as they try to organize.When Douglas MacArthur presided over “occupied” Japan following World War II, the military leader established labor unions in Japanese industry. Smith says trade unions are part of a vital democracy.Iowa labor unions have had successes in politics recently, helping elect Iowa’s first democrat Governor in three decades.
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